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By Lev Filippov, Vyacheslav Severov, Inna Filippova

"Reverse cationic flotation is a very efficient method of beneficiation of oxidized iron ores when you need to separate hematite and quartz. This method can be also applied to reduce silica content in the magnetite concentrates obtained by wet low-intensity magnetic separation. However, cationic flotation in this case is less effective due to the presence of Fe-Mg-Al-bearing silicates as amphiboles in magnetite ores. These silicates are concentrated in magnetic products and determine the difficulties of their separation from iron oxides when amines and starches are used as collectors and depressants, respectively. The recalculation of the results of the electron microprobe analysis of three calcic Fe-Mg-Al-bearing amphiboles used to characterize cation distributions in structural units and to obtain structural formulas in accord with stoichiometric limits was conducted. The Mössbauer spectroscopy was used to examine the validity of the empirical estimation of cation distributions in amphiboles. The studied samples are metamorphic pargasite and ferrotschermakite and volcanic magnesiohornblende. The crystallographic analyses of the amphibole samples exhibited their heterogeneous surfaces explaining worse floatability of amphiboles with dodecylamine at pH 10. The electrokinetic measurements showed that the position of the isoelectric point of amphiboles is related to a substitution of Al3+ for Si4+ in tetrahedral sites and to an amount of Mg2+ cations in octahedral sites. Thus, the dodecylamine adsorption onto amphiboles through electrostatic interactions is mainly affected by a distribution of these cations in tetrahedral and octahedral sites of amphiboles. In addition, the effect of starch on the depression of Fe-Mg-Al-bearing amphiboles during flotation can be attributed to the presence of metal ions on the amphibole surface, which are capable of forming strong chemical complexes with starch molecules."

Jan 1, 2014

By Shobhana Dey

A low volatile medium coking coal from Jharia coal field, India was used for this investigation. The proximate analysis of the sample shows that it contains about 25% ash, 21.4% volatile matter and 52.4% fixed carbon. The sizewise ash analysis of -0.5 mm coal indicates that -0.5+0.15 mm fraction contains lower ash (21.9%) than -0.15 mm fraction (29.7%). The flotation characteristics of the -0.5 mm coal were determined by release analysis. The study reveals that recovery of combustible at 15% ash is about 27% and 43% at 17% ash level. The low recovery is due to the presence of high ash in finer fraction. In order to improve the recovery, the -0.5 mm feed was classified into -0.5+0.15 mm and -0.15 mm fractions, and subjected to flotation separately. The recoverable combustible obtained from the release analysis of -0.5+0.15 mm at 15% ash level is 46%. The effect of collector dosage, frother dosage and aeration rate on flotation was studied. The responses of these variables in collectorless flotation of the -0.5+0.15 mm fraction containing low ash were also studied. A lower aeration and frother dosage favored the generation of clean coal with low ash. The ash content in the tailing stream from -0.5+0.15 mm flotation circuit is close to that of the original -0.15 mm fraction. The former is ground to -0.15 mm and the two fractions are processed together. As -0.15 mm fraction contains relatively higher ash, collector aided flotation using sodium silicate was performed to recover the clean coal with 17% ash. The products of the overall flotation circuit having different ash levels were recommended for use in different applications. The reject from -0.15 mm flotation circuit contained 56.4% ash which can be used for fluidized bed combustion (FBC). This eventually leads to complete utilization of coal.

Sep 1, 2012

By L. Z. Li

The application of some environment-friendly mineral processing technology was introduced in Xitieshan lead?zinc mine and Hugary copper mine of China Western Mining Co., Ltd, located in western plateau area where the ecological environment is extremely fragile. The results of the significant economic efficiency were obtained by applying these new techniques while the protection of peripheral environment and the improvement of ecology were made.

Jan 1, 2014

By M. Marinov

The Bulgarian deposits of quartz-kaolin raw materials are localized in the NE Bulgaria. For many years, the quartz-kaolin sand separation has been performing by water washing technology. After wet separation the raw material yields two products ? washed kaolin (different grades) and quartz sand (different grades). Research and development program has started to improve the quartz-kaolin sand separation. The program has undertaken an increasing of processing capacity, to decrease the losses in the tailings and to provide production of new quartz sand grades. The kaolin-silica raw materials from Vetovo open mine and the technological tailings from Vetovo processing plant were characterized. It was established that there are a lot of losses of quartz in final tailings. New approach on kaolin-silica raw material separation was tested in laboratory scale. The test work was performed on Derrick Stacksizer screening machines. The results of laboratory experiment show that there are possibilities to increase the quartz sand recovery and to start the production new grade sand. The full-scale pilot test was performed including the following units: two Derrick Stacksizer screening machines equipped with 0.430 mm and 0.150 mm opening Derrick Urethane Panel, respectively; Flat bottom DN 500 Hydrocyclone and DN 100 Hydrocyclon. The pilot test data clearly demonstrate that the Derrick Stacksizer screening machines are suitable for Bulgarian silica-kaolin raw material. Based on the test data a new quartz-kaolin separation technology was developed. The new technology was introduced in Vetovo processing plant increasing processing capacity and decreasing the losses of quartz in final tailings. Additionally the production of silica sand grade PK 0.16 is increased and starts the production a new grade PK 0.10.

Sep 1, 2012

By Yimin Zhu, Dezhou Wei, Haijun Liang, Zhifu Zhou

It has been fairly well established by many experiments that Thiobacillus ferrooxidans (T. ferrooxidans), also named Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans(Kelly and Wood, 2000),can depress the floatability of pyrite. However, the mechanisms governing the process have not been known completely. In the present investigation, wettability and electrokinetic studies were carried out to examine the surface chemical changes on pyrite before and after interaction with T. ferrooxidans or its secretions. Attachment of T. ferrooxidans to pyrite was observed using a scanning electron microscope. The results of experiments showed that, under certain conditions, T. ferrooxidans and its secretions would obviously change the surface electricity of pyrite and result in the iso-electric point of pyrite shifting notably. However, the surface wettability of pyrite hardly changed and its hydrophobicity increased little after interaction with T. ferrooxidans and its secretions. Based on the results of the present investigation it can be reasoned that the depression of floatability of pyrite is due to the reduction of surface free energy, rather than the increase of surface hydrophilicity of pyrite. The decrease of surface free energy weakens the attachment of collector to pyrite; during the process bacterial protein plays the most important role and the bacterial chemotaxis strengthens the effect.

Jan 1, 2003

By Andrzej Wieniewski, Cezary Regula, Bozena Skorupska, Krystian Cichy

"In this paper, experiences from Polish non-ferrous metals ores enrichment plants in the copper and blende concentrates quality improvement are discussed. The blende concentrate being produced in ZGH Boleslaw S.A., with Zn content of about 54,5% is characterized by the relatively high magnesium content reaching a level of 1% resulting from the dolomite presence, while for the zinc production by electrowinning a concentrate in which magnesium content should not exceed 0,3% is required. The implemented new technology for the quality improvement of blende concentrate is based on the leaching of zinc concentrate with sulfuric acid aimed at dissolving of the contained dolomite, and then flotation of the leached concentrate. It allows to obtain a concentrate with magnesium content below 0,1% at the simultaneously increased zinc content to about 57,5%. In the paper, laboratory tests results on the development of optimal flotation flowsheet for the gypsum removal and the industrial tests results concerning the process optimization of this flotation are discussed. In turn, the copper concentrate being produced in Polish copper ore enrichment plants KGHM PM S.A., is characterized by the increased organic carbon content - above 8%. It creates problems with the smelting of this concentrate because of difficulties with the heat removal derived from the combustion of organic carbon in the flash smelting process. The implementation of segregating flotation to the industrial practice allows the effective production of two concentrates with the differentiated chemical compositions - a concentrate with increased copper content and reduced organic carbon content for the flash smelting process, and a concentrate with lower copper content and increased organic carbon content for the shaft smelting process. In the paper, conditions of the segregating flotation and the achieved results are described."

Jan 1, 2014

By G. K. Nimal Subasinghe

The performance of Knelson Concentrators (KC) used in gravity gold circuits often rely on manufacturers recommendations for selecting operating parameters such as, fluidising water flow rate and cycle time. These parameters are not only dependent on the machine parameters but also on the feed characteristics such as, size distribution of the gold and gangue particles and the composition of its constituent minerals. Particles entering a KC experience a centrifugal acceleration due to the high bowl rotational speeds. The required centripetal force to maintain a circular orbit is provided by the fluid drag force created by inwardly moving fluidising water and the Bagnold?s force arising from the particle/particle collisions. When the fluidising water flow rate is low particles move towards the outer rim of the bowl forming a packed bed within the grooves. On the other hand, if the fluidizing water flowrate is high the bed expands and some particles would move towards the centre of the bowl and gets carried to the tailings stream, thereby reducing the amount of material retained within the grooves of the bowl. Based on a force balance on a particle captured within the KC, a criterion which can be used to predict the amount of material recovered in the bowl has been derived and validated by experimental data. It has been shown that this criterion may be used to demarcate the transition of the bed from a packed-bed state to a fluidised state depending on the fluidizing water flowrate. By identifying the conditions for the optimal expansion of the bed comprising different constituent mineral particles, it is possible to estimate the optimal fluidising water flow rate that would maximise gold recovery while minimising gangue recovery. It was also observed that the accumulation of valuable mineral in the bowl takes place by the displacement of the gangue particles in the bed by the incoming heavy mineral particles. The kinetics of this segregation process was also studied using synthetic mineral mixtures. The experimental data suggests that this process follows first order kinetics and that the build up of heavy mineral reaches a maximum which could be used to identify the optimal cycle time. In this work, the suitability of the above model in optimizing the performance of a KC have been reviewed. Also the necessity and merits of testing an unaltered feed samples in a larger KC as op-posed to the commonly adopted GRG test has been discussed.

Jan 1, 2014

By ?. S. Yusupov, V. P. Isupov, N. Z. Lyakhov, A. G. Vladimirov, S. A. Kondratiev

"Considering the shortage of lithium reserves, the desirability has been shown of studying the possibility of processing into spodumene concentrates the concentration tailings and low-grade ore reserves at Transbaikalian Mining and Processing Project (ZabGOK). The mineral and chemical composition and the particle size distribution of the mineral feed, separability and recoverability of spodumene have been studied, forming the basis for the development of a concentration process and flowsheet for the studied mineral resource. Prospects have been established for impact ore grinding in a disintegrator, the efficiency of mechanochemical processes has been shown in the separation of quartz and feldspar and the recovery of lithium from concentrates.INTRODUCTION Lithium is widely used in various industries - nuclear power engineering, defense technology, power generation, ceramics, special-purpose glass and other technologies. The increasing demand for lithium and its compounds (lithium carbonate and hydroxide) for use in the manufacture of high-tech products (lithium-based materials for chemical sources of electric power and electrochemical energy) explains the need for establishing a sustainable raw material base (Mohr et al. 2012; Moores, 2007). The main sources of lithium are spodumene pegmatites (Vladimirov et al. 2012; Garret, 2004), brines (salars), and hydromineral materials (Garret, 2004; Zeng and Liu, 2009; Kotsupalo and Ryabtsev, 2008). However, in view of the absence in Russia of extractable hydromineral resources of lithium, the practical significance of spodumene ores remains decisive. Russia controls some of the world’s largest reserves of rare-metal pegmatites holding over 8 million tons of Li2O: approximately 7 million tons on the Kola peninsula and 1 million tons in the Sayan mountains. The main lithium mineral in pegmatites is spodumene LiAlSi2O6 containing 8.1% Li2O. It can be efficiently recovered by gravitational concentration and flotation. However, most of the deposits are located in remote areas and none is currently developed. In this connection, special research is focused on technogenic raw materials, which are increasingly seen as a solution to the resource base problem (Chanturia, 2008, Kurkov and Kotova, 2007)."

Jan 1, 2018

By S. I. Anufrieva, N. A. Permyakova, E. G. Likhnikeevich

"Russia’s rare metal reserves are composed of compositionally and structurally complex ores and are characterized by an increased content of natural radionuclides due to their geochemical similarity with rare metals. For instance, concentrates of Zashikhinsky daeposit are characterized by an increased content of uranium (0,06%) and thorium (0,59%); Beloziminsky deposit holds pyrochlore-apatite-magnetite-carbonate ores characterized by increased radioactivity (130 mkR/h) and containing 0,0016-0,0025% of uranium; Etykinsky deposit is characterized by columbite-pyrochlore-microlith mineralization with an average ore grade of 0,013% of uranium and 0,0020% of thorium; eudialyte concentrate of Lovozero deposit (Alluaiv area) belongs to Class II of mineral reserves. Industrial development of these mineral reserves involves the need to comply with environmental standards, public health requirements applicable to finished core and by-products, to take into account the amount and class of the generated radioactive waste, the possibility of disposal or recycling of the radioactive production waste. Concentration processes of radioactive rare metal feeds most often lead to a concentration of natural radionuclides and their accumulation in concentrates. Comprehensive hydrometallurgical processes are currently under development for such concentrates, aimed at producing salable products compliant with the radiation safety standards. The choice of the hydrometallurgical processing method for radioactive rare metal concentrates is based on the mineralogical component of the concentrate, textural and structural features, the distribution of valuable components and impurities, and the content of radionuclides. A systemic approach to the selection of processing methods, in particular integrating several methods, is an effective solution. Methods may not only be combined, but also inextricably linked with each other. Hydrometallurgical processing methods include leaching by acidic and alkaline agents; sulfatization for selectively decomposing the minerals and moving the bulk of U and Th into solution; fluorine extraction process. Methods of precipitation and co-precipitation, extraction (by liquid and solid extractants), sorption, and ion exchange are used to decontaminate the solutions by removing thorium, mezathorium, uranium, and their radioactive decay products. Agents used in hydrometallurgical processing of radioactive rare metal ores include sulfuric, nitric, hydrochloric, hydrofluoric acid, alkali (NaOH, KOH), sorbents (for example, AB-17) for sorption of uranium and extractants (mono- and bidentate organophosphorus compounds, diamides, etc.) for the extraction separation of rare, rare-earth, and radioactive elements."

Jan 1, 2018

By Olgac Kangal, Ali Guney, Gulay Bulut, Guven Onal, Ayhan A. Sirkeci

This paper presents the results of pilot scale column flotation applications in the two different copper concentrators in Turkey. The Kure Copper Plant is located in the Black Sea Region of Turkey. In Kure, a very fine grinding requirement for an adequate level of liberation makes a successful flotation difficult and consequently the final concentrate can hardly assay above 16% Cu Column flotation tests were conducted at the plant site using two different column types The experiments proved that the grade of the concentrate could be increased from about 14% Cu to 25-26% Cu. Murgul Cakmakkaya Copper Concentrator is the largest copper concentrator in Turkey. Although concentrate production capacity is around 170,000 tons annually with 22-23% Cu content, this figure tends to be much lower than that. In Murgul a Turbo Column of Multotec Company of South Africa was employed. As a result of systematic column flotation tests, the grade of the concentrate was increased from 20.3% Cu to 28.7% Cu.

Jan 1, 2003

By Wei Qu, Yongsheng Song, Xingyu Liu, Wenjuan Li, Shuang Liu, Guiying Zhou, Bowei Chen

The Pb,Sb,Zn multi-metal sulphide ore is processed in sequence of beneficiation of jamesonite, sphalerite . Due to relative large amount of collector (xanthate), activator (CuSO4) and regulator (lime) during different flotation stage, the flotation wastewater from sphalerite beneficiation stage can’t be directly recycled to the first lead flotation stage. In this paper, the flotation wastewater from sphalerite beneficiation stage was treated by Ozone and BAC technology, results showed that when the influent concentation of COD and copper ion were 850 mg/L, 10.48mg/L respectively, the Ozone and BAC technology could effectively treat such type of water. In the treated wastewater, the COD is 60mg/L, copper ion concentration is 0.023mg/L, pH is 7.0, which satisfy the need of Pb,Sb-Zn preferential floatation separation process. After recycle of the treated wastewater to Pb,Sb floatation circuit, qualified Pb,Sb concentrate and Zn concentrate were obtained.

Jan 1, 2014

Beneficiation and dephosphorization of refractory oolitic hematite ore are investigated in this paper. It is shown that single magnetic separation, gravity separation or flotation is unable to recover iron effectively from the ore due to the complex mineralogy. The joint separation by spiral chute-shaking table shows a prospect for the treatment of the ore. An iron concentrate with 58.67% iron grade and 51.93% recovery is obtained by the joint separation of spiral chute and shaking table under the fineness of ?0.074mm 90% and dispersant dosage of 2kg/t for a sample ore of 37.51% Fe and 0.88% P. However, P content in the concentrate is still up to 0.52%. Dephosphorization from the concentrate is hence carried out. The final iron concentrate assaying 59.26% Fe and 0.056% P is obtained when the concentrate obtained by joint separation is leached by sulfuric acid of 1% (mass fraction) with solid percentage 10% at room temperature for 10min.

Jan 1, 2014

By A. D. Bas

Copper minerals present difficulties during the cyanide leaching of gold ores leading to excessively high consumption of cyanide (and oxygen) coupled with low extraction of gold. Copper cyanide species, if present at high levels, adversely affects the downstream processes such as the activated carbon adsorption and the effluent treatment. In this study, the extraction of gold from a copper-bearing gold ore by ammoniacal cyanide leaching was studied. Furthermore, ammonia leaching as a pretreatment process ahead of cyanide leaching was also examined. Only ~12% of gold was extracted by direct cyanide leaching of the ore. The addition of lead nitrate did not affect the leaching of gold. When ammoniacal cyanide leaching system was used, the extraction of gold was significantly improved to >90%. Similarly, the pretreatment of the ore by ammonia leaching was shown to lead to high gold extractions (98%), in subsequent cyanide leaching with significant reductions in the consumption of cyanide. This appeared to be linked with the ready dissolution/removal of copper during ammonia leaching.

Sep 1, 2012

By L. J. Li, Q. Zhang, Z. H. Liu, Q. L. Chen

Phosphogypsum (PG) is an industrial waste from the production of phosphate fertilizer. The utilization of PG is restricted by its containing impurities, and the pretreatment is crucial to eliminating these impurities. The purpose of the research is to recycle pretreatment PG as raw material for preparation of a-calcium sulfate hemihydrate (a-HH) by salt solution method. The effect of pretreatment technologies of lime neutralization and washing on dehydration rate, phase composition and morphology evolution of a-HH were investigated by crystal water content analysis, XRD and SEM. Furthermore, the change of pH in the reaction process was also discussed in detail. The results show that the dehydration rate of conversion PG to a-HH increases and the corresponding induction period, crystal growth period and total time decrease with an increase in CaO dosage from 0.2% to 0.6%. In the presence of 0.4% CaO or 0.6% CaO, the a-HH presents a long hexagon-prism-shaped crystal with a purity of 94%, and the end face of a-HH presents polyhedron. The system pH sharply decreases with the reaction time under different CaO dosage, and the pH variation from the initial alkalinity to acidity. The main reason is that as the co-crystallized phosphorus dissolved and released HPO42-, and with the pH decreasing to 4-5, HPO42- transformed into H2PO4-. The dehydration rate of washing PG is lower than that of original PG. Compared with the original PG, a-HH with the larger width and smaller aspect ratio can be achieved from the pretreatment PG subjected to lime neutralization and washing, meanwhile the crystal surface is more smooth.

Jan 1, 2018

By D. R. Nagaraj, Raymond Farinato

Water constitutes one of the most valuable resources employed in mineral recovery and processing. Identifying potential problems encountered in mineral processing in waters unusable for drinking or agriculture (including seawater and even hypersaline waters), understanding chemical factor interactions, and optimization of flotation reagents will greatly expand our ability to create more sustainable beneficiation technologies. The current paucity of our knowledgebase regarding high salinity effects on flotation clearly signals a need for a significant research effort. We report here results of a study designed to probe effects of pulp chemistry on metallurgical performance in the flotation of Cu and Cu-Mo ores in saline waters. The results clearly demonstrate that pH (more correctly dosage of pH modifier to target a pH set point) has the most significant effect on Mo recovery when using seawater. This is linked to the formation/precipitation of Mg(OH)2 when pH = 10.3 (in seawater). The type of pH modifier used, NaOH or Ca(OH)2, had no impact on Cu or Mo recovery, indicating that Ca2+ ions were not involved in any reduction in Mo recovery in the pH range of 9-11. Our results in tap water spiked with either Ca2+ or Mg2+ ions in the same pH range (controlled by NaOH), confirmed that Ca2+ ions had no effect on Cu or Mo recovery, but that addition of Mg2+ ions had a severe adverse effect on Mo recovery at pH = 9.5, and to a lesser extent on Cu recovery. The onset of Mg(OH)2 precipitation occurred at a higher pH, and the adverse impact of Mg(OH)2 on Cu recovery (and perhaps Mo recovery as well) was less, in sea water than in tap water spiked with Mg2+. These effects are attributed to the mitigating role of the high electrolyte concentration, notably NaCl.

Jan 1, 2014

By L. A. Vaisberg, E. V. Shishkin, S. V. Kazakov

"This research is targeted at finding solution to the problem of reduction of specific energy consumption during disintegration of solid materials with the help of machines, operating in a quasiresonant mode. The objective of the research is the development of an energy-saving method of disintegration of supestrong rock and by-products on the basis of vibrational units with two movable crushing elements, operating in a rigorous synchronous-antiphase mode without stringent kinematic links. In the course of investigations a mathematical analysis of the dynamics of vibrational units was performed to determine required mechanical parameters, allowing for adjustment of the machine actuating elements to high-frequency synchronous-antiphase oscillations in the quasiresonant frequency range. As a result of performed pilot tests, the reliability of desktop studies was confirmed and the dependency of process parameters on the machine regulated parameters in the quasiresonant frequency range was identified. The analysis of obtained data showed that during machine operation with cone-shaped crushing elements in the quasiresonant frequency range, the yield of the high-quality finished product (WFA grits of -3+1 mm grain size class) in one pass reaches 35%, whereas the form of the particles corresponds to the grain form with sharp edge. The quasiresonant operation mode of the vibrational unit with two freely suspended crushing elements (without stringent kinematic links) provided substantial reduction of energy intensity during crushing down to 0.16 kWh/t, which shows reduction of power consumption for crushing by more than 15% compared to conventional equipment.INTRODUCTION The most common and energy-consuming processes in the mining industry are the crushing and grinding of various solid materials. Such large energy costs are due to the fact that the capabilities of the existing crushing and grinding machines are based on traditional methods of destruction, and are limited by their kinematic features, which do not allow to reduce the energy intensity of processes, to lower the irreversible loss of useful components, to improve the quality of marketable products. In connection with the foregoing, the task of energy costs reducing for disintegration is one of the most important issues in the enrichment of both minerals and processing of man-made raw materials. The solution of this problem is possible only through the creation of a fundamentally new highly efficient technique and technology for processing raw materials [1, 2]. It seems that the greatest prospects in this respect are the vibration methods of disintegration, in particular, the vibratory cone crusher based on a two-mass system without rigid kinematic connections between the crushing bodies, with vertical vibrations of the working bodies. In this machine, the principle of rational material destruction is realized – crushing without re-grinding [3-5]."

Jan 1, 2018

By H. Pearce, A. E. Lewis, A. Ochieng

Hydrodynamics and mixing are fundamental to the operation of mineral process systems such as flotation cells and metal precipitation reactors. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technique has been employed in the present work to study the hydrodynamics in a mixing vessel stirred with either a Rushton turbine or a pitched blade impeller. The multiple frame of reference (MFR) approach has been used to model both impellers. A draft tube was used only in the Rushton turbine stirred vessel. The flow profiles for the pitched blade impeller have been studied in three regions; below the impeller tip, at the middle of the tank, and near the liquid surface. The simulation results were compared with literature data obtained using a laser Doppler velocimetry in the three regions of the vessel, and it was found that the model predictions were better in the impeller region. There was a poor prediction of the experimental results in the region closer to the liquid surface; however, this was improved when the turbulence parameter (C2) in the k-e model was set to a higher value. The value of the impeller clearance at which the Rushton turbine generates an axial impeller type flow has been determined and it has been shown that, at this clearance, a draft tube can be used to enhance axial flow in a Rushton turbine stirred reactor.

Jan 1, 2003

By Bern Klein, Givemore Sakuhuni, Libin Tong

The use of continuous discharge centrifugal concentrators introduced in the early 1990’s for recovery of gold associated with sulphides has introduced a novel application niche for gravity concentration which could not be realized with the low mass yield batch and semi-continuous concentrators. A typical application is scavenging gold associated with sulphides from flotation tails which has potential to increase productivity by reducing gold loss to tailings and lower grinding cost by using a coarser grind. However, the full potential of this technology has not been fully exploited partly due to the lack of reliable small sample procedures to demonstrate applicability. This paper introduces a bench-scale procedure developed to characterize the Knelson Continuous Variable Discharge concentrator (CVD) for scavenging gold from flotation tails. The procedure code named gravity release analysis was derived from standard flotation release analysis. It is a modification of the gravity recoverable gold and gravity amenability test in order to best simulate continuous centrifugal concentration. Based on this iterative procedure, a gravity release index similar to the flotation rate constant, for measuring individual mineral gravity susceptibility for an ore is introduced which can be a useful quantitative measure to both predict application of centrifugal concentration and for plant design. The gravity release analysis procedure was tested on a polymetallic flotation plant tailing at Myra Falls, BC, Canada and results show that it can predict CVD performance. The gravity release index for gold was observed to decrease with each successive cleaner stage showing that the initial stages recover liberated gold whilst successive runs recover gold associated with sulphides and or gangue. The difference in magnitude of the gravity release index for different mineral species shows the species separable by centrifugal concentration.

Jan 1, 2014

By C. Dorfling, C. A. Snyders

South Africa has extensive mineral processing and extractive metallurgy capacity and infrastructure for metal production from natural resources. Decreasing ore grades, increasing labor costs, and more stringent legislation have made economic metal production from primary resources challenging. Opportunities exist for metal production from secondary resources such as mining wastes and end-of-life consumer goods. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the current status of metal production from secondary resources in South Africa and to identify potential opportunities for further development. Two main classes of secondary resources, namely mining waste and electronic waste, were considered. Primary metal producers are dominating metal production from mining wastes; several of the gold, platinum and chrome producers operate low risk and low cost tailings retreatment facilities that contribute significantly to their overall production. Further opportunities exist in, for example, the treatment of more than 450 estimated gold tailings dumps in Gauteng, as well as metal recovery from slags and furnace dust. The majority of companies involved with electronic waste recycling in South Africa focus on collecting and disassembling; only a few perform preliminary physical processing, with the recovered fractions then being sent overseas for metal recovery. Projections are that the rate of waste generation will increase significantly and that treatment will become critical to comply with more stringent environmental legislation. Projects related to process development, techno-economic evaluations and environmental impact studies for metal recovery from batteries, printed circuit boards, and fluorescent lamps are underway. South Africa is ideally positioned to further explore opportunities for synergistic relations between metal recyclers and primary metal producers. Processing of electronic waste for production of technology metals, for which limited natural resources exist in South Africa, would be a key enabler for local manufacturing industries and expansion of the value chain.

Jan 1, 2018

By G. Aguilera

The mineral suspensions do not present a newtonian behavior as their continuous phase; they can be pseudoplastic, dilatant, or both. The viscosity becomes as the most important rheological variable because the different industrial processes involve a wide variety of rheological scenes, with a specific rheological behavior for each one. Some authors have tried to model the viscosity of suspensions considering the volumetric fraction of solids and others have also kept in mind the size of the particles (Einstein, 1906; Batchelor, 1977; Jinescu, 1974; Krieger and Dougherty, 1959; Tangsathitkulchai and Austin, 1988). Others consider the shear rate (Cross, 1965; Hershel-Bulckley, 1926; Bingham, 1916, etc). However, none of the models is able to simulate the viscosity involving the physical, chemical and mechanic factors at the same time for crowded suspensions. A new model based on Neural Networks is presented, taking into account all the variables of ceramic clay suspensions and chemical additives. Keywords: viscosity, clay minerals, neural networks, simulation, mathematical function

Sep 1, 2012