Developments in Mineral Processing Technology

F B J M Burks
1
and L P H Greenhalgh
2
ABSTRACT
The opportunities offered by an increasingly volatile world invite the
international consultant or engineering services contractor to broaden
attitudes, diversify interests, expand capabilities, retain and develop
specialist skills and base judgements upon sound principles and solid
experience. The wide-ranging scope of this review renects such a change
but the topics of discussion are not intended to be exhaustive or to detract
from many other current developments.
The subject of environmental protection, efnuent control and pollution
prevention is a primary consideration in the application of many mineral
processing technologies but is not covered here. There is an array of
developments relating to noxious gas emissions and toxic wastes and the
paramount importance of this matter justifies comprehensive conferences
dedieated solely to the application of suitable measures. This review
concentrates therefore on the main stream processing techniques for the
primary recovery of values.
GOLD
In South Africa the declining output of gold and the rapidly rising
operating costs continue to motivate step-by-step improvements
in efficiency and cost containment by the development of
improved operational controls, cost reducing measures and plant
designs. As the world's free-milling ore reserves are depleted,
more and more attention is being focused worldwide on
'refractory' ores which require pretreatment, to varying degrees,
using various processes before leaching.
In Australia and the USA the increasing predominance of
refractory ores either in their own right or underlying an oxidised
and easily leached capping has spurred on development work.
This relates mainly to producing a feedstock amenable to
leaching by oxidising the problematical sulphide minerals to
expose the gold particles. Each refractory ore must be subjected
to a comprehensive mineralogical examination and judged on it's
own merits, as differences in mineralogy and gold particle size
can have major implications in the downstream processes. Of
particular interest currently are whole ore roasting, ultrafine
milling and bacteriological oxidation. Increasingly,
environmental protection is a major factor in the selection of a
process route.
In cases where waste dumps and low grade ores contain
significant quantities of detrimental gangue and gold associated
with a heavier species, the use of high density heavy media plants
can be an attractive option in producing a viable feed grade and
tonnage from the + 1 mm size fractions.
Refractory ores
The various processing techniques and selection criteria for
preparing refractory gold ores for leaching are well documented
(Komnitsas and Pooley, 1989; Shoemaker, 1990; Fraser, WalLon,
Wells, 1990). These include fine milling, chlorine oxidation, one
or two-stage roasting, pressure oxidation, bacteriological
oxidation and various chemical oxidation processes, their use
depending upon the ore characteristics and gangue constituents.
1. Process Director, BATEPRO Minerals and Industrial Division
Edward L Bateman, PO Box 7737, Johannesburg 2000, '
South Africa.
2. Technology Development Director, BATEPRO Minerals and
Industrial Division.
Secondary selection criteria would be the size of the deposit, the
sophistication of the area and the availability of technical
expertise and high cost maintenance spares.
Whole ore roasting
Fluidised bed roasting, despite going out of favour due to the air
pollutants of dust, sulphur dioxide and arsenic trioxide, still has
unique advantages when organic carbon is present or when alkali
host rocks preclude the use of pressure oxidation or bio-oxidation
and also when flotation recoveries are poor.
Lurgi's circulating fluidised bed roasters are now being used
successfully for handling these carbonaceous ores and ensure
almost total oxidation of the organic carbon (Figure 1). Fine
milled products are also better handled (McFarland and
Kirshenbaum, 1991; Peinemann 1991). Dry milled, dry feed,
whole ore roasting with oxygen enrichment instead of preheating
is being successfully used on ultra fine gold grained ore where
the flotation recoveries are uneconomic (Deter and McCord,
1991). A further rcfmement in order to reduce sulphur dioxide
and arsenic trioxide stack emissions is the use of calcium in the
feed to fix the sulphur and arsenic as sulphates and arsenates.
Ultra-fine milling
In addition to environmental concerns, the potential drawbacks of
roasting are incomplete oxidation and possibly entrapment of fme
gold in the calcine, both of which can reduce fmal gold recovery.
The oxidation processes essentially break down the sulphide
minerals to expose the gold particles prior to leaching. This
liberation of the gold can be achieved, depending upon the
mineralogy, by using ultra-fine milling techniques either on the
sulphide concentrates or on the roaster calcine (after removal of
the carbonaceous matter) or even on the calcine leach residue.
UlLra-fme milling can be used in conjunction with other
refractory or processes and is particularly applicable to those ores
with very finely disseminated gold in the sulphides and which
give inadequate recoveries when treated by conventional ball
milling. Stirred ball mills and vibrating mills can grind more
fmely than tower mills but at relatively low throughput rates, with
stirred mills producing a more effective grind than vibrating mills
in terms of gold recovery for a much shorter residence time.
Stirred mills supplied by Metprotech can grind finer than 20
micrometres with a product d50 of two to three micrometres.
Among the benefits described by Liddell 1989 and Corrans and
Angove 1991, they do not require any product classification, can
be retrofitted easily into an existing plant as shown in Figure 2
and can also be used as a pre-leaching step. Several small
operations are using these mills in Australia and South Africa
(Mintek Bulletin, No 56).
Bacteriological oxidation
There is increasing and widespread interest in this process which
operates under atmospheric conditions at about 40C. It is
efficient, less costly and less complex than the alternatives, and is
now considered to be well-proven with five plants in operation
worldwide.
In South Africa, Mintek has had a major development program
running since the early-1980s. An association was formed
between Van Eck and Lurie (Pty) Limited of BATEPRO and
Mintek which ultimately led to a (non-exclusive) license
The AuslMM Centenary Conference Adelaide, 30 March - 4 Apn11993
171
F B J M BURKS and LP H GREE HALGH
ROASIER
mD
BIN
CIRCULAIING
rLUID BED
Sysm.t
FlUID &[0
AIR
PREHEAIi R
CAI ClNE
rLUID BED
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QUENCH
lANK
Pll{H(A!D AIR
10 OR' CRINOINe
5[( AIR
---------. CLEANING -------.
AIR
-----'
W.flR
J----,..-
FIG I - CFB roasting plant for gold bearing whole ore (peinemann, 1991).
FIG 2 - Flowsheet of the calcine leach circuit at New Conson Gold Mine
showing the incorporation of the Metprotech Unit (Liddell, 1989).
CAlCINE
rC'ANID(
IV'UlPER
SOlUTION TO
GOlD R(CMRY
CYANI()[
l
agreement enabling VEL to design and engineer the plants with
Mintek carrying out the testwork. General Mining, through a
development program at Fairview Gold Mine, now operates
several bioleach plants based on in-house designs and is
marketing this know-how independently. Anglo American
Corporation in close co-operation with Mintek have, over several
years, also sponsored an extensive test program at Mintek
culminating in a 20-ton per day pilot plant at Vaal Reefs Gold
Mine and recently have agreed to a joint venture with Mintek to
promote the technology worldwide (Mintek Bulletin No 53).
In the early operations the vertical flat blade turbine (VFBT)
agitation systems in the bio-reactor tanks proved to be energy
intensive and costly in terms of capital and power consumption.
In an effort to find a less vigorous yet efficient, reliable and less
costly system for aerating and suspending the slurry, Van Eck and
Lurie in association with Mixtec CC, an agitator supplier,
developed the BX04 impellor blade as described by Riley,
Baguley and Greenhalgh in 1990. This BX04 slotted hydrofoil
impellor was shown to consume less power and perform as well
as the traditional VFBT system. This type of hydrofoil impellor
has resulted in a unique design of reactor which can use air
blowers instead of air compressors up to large tank sizes, thus
further reducing capital and operating costs. By late-l 990, tests
at Genmin's Fairview Gold Mine confmned the success of the
BX04 agitator together with oxygen transfer co-efficients and
other design parameters. On-going development of the impellor
system is nearing completion at Mintek.
The various on-going test programs are geared towards faster
processing and include the proving of thermophilic bacteria
which operate at higher temperatures thus reducing the cost of
temperature control, increasing pulp densities and so reducing
capital costs and also the application of bacteria in the heap
leaching of gold and copper ores.
Activated carbon systems
Carbon adsorption
The carbon-in-pulp process consists of a series of mechanically
agitated tanks in which the activated carbon moves
counter-current to the flow of the leached slurry. Internal pulp
screens allow the pulp to transfer to the next tank while retaining
172 Adelaide,30 March - 4 April 1993 The AuslMM Centenary Conference
the carbon. Considerable development by Mixtec C C has
resulted in a new generation of interstage screen which has
significant advantages over all other interstage screen devices.
Van Eck and Lurie has developed the high efficiency adsorber
(HlAD) which incorporates the Mixtec pump screen (Figure 3).
Although the process chemistry has been proven in other
contactors, an on-going test program is planned to confirm
flowrates, cloth life and the degree of carbon degradation in the
cell. This unit has a high relative capacity and is suitable for use
in transportable plants (Greenhalgh and Riley, 1992). Moreover,
the installed cost of a HIAD is one half of the cost of a
conventional adsorption plant and has a reduced operating cost.
IN
OUT TO NEXT
AOSORSER
FIG 3 - A VEL high efficiency carbon adsorber unit (HIAD).
Continuous elution
For the large majority of elution plants, two batch systems using
cyanide for gold elution have been used worldwide, the pressure
Zadra and the Anglo American Research Laboratories (AARL)
systems. The Zadra system links the elution column and
electrowinning circuit directly whereas the AARL process
separates them and consequently by pretreating the loaded carbon
with sodium cyanide and caustic soda and using soft water for
elution is able to achieve a far shorter cycle time of around six
hours.
Attempts to convert the AARL system to a continuous process
were delayed by the difficulties in controlling the continuous
carbon flow and preventing the loss of pretreatment solutions into
the eluate. In a co-operative venture between Genmin, Van Eck
and Lurie and AARL, a one ton per day continuous elution pilot
plant was erected at Grootvlei Mine and extensively tested over a
period of 15 months, becoming the subject of a paper by
Greenhalgh et al, 1991. Cost comparisons indicated that the
essential financial benefit was in the more efficient usage of the
cyanide added to assist elution as compared to the batch
processes. Another important feature of continuous elution is the
reduced total power consumption and peak power load. The
continuous elution system has a separate pre-treatment section,
above the main elution column, in which the loaded carbon is
contacted with a dilute solution of cyanide and caustic soda. This
solution is recirculated at a controlled temperature, and only a
DEVELOPME TS IN Ml ERAL PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY
minimal quantity is lost to the eluate ensuring that an adequate
ionic solution strength is achieved for electrowinning (Figure 4).
As a result of this work, a modular and continuous acid wash and
elution plant was built for Weltevreden Gold Mine.
(LUAorE
DlSCHARC{
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(llJT'rJH
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'--------ELUTED CNl80H
FIG 4 - Simplified continuous elution flowsheet (Greenhalgh el ai, 1991).
However, to some extent this has been superseded by recent
developments in some of the Zadra and AARL operations. It has
been found possible to reduce and even eliminate the addition of
the pretreatment cyanide as the loaded carbon appears to carry
sufficient cyanide from the leach stage. This suggests that
continuous elution on a large scale may only be worthwhile if
additional sodium cyanide is required for elution, for example,
when copper is co-loaded onto the carbon.
The concept and design of the continuous elution plant lends
itself to conversion into a transportable modular type of plant
with a matching continuous acid wash plant.
Dense media pre-concentration
Cost studies for gold producers have shown a more than
acceptable financial return from using dense media separation
(DMS), with ferrosilicon media, to pre-concentrate materials
coarser than 1 mm. Ore, waste rock dumps or fine tailings which
have been rejected because of low grade or unrecoverable
fractions, or which contain detrimental gangue minerals can be
treated very effectively by DMS. Table 1 is an example of the
true results as predicted by testwork and computer simulation
using DMS cyclones for a waste dump in the Eastern Transvaal.
Note that even for a very high gold recovery a considerable waste
rejection could be achieved.
The AuslMM Centenary Conference
Adelaide. 30 March - 4 April 1993
173
F B J M BURKS and LP H GREENHALGll
TABLE 1
Predicted results for dense media separation ofan eastern
Transvaal gold ore dump.
Head Grade Cut-Point Gold Bearing Sinks
Au CJtlt) SG
% Mass Au (/1.!t) % AuRec
1.15g/t 2.875 21.99 4.94 94.9
2.900 16.33 6.72 94.6
2.925 11.66 9.26 94.3
2.950 9.11 11.83 94.2
1.67 g/t 2.875 20.10 7.27 87.6
2.900 15.17 9.56 86.9
2.925 11.38 12.65 86.3
2.950 8.91 16.07 85.9
2.54 g/t 2.875 22.47 10.49 92.9
2.900 17.20 13.62 92.4
2.925 13.02 17.92 91.9
2.950 10.38 22.39 91.7
The presence of a large percentage of gangue close to the
optimum cut density would indicate that a constant operating
cut-point and an especially efficient separation with a small
cut-point/size shift would be essential firstly to maintain optimum
gold recovery and secondly to avoid serious dilution of the
concentrate.
PLATINUM
The need to maximise the recovery of the collectively valuable
platinum group metals and gold from difficult ores, such as the
UG2 reef of the Bushveld Igneous complex, has provided the
impetus in recent years to consider a number of new process
techniques and equipment types which are developed from those
used in base metal and gold ore processing.
Water-assisted crushing
The concept of adding water to cone crushers is by no means
new. However the crushers were not designed to prevent the
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1
ingress of water into the lubrication system and the conveyors
beneath the crushers were not capable of handling slurries.
Nordberg Inc who have patented Water-Flush crushing
technology (O'Bryan, 1991; Trueman, 1990; Beerkircher and
O'Bryan, 1992) relating to their WF cone crushers, notes that
these have been developed as an alternative or complementary
process to semi-autogenous milling. The crushers can be used as
secondary or tertiary units. Water is injected into the body of the
crusher and is prevented from contaminating the lubrication
system by complex labyrinth seals. The obvious benefits are the
ability to handle wet, sticky, clayey ores and the avoidance of
dust generation. The other benefits claimed are an increased
reduction ratio of up to 8: I, a capacity increase of up to 50 per
cent when compared to dry crushing, the ability to produce a
much finer product and an overall comminution power saving of
up to 25 per cent.
Bateman companies have engineered two applications
including the installation of WF crushers at the Sleeper mine in
Nevada which has been operating since late-1990 and can be
considered to be a success. Ring bounce was experienced in
producing a 4 mm size product and the liner life was as little as
20 days; development work is continuing on these and other
aspects.
Internal studies into the application of WF crushing to a
prospective platinum operation have concluded that an increase
in the operating cost would be outweighed by a dramatic
reduction in capital cost. The tertiary WF crushing stage, with
closed circuit screening [or a product of 6 mm, would be located
in the mill building above the milling circuit to eliminate
interstage storage costs and avoid problems in pumping the
crushed product. using the circuit shown in Figure 5. The finer
mill feed size of 6 mm compared to 12 mm in this study enabled
three milling streams to be cut to two streams with significant
overall cost savings.
Chromite/PGM separation
For many years the UG2 platinum ores of the Bushveld Igneous
complex were considered to be too problematical. as the high
chromite content could contaminate the flotation concentrates and
give major problems in the arc furnaces which would have to
174
FIG 5 . Conceptual Oowsheet for Water Flush crushing of platinum reef.
Adelaide, 30 March - 4 April 1993 The AuslMM Centenary Conference
DEVELOPME TS IN MJ ERAL PROCESSING TECH OLOGY
operate at higher temperatures. The PGM values occur in various
forms in the sulphide minerals primarily but also in the chromites
and gangue minerals. Over-grinding which can lead to
significant flotation losses of PGM is a serious danger and even
coarsely milled pyrrhotite is susceptible to rapid oxidation and
reduced flotation recovery. Extensive testwork and plant
developments have led to many refmements in the milling,
classification, flotation and smelting circuits. These include
sequential milling with interstage flash flotation, the removal of
barren chromites by gravity separation, classification using sieve
bends and vibrating microscreens, and the optimisation of the
complex flotation circuits.
A recent example is the Crocodile River Mine operation which
underwent various stages of expansion, modification and
improvement ultimately reaching a high standard of mineral
processing before being mothballed in 1992 for mining-related
problems. Following extensive testwork by the mine staff, it was
plarmed to remove chromites into about 20 per cent of the mass
based on plant feed. The primary mill product would first be
flash floated to remove liberated coarse sulphide values, then
classified and treated on spirals with the spiral tailings thereafter
reporting to the secondary mill (Figure 6). Besides producing a
saleable spiral chromite concentrate and releasing processing
capacity in the main circuits, this was expected to relieve
chromite loading in the cleaner circuits so that cleaner recoveries
and chromite rejection could be improved. These objectives were
all confirmed in a comprehensive pilot plant which was
constructed and operated successfully.
Unit cell flotation
In 1990/1 unit cells were being used in South Africa with varying
degrees of success in gold, platinum and base metal operations.
Slow floating minerals, discharge valve control and outlet
problems were of concern. Outokumpu skim-float SK 240 cells
were selected for the Crocodile River plant and operated
successfully after modifications to the discharge arrangements.
The base metal sulphides, due to misplacement in the classifying
cyclones, were prone to over-grinding and the pyrrhotite was also
susceptible to sliming. Sequential grinding and flotation was
ultimately adopted with unit cells being installed for the primary
mill discharge. The early removal of values is essential and a
float of about three minutes at 60 per cent solids by mass yielded
a significant product of better than final concentrate grade.
Dense media pre-concentration
Because of the nature of the orebody and the method of mining,
the Crocodile River plant feed contained a large amount of
barren quartzites with a normally small but variable quantity of
talc. As part of an expansion program and in order to remove the
talc before milling and flotation, the use of dense media washing
was examined. By computer application of plant partition data to
raw sink-float analyses using the results of comparable high
density diamond operations, it was predicted that with an
accurate and controlled separation as much as 20 per cent of the
ore would be discarded with a loss of PGMs of one to two per
cent which could be offset by consequential improvements in the
flotation circuits. More immediate plant modifications and the
chromite recovery program took precedence over further work.
Smelting
Studies for prospective Client operations have been conducted
recently for the smelting of PGM flotation concentrates and
nickel concentrates. Comparisons of the primary processes of
reverberatory, flash and electric arc furnaces with Sirosmelt
technology have highlighted the many advantages of Sirosmelt
particularly for large greenfields projects and for small
operations.
FIG 6 - Simplified diagram of Crocodile River Mine l1owsheel.
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Sirosmelt
The process was developed at the CSIRO from 1973 and is
marketed separately by Mount Isa Mines (MIM) and Ausmelt of
Victoria (Floyd, Short, 1993). Although Sirosmelt has not yet
been applied to platinum concentrates a number of smelters using
this technology for other metals are now in operation with more
plarmed in the future with widespread interest (Patterson, 1990).
The furnace is a stationary cylinder and uses a top submerged
lance for high intensity smelting as shown in Figure 7. The lance
is protected by a slag coating solidified by the incoming gases
and the furnace wall can be water-cooled. The process, which is
applicable to many non-ferrous materials, is very versatile and
operator tolerant allowing various operations such as smelting
and converting to be carried out in the same furnace sequentially.
It requires little feed preparation and is environmentally
attractive. The many advantages reported by the suppliers and
confirmed by users include a lower capital and operating cost and
low dust generation of typically 0.5 to one per cent of concentrate
charged.
The more conventional Vanukov technology developed in
Russia and marketed outside Europe by Kaiser Engineers shares
many Sirosmelt advantages but is believed to be more expensive
and requires a separate converting stage. In some retrofit
operations, it may be more appropriate.
Slow cooling of matte
The controlled cooling of converter matte causes PGMs to
concentrate into a metallic alloy phase which is finely dispersed
-O.015tnm
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The AuslMM Centenary Conference Adelalde,3O March - 4 Aprrl1993
175
F B J M BURKS and LP H GREENHALGH
Adelaide, 30 March - 4 April 1993 The AuslMM Centenary Conference
FtG 8 - Outline drawing of Polysius IPC roll crusher.
A third plant using the same starter sheet technology is in the
pipeline where polymer cells will be on grade, with significant
savings in reinforced concrete. Innovative building designs are
also used to reduce acid mist problems.
rEED
DIAMO DS
A major four-module DMS expansion at Jwaneng Mine Recrush
Plant was commissioned in 1991 and the 800-ton-per-hour
showpiece Venetia Main Treatment Plant in 1992. These
sophisticated operations, in the design of which Van Eck and
Lurie was heavily involved, aim for full recovery of the
economically recoverable diamonds and demand continual
innovation to achieve this under all operating conditions.
Interparticle crushing
High pressure Polysius interparticle roll crushers (IPC) (Figure 8)
were installed on the feed at the Jwaneng Recrush Plant to
liberate small diamonds locked in the primary DMS kimberlite
waste. The IPCs are designed with a dynamic gap control system
and are fully automatic. Developments are continuing on
increasing the life of the roll surfaces. Similarily, at Venetia, the
coarse DMS waste (-25 + 8 mm) is recrushed in IPCs to liberate
any locked diamonds for rewashing. IPCs operate at two metres
per second peripheral speed and a width/diameter ratio of 0.2 -
0.6: 1 compared to values of 3 - 6 m/sec and 1-2: 1 for
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in a sulphide phase. By milling the matte and applying magnetic
separation, the two phases can be separated. The magnetic alloy
containing most of the PGMs can then be treated directly in the
PGM refinery after a relatively simple leach process thus
avoiding the costs and lock-up of PGMs in intermediate treatment
through the base metal refmery.
COPPER/COBALT
Solvent extraction
The low copper price in recent years has inhibited new projects
with their associated process spin-offs; nevertheless there are
some improvements of interest particularly in solvent extraction
and electrowinning.
FIG 7 - Schematic drawing of Sirosmell furnace.
The Commodity Research Unit in the UK predicted recently that
40 per cent of the increase in the demand for copper by the year
2000 will be met by solvent extraction and electrowinning
processing.
The move towards higher capacity mixer/settlers is being led
by Krebs who have been able to achieve up to a four-fold
improvement upon conventional flowrates for uranium and rare
earths. However this benefit is at some cost in terms of access
and Krebs have also limited their largest unit size possibly
through concerns over scale-up. E and C International, Inc, of
Tucson, an E L Bateman company since 1992, has been
continuously involved in copper projects including heap leaching
since 1985, in the USA, Mexico and South America and has
many innovative ideas such as those relating to the shape,
arrangement and materials of construction for mixer settlers and
is currently developing a modular, easily transportable plant to
enable smaller tonnage prospects to become viable.
Electrowinning
E and C International built the Cananea electrowinning plant, the
second outside Australia to use ISA stainless steel starter sheets
following the successful introduction of the technology by
Magma Copper where a patented plastic edging strip was also
developed to improve the ease of stripping off the copper
cathodes.
176
DEVELOPMENTS I MI ERAL PROCESSING TECH OLOGY
conventional roll crushers. Reduction ratios of well in excess of
100: 1 are achieved.
>ClUI{ oun.! IOIlO
Dense media separation
The DMS cyclone circuits treat the -25 + 8 mm and the -8 m + I
mm fractions separately. in two modules each. at the Venetia
plant. For the first time. tri-slope Siebtechnik banana screens
were installed for the floats drain and rinse duty in all four
modules in order to reduce the required screen width to suit the
plant arrangement. The screens have been a total success and
ferrosilicon carry-over has been considerably less than normally
measured with conventional horizontal screens. The Venetia
pump circuits are automated and self-balancing. fail-safe under
all stop conditions to prevent loss of diamonds and ferrosilicon
during abnormal operations and optimise power draw using
variable speed pumps controlled from head tank level sensors.
In a separate development relating to small modular plants. De
Beers have developed the so-called underwater screen for use in
drain and rinse applications. The gravel bed on the screen is
submerged to improve recovery of the ferrosilicon and it is
understood that the specific capacity of the screen is also higher
than with conventional screens. Several modules are in
operation.
Recovery
The Venetia concentrates are delivered 0.5 kilometres to the
recovery plant by means of a Japanese pipe conveyor (JPC).
selected for security reasons. Unlike previous plants which used
dry X-ray fluorescence (XRF) sorters on a carefully dried feed
larger than 2 mm. the Venetia plant accepts wet concentrate down
to 1 mm in wet XRF units in a development made possible by
improvements in the machine electronics. Grease belts are
incorporated as a safety measure to treat the -3 + I mm XRF
tailings and the entire operation including degreasing and grease
recirculation is automated and controlled by the plant supervisory
system.
Sorting
The search for automatic foolproof sorting systems continues
with R and D programs and includes Lazer-Raman sorting.
ultra-violet radiation sorting. high sensitivity sorting at extremely
short fluoresence radiation wavelengths and the detection of
diamonds fully enclosed within conglomerate.
COAL
Coal preparation is a mature technology. awaiting the invention
of more cost-effective processes with the same far-reaching
potential exhibited in the past when dense media cyclones and
activated carbon gold recovery processes were introduced.
Notably. the most efficient processes for fine and ultra-frne coal
beneficiation and dewatering are generally unjustifiable from the
viewpoint of a high cost producer or for low qualityllow price
coals. Less costly but equally effective processes are required.
Dense Media Separation (DMS)
Developments in DMS reflect a consolidation and rationalisation
of existing know-how relating to overall flowsheet integration.
small improvements in equipment, DMS circuit philosophies.
control systems and cost optimisation.
The LARCODEMS process which is marketed for British Coal
(BC) by JMC Mining Services can treat over 250 ton/hour of
-100 + 1 mm deslimed coal in a single vessel with a higher
efficiency than a hydraulic separator such as a jig. and is in
operation at several plants in the United Kingdom (Shah. 1988;
Abbott and Everitl, 1991). The vessel (Figure 9) is supplied as an
VORTEXTRJ,CTOR
~ l i t ~
i l l ~ .<lllltXTllACroo
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FIG 9 - LARCODEMS castings.
integral part of a low cost plant module which includes all of the
essential beneficiation equipment and is suited to large and small
users. In certain applications the LARCODEMS concept of
straightforward high density washing may be cost competitive for
larger more conservative operations. Comprehensive performance
testing has been completed at Goldthorpe Colliery by BC/JMC
and the results are reported to confirm those measured initially at
the Point of Ayr plant. A modelling program at the Bretby offices
of British Coal is able to predict the performance for any
prospective coal. An interesting program is in progress to
develop a two-stage directly linked LARCODEMS arrangement
which is extremely compact and will allow for independent
density control in each stage to yield two products and a waste
(Figure 10). This arrangement as discussed by Tyler 1992. would
,,t*JW IHl!1
I
I
I
FIG 10 - Three product LARCODEMS.
The AuslMM Centenary Conference Adelaide, 30 March 4 AprJl1993
177
F B J M BURKS and LP H GREENHALGH
suit the design for a staged plant expansion from a single to a
double wash.
The Wemco H900 seroIl-basket vibrating centrifuge is being
increasingly used in South Africa for dewatering the product from
fmes spiral plants which are now standard throughout the
industry. Scroll and basket life is limited but the product. surface
moisture contents are typically 12 - 14 per cent and work tS under
way to increase the capacity of the machines. Improvements to
conventional wet drum permanent magnet separators by several
suppliers in South Africa have primary concentrate
densities of over 2.3 sa and secondary tailmgs losses of less than
0.2 gII of magnetite. The Council for Scientific and Industrial
Research (CSIR), South Africa, is developing an efficient low
cost magnetic separator for use on dilute streams.
Reduction of abrasives
In cases where the extraction of an export quality fraction was not
justifiable, South African run-of-mine bituminous coals have
traditionally been fed directly to the power stations after dry
destoning and crushing, with few exceptions. Although the
stations are designed for a high waste content by world standards,
Eskom, the national power utility, has recognised the potential
benefits of reducing the content of abrasive minerals and
detrimental elements in their feedstock. Simple cost-effective,
wet destoning modules, probably using DMS for reliability and
minimal coal loss are under serious consideration by operators
(Hand, 1991).
Re-washing of discards
In a symposium in 1992 on the potential for re-washing current
Witbank discards at many CoIlieries, Burks and CressweIl
confirmed that as much as 45 per cent of the mass of the rejects
coarser than 0.1 mm could be recovered by simple washing to a
20 MJ/kg local power station feedstock or up to 78 per cent as
feed to a suitable fluidised bed combustor (Table 2). A
comparison of the process options concluded that a single washer
for the + 1 mm fractions such as, for example, a LARCODEMS
or a Barrel Washer, with fme coal spirals, would be the most
competitive and financially attractive processes.
TABLE 2
Predictions for beneficiation ofsome Witbank discards current in
1986for a product of20 MJ/kg (air dried basis).
System Size Range Yield Amon- Surface
mm % ised %
Cost Product
Randslt Moisture
DMSDrum lOO + 6(68%) 42.5 4.3 2.5
DMS Cyclone -6 + 0.5(25%) 62.9 7.3 7.5
Spirals -0,5 + 0.1(7%) 59.1 11.0 12.5
Barrel Washer -lOO + 0.5 40.9 3.9 4.1
LARCODEMS -lOO + 0.5 47.6 3.8 4.1
GRAPHITE
International interest in natural graphite production has increased
foIlowing market upsets in 1989 and 1992 by China which
supplies about 50 per cent of the world market and also by
pending legislation in the USA on the use of asbestos which
competes with graphite for gasket manufacture. Graphite is
marketed in some 150 grades, the grade being defined by flake
size, ash and carbon content, and premium prices (eg US$1
800/ton) are paid for the coarser, higher carbon content flake (lOO
micrometres is the demarcation size between flake and powder).
8eneficiation
Graphite is naturally floatable with minimal reagent usage but the
difficulty is in obtaining the critical carbon grade of 98 per cent
without destroying flake sizes. Liberation of the graphite from
the interlaminar gangue minerals and the solution to mechanical
entrapment of gangue between the flakes during flotation require
innovative processing. Co-operation between Van Eck and Lurie
and Mintek in Rossing's Namibian project led to the successful
installation of a pilot circuit incorporating up to seven stages of
flotation each one separately controIled with precisely selected
recirculations. Specialised techniques are used in milling, gravity
separation, flotation, drying and bagging (Figure 11). Careful
control of the plant using the MicBal package developed by the
University of the Witwatersrand is essential for the achievement
of carbon quality and the maxirnisation of coarse flake. The
two-ton-per-hour modular pilot plant has elicited worldwide
interest and developments are continuing.
Chemical upgrading
Certain graphite markets require a carbon purity of over 99.5 per
cent and a chemical process involving a single stage acid leach
has been developed to achieve this. In addition, an alkali
chemical leach has been developed for removing impurities to
meet certain other market requirements.
APPLIED MI ERALOGY
The comprehensive analytical programs which are offered by
various facilities for complex ores are now more frequently used
than before as a low cost tool for minimising major risks. These
are applied to obtain a full understanding of mineral associations
in the ore, for defining process testwork programs and flowsheets
and for solving production problems and are crucial for correct
metallurgical design (Baum, 1990 and 1992).
The basic techniques are optical microscopy, scanning electron
microscopy (SEM), and electron microprobe analysis (EMP)
integrated with an image analyser. In the case of refractory gold
ores, Chryssoulis and Cabri 1990, utilised the ion-probe
microanalyser (SIMS) to more accurately quantify the 'invisible'
gold in the form of solid solution or as coIloidal gold at
concentrations below the detection limit of SEM. The solid
solution gold carmot be recovered by direct cyanidation; the
colloidal gold which is cyanidable may be contained in gangue
minerals and lost to tailings during flotation but this new
knowledge can lead to new approaches and improvements in
processing the ore.
Image analysis provides geometrical information for milling,
leaching and flotation studies amongst others and can be obtained
through the CSIRO (QEM-SEM) and Mintek (South Africa).
Case studies of the application of mineralogical analysis were
presented at Mintek in 1992. The new Consort Gold Mine roasts
a refractory pyritic/arsenopyritic concentrate. Microscopic
analysis identified that the crystals formed during quenching of
the arsenic trioxide vapour were arsenolite and claudetite.
According to Knou-Craig 1992, this ultimately enabled the
process variables to be defined for the optimum production of the
more manageable arsenolite.
Another example by Peyerl 1992, showed that platinum group
metals in the Bushveld complex (Merensky Reef) occurred as
discrete particles (45 per cent), sub-microscopic solid solutions in
base metal sulphides (50 per cent) and also as a solid solution in
the silicate and oxide gangue minerals (five to ten per cent).
Although the latter should not be recoverable, studies are
continuing.
A report by Martin 1992, on the Black Mountain
copperllead/zinc operation revealed that the erratic zinc grades
occasionally experienced were due to different types of sphalerite
178 Adelaide. 30 March 4 April 1993 The AuslMM Centenary Conference
DEVELOPME TS IN Ml ERAL PROCESSING TECH OLOGY
[ROM flEO - ,r--
l
RQU(,H[R.
SCAVlNC[R
fLOTATION
11\11f------l IAJ'''CS
Cl[AN(R
flor"HON
-- HM[
.. J.l(OMJw rw
rw.l
PO R
(lRtlNC
ct1t1J



CRAPHIT(
CONC[NTRAT[
....CNTI(
S[PARAILON
L- ----' ----::::r

FIG 11 - Conceptual Oowshect for graphite processing.
(iron, zinc content) which exhibit different notation properties.
Furthermore, high cobalt analyses in the sphalerite concentrate
were due to solid solution cobalt within the sphaJerite mineral.
COMPUTER APPLICATIONS
To complement software developed in-house, plant designers and
operators are making increasing use of the powerful suites of
modelling programs for many mineral processes which have been
available for several years from the Julius Kruttschnill Mineral
Research Centre (JKMRC - JKSimMet) and indirectly from the
University of the Witwatersrand (Wits - MicroSim), as well as the
dynamic simulation programs such as SysCAO from Kenwalt
Systems (Pty) Limited which have been developed in parallel.
The potential for useful synergy between the programmes was
recognised in 1991 when Kenwalt and JKTech signed an
agreement to market each company's product.
Mass balance models
Simple spreadsheet programs for flowsheet balancing are widely
used for plant design but these are not always suitable for
processing actual plant data in order to obtain a true plant mass
balance. Small errors in plant results can produce meaningless
mass balances in some instances. For this purpose a smoothing
program based upon statistical error calculation of numerous
plant results gives a satisfactory result as described by Woollacoll
and Stange. 1987.
The Wits MicBal program offers some advantages in flexibility
with regard to the number of process streams and data input and
was selected to smooth the Rossing graphite pilot plant data for
incorporation into the mass balance spreadsheel. This enabled 35
pilot plant set-ups to be speedily evaluated and the final
configuration to be selected.
Steady state models
A steady state simulator evaluates the status of each process unit
under equilibrium conditions and is used to determine the effect
at the individual units as any feed characteristic is changed. The
JKSimMet semi-autogenous milling program was used to
simulate the existing mill operations at Palabora Copper Mine as
the quantity of doleritic granite varied in the feed (Stange, Blois
and Steynberg, 1992). Figure 12 illustrates the effect of
throughput and dolerite feed content on the mill power draw for
the two options of pebble crushing (PC) and dolerite milling
(OM). This problem had been foreseen and the simulation was
an inexpensive means of testing the problem and possible
solutions so that counteractive measures could be plarmed in
advance.
E and C International have recently commissioned Kenwalt to
construct a static simulation model for copper solvent
extraction/electrowinning circuits using practical
equilibrium/extraction isotherms to reflect process changes for
various combinations of extraction and stripping stages.
Dynamic simulation models
This type of model, such as the Kenwalt SysCAO package,
simulates the liquid and solid circuit control systems enabling
dynamic plant changes to be tested for their effect upon the entire
operation. Size distributions, sump levels and mass flows, for
example, can be reported. The SysCAO package was applied in
the design and computer control software development of the
new Venetia diamond plant.
The use of computer simulation is an essential tool for the
modem process engineer and the challenge is to increase its use
in the area of plant design.
The AuslMM Centenary Conference
Adelaide. 30 March 4 April 1993
179
F B J M BURKS and LP H GREENHALGH
Total power draw, MW
6.9
1200 1100 1000
--IlIll-
--- *
---EJ
900 800 700
---
.0'--
././ lIE'
./
./
./
./
./
./
0'
//lIE
/
/
/
(1
lIE
6.8
6.3
6.5
6.6
6.4
6.1
600
6.7
6.2
Throughput, TPH
FIG 12 - The effect of throughput and ore hardness on total power draw (Stange, Blois, Steynberg, 1992).
Pebble crusher: ---+---+--- 50 per cent dolerite, 20 per cent dolerite
Dolerite mill: ------- 50 per cent dolerite, 20 dolerite.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to acknowledge the professional advice and
assistance of the staff of BATEPRO Minerals and Industrial
Division in the compilation of this paper and also the
management of BATEPRO for permission to produce the paper.
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Adelaide. 30 March - 4 April 1993
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182
Adelaide, 30 March - 4 April 1993 The AuslMM Centenary Conference