Kuliah

PENGOLAHAN MINERAL
Dr. FARID MULANA, ST, M.Eng.
Teknik Pertambangan
Universitas Syiah Kuala
u1"

Typical Beneficiation Steps

Beneficiation: the enrichment of ores and separation of unwanted
gangue minerals so subsequent treatment to get the metals is more
efficient. Uses only mechanical, physical, and physico-chemical methods.
Can be divided into two distinct steps.
Liberation: rock is broken down by mechanical means so that the individual
mineral components become independent of each other, i.e., each is
detached or liberated.
Separation: valuable minerals are separated from the rest by means of
physical and physico-chemical methods making use of differences in
specific gravity, magnetic properties, etc."

Mineral Processing Methods =

beneficiation + extractive metallurgy"

Watch for chemical aspects within

physical separation methods

Particle Size Reduction

u4"

Comminution is a process of
reduction of particle size of
substance by mechanical influence. !
Motivation for particle size reduction:!
uincrease specific surface of
substances,!
uincrease the free surface energy of
crushed substances,!
usignificantly increase the speed of
chemical and diffusion processes,!
ustrengthen the pharmacological

Comminution is characterized by
the symbol index i - the degree of
comminution of substances.
I equal ratio of the diameter of
pieces of material to the milling (D) to
particles diameter after ones (d).

i = D / d!

Introduction
u Milling is the basic process of progressive
chip removal to produce a surface.
u Mill cutters have single or multiple teeth
that rotate about an axis, removing
material.
u Often the desired surface in obtained in a
single pass of cutter or workpiece with very
good surface finish.
u Milling is particularly well suited and widely
used for mass production.
u More flat surfaces are produced by milling
than by any other machining processes.

Fundamentals of Milling Processes

u Milling is classified in two categories:
lPeripheral milling (also called Slab
milling) - the surface is generated
by teeth located on the periphery
of the cutter body. The surface is
parallel with the axis of rotation of
the cutter.
lEnd milling: also called facing
milling, the surface generated is at
a right angle to the cutter axis.
Material is removed by the
peripheral teeth and the face
portion providing finishing action.

Types of milling in depend on degree

of comminution in how much times
the particles size was reduced): !
1. Great (large) in 2-6 times; !
2. Medium - up 6-10 times; !
3. Fine - at 10-50 times; !
4. Micro fine - in 50-100 times; !
5. Super fine - thin (colloidal) in
100-10000 times. !

Applications of size reduction

equipment

Classification equipment for

milling: !

By the way of milling: !

!
1. Cutting machine !
2. Attrition machine !
3. Compression

machine !

4. Impact machine !
5. Impact - Centrifugal machine!

Classification equipment for

milling: !
By the degree of comminution:

1. crushers:
!
for great, medium, fine milling;

2. mills:
!
for micro fine, superfine (colloid) milling.!

Classification equipment
for milling:!
By the mechanism used to break the particles: !
!
1. Disc !
2. Boll !
3. Rotor !
4. Hammer !
5. Rollers and others!

Requirements for the milling

process: !
1. Substances must has initial its composition
and pharmacological properties during the
milling process; !
2. Periodically to remove enough milled
particles from the sphere of comminution; !
3. Prevent formation of dust (sealed
enclosures); !
4. Appropriate moisture of material; !
5. The use of sequence connected crushingmilling machines. !

Parameters for choosing optimal

type of machines: !
1. Initial size of the material and
desirable size of final product !
2. The total amount of material for
milling!
3. Physical and chemical properties
of material for milling !

Crushes machines which

are used for milling solid
materials:
!
u Cheek and jaw mill!
u Rollers mill!
u Cone mill!
u Hammer mill!
u Disk mill (Excelsior)!

uJaw mill type shock

Grasscutting!

Grasscutting!

Cutting mill!

Roller mills

uUsing to mill wheat.

uTwo or more steel rollers revolve
towards each other and pull particles
of food through the nip (the space
between the rollers).
uThe size of the nip is adjustable for
different foods and overload springs
protect against accidental damage
from metal or stones.

Rollers mill!

1,2 - rolls!
3 - spring !

Rollers mill !

Disc mills
Single-disc mills in which food passes through
an adjustable gap between a stationary casing
and a grooved disc, which rotates at high
speed.
Double-disc mills which have two discs that
rotate in opposite directions to produce
greater shearing forces.

uPin-and-disc mills
which have intermeshing pins
fixed either to the single disc and
casing or to double discs. These
improve the effectiveness of
milling by creating additional
impact and shearing forces.

Disk mill (Excelsior)

!

IMPACT - CENTRIFUGAL MILLS: !

uHammer mill!
uDysmembrator!
uDisintegrator !

Hammer mills

uThese have a horizontal cylindrical

chamber, lined with a toughened
steel breaker plate.
uA high-speed rotor inside the
chamber is fitted with swinging
hammers along its length.
uUsing for crystalline and fibrous
materials including spices and
sugar.

Size Reduction Equipment

Hammer Mill
Intermediate crusher
Feed P.S.:0.5-50mm, Product P.S.: 0.1-5 mm
Size control:Hammer speed,
screen size, feed size
Use of deflectors to present
the particles into hammer impact
Advantages: Ease of cleaning,
Minimum scale-up problems
Disadvantages: Clogging of
screen, heat build up on milling,
Mill and screen wear!

Hammer mill

Hammer mill!
1 - rotor;!
2 - hammer ;!
3 - corps;!
4 - plates.!

Hammer mill!

Hammer mill!

Disintegrator !

Machines for fine milling: !

Drum mills: !
u Ball mills !
u Rod mills !
u Mills, in which material are milled
by acting of own weight: !
u Mills Continuous action !
u Mills periodic action !

Ball mills
u These have a slowly rotating, horizontal steel
cylinder which is half filled with steel
balls 2.515 cm in diameter.
l At low speeds, the small balls are used.
l At higher speeds, the larger balls are used.

u They are used to produce fine powders, such

as food colourants.

Ball Mill!
u

Fine crusher (Feed size: 1-5 mm. Product size: <0.2 mm)!

Mechanism of size reduction: impaction and sompression!

Critical speed= 76.6/square root of D. At this speed the centrifugal force

becomes greater than the gravitational force and the balls held at the mill
walls without milling!

Advantages: wet or dry milling, continuous, abrasive material can be milled!

Disadvantages: long milling time, tedious cleaning, high power consumption

Ball mill !

Ball mill!

Work of Ball mill!

Machines for Superfine milling :

!
u Vibration mills !
u Jet mills !
u Colloidal mills:!
u Rotor - Pulsating apparatus
(RPA) !

Work of Jet mills!

Jet mills!

Equipment for Colloidal milling

(vibration-cavitation mill, Conical mill )!

A colloid mill is used to reduce the particle !

size of a solid in suspenn, or to reduce the!
droplet size of a liquid suspended in another!
liquid. This is done by applying high !
levels of hydraulic shear. !
It is frequently used to increase the stability !
of suspensions and emulsions.!

Colloid Mill!

u The mill consists of a rotor and stator!

u Clearance from zero to1 mm!
u Thin film of material is passed !
Between working surfaces is !
Subjected to high shear!
Product size: < 5 microns!

Colloid Mill!

Fluid Energy Mill!

Ultra-fine particle size production !

Feed p. size:5OO microns!
Product p. size:5-30 micons (Ultra-fine)!
Grinding medium: superheated steam or !
compressed air!
Mechanism of size reduction: attrition and impaction!
Built in classifiier !
Advantages: !
*Suitable for thermo-labile substances !
because of the effect of the expanding gasses!
*Inert gasses can be used to minimize oxidation!
*Effective in producing huge surface area!

Sifting
(Sorting, Screens) -
is process department more large or
more small particles of primary mass
separation loose materials on separate
fraction that differ form and size. !

Factors what affect on process of

Sifting : !
1. Shape and size of sieves!
2. Thickness of material layer on sieve!
3. Humidity of material!
4. Movement speed of materials on the sieve !
5. Nature of movement and length of way
material!
6. Work Speed of sifting !

Classification sieves

depend on way

of make: !

1. Wicker sieve - by binding thin filaments or

wires, with silk, steel and others. Filaments
are easily extracted and not strong,
although cheap. !
2. Stamped sieve - by punching metal plate
with the formation of frequent round, oval
or square holes. They are very strong and
widely used in industry, but have rather
large holes, so are not suitable for small
particles. !

3. Combination by combination metal plates.

They are very strong, but have low

Classification sieves depend on

nature of movement !
1. Sieves, rotary - a cylindrical drum sieve, which
is set at an angle. It consists of sections of
sieves with different size holes that can
differentiate between material in size.!
2. Sieve that swing - is installed on the box
spring rests at an angle to the horizontal 7-14.!
3. Vibration sieve - the structure is the same as
in sieve that swing , but have a great
frequency vibrations - vibrations.!

Vibration sieve!

Mixing is process which ia used

for achievement uniformity
of mixtures. !
Classification of mixers: !
1. Mixers with rotating blades!
2. Mixers with rotating corps!
3. Circulation mixers which contains cone that
rotates on a vertical axis!
4.

Mixers with fluidized layer (material is

thrown up by the air pressure).!

Mixer with rotating corps

Patterson-Kelley !

Mixer with rotating corps

Patterson-Kelley

Mixer with rotating corps

Ambica Boiler & Fabricators !

Mixer with rotating blades

Ambica Boiler & Fabricators !

Mixer with continuous action!

Mixer - "Drunk barrel" !

uSize Determination

uSieving
uSieving is a mechanical size
uSeparation process.
u

Widely used in the food

uIndustry for

* separating fine from

ularger particle

* removing large solid

uParticle from liquid stream

uSieve Analysis
uInvolves :
u - Passing the material being sized through
openings of a particular standard size in a screen.
u - The particle-size distribution is then reported
as the weight percentage retained on each of a
series of standard sieves of decreasing size and the
percentage passed of the finest size.

uSieving is a gravity-driven process. usually a stack of

u sieves are used when fraction of various sizes are
uto be produce from a mixture of particle size

uWhen the sieve are

inclined, the particles
retained on the screen
fall off at the lower
end and are collected
by a conveyor.
Screening and particle
size separation can
thus be carried out
automatically

uStandard sieve size

uSieves may be designated by the opening size,
uUS sieve mesh or Tyler sieve mesh
uThe US-sieve mesh designation is the metrication
uThe Tyler mesh designation refer to the number of
uopening per inch.
uThe two mesh designations have equivalent opening
usize although the sieve number designations are not
uexactly the same.

uStandard US-sieve size

Methods for determining particle size!

u Microscopy!
u Sieving!
u Sedimentation techniques!
u Optical and electrical sensing zone method!
u Laser light scattering techniques!
u (Surface area measurement techniques)!

u69"

Choosing a method for particle sizing!

u Nature of the material to be sized, e.g.!
!estimated particle size and particle size range!
!solubility!
!ease of handling!
!toxicity!
!flowability!
!intended use!
u Cost !
!capital!
!running!
u Specification requirements!
u Time restrictions!

u70"

Microscopy!
!Optical microscopy (1-150m)!
!Electron microscopy (0.001-)!
!
u Being able to examine each particle individually has led
to microscopy being considered as an absolute
measurement of particle size. !
u Can distinguish aggregates from single particles!
u When coupled to image analysis computers each field
can be examined, and a distribution obtained.!
u Number distribution !
u Most severe limitation of optical microscopy is the depth
of focus being about 10m at x100 and only 0.5m at
x1000. !
u With small particles, diffraction effects increase causing
blurring at the edges - determination of particles < 3m
is less and less certain.!

u71"

For submicron particles it is necessary to use either !

u TEM (Transmission Electron Microscopy) or !
u SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy).!
u TEM and SEM (0.001-5m)!

u72"

Types of Diameters!
u Martin's diameter (M)
!!
!The length of the line which bisects the particle image. The lines may
be drawn in any direction which must be maintained constant for all
image measurements.!
u Feret's diameter (F) !!
!is the distance between two tangents on opposite sides of the
particle, parallel to some fixed direction.!
u Projected area diameter (da or dp)
!!
!is the diameter of a circle having the same area as the particle viewed
normally to the plane surface on which the particle is at rest in a
stable position. !
Others:!
u Longest dimension:
!!
!a measured diameter equal to the maximum value of Feret's diameter.!
u

Perimeter diameter:
!!
!the diameter of a circle having the same circumference as the perimeter of the
particle.!

Maximum chord:
!!
!a diameter equal to the maximum length of a line parallel to some fixed direction
and limited by the contour of the particle.!

u73"

Manual Optical Microscopy!

!!
!Advantages!
u Relatively inexpensive!
u Each particle individually examined - detect aggregates,
2D shape, colour, melting point etc.!
u Permanent record - photograph!
u Small sample sizes required!
!!
!Disadvantages!
u Time consuming - high operator fatigue - few particles
examined!
u Very low throughput!
u No information on 3D shape!
u Certain amount of subjectivity associated with sizing u7bias!
4"
operator

Transmission and Scanning Electron Microscopy!

!
Advantages!
u Particles are individually examined!
u Visual means to see sub-micron specimens!
u Particle shape can be measured!
Disadvantages!
u Very expensive!
u Time consuming sample preparation!
u Materials such as emulsions difficult/impossible to
prepare!
u Low throughput - Not for routine use!

u75"

Automatic and Image Analysis Microscopes!

!!
!Advantages!
u Faster and less operator fatigue than manual!
u No operator bias!
!!
!Disadvantages!
u Can be very expensive!
u No human judgement retained e.g. to separate out
aggregates, select or reject particles etc. (unlike semiautomatic) !

u76"

Sieving!
u Sieve analysis is performed using a nest or stack of
sieves where each lower sieve has a smaller aperture
size than that of the sieve above it. !
u Sieves can be referred to either by their aperture size or
by their mesh size (or sieve number). !
u The mesh size is the number of wires per linear inch.!
u Approx. size range : 5m - ~3mm !
l Standard woven wire sieves!
l Electroformed micromesh sieves at the lower end or range (<

20m)!
l Punch plate sieves at the upper range.!

u77"

u Sieving may be performed wet or dry; by machine

or by hand, for a fixed time or until powder passes
through the sieve at a constant low rate!
u Wet sieving!
u Air-jet sieving!
u Weight distribution!

u78"

Advantages!
u Easy to perform!
u Wide size range!
u Inexpensive!
Disadvantages!
u Known problems of reproducibility!
u Wear/damage in use or cleaning!
u Irregular/agglomerated particles!
u Rod-like particles : overestimate of under-size!
u Labour intensive!

u79"

United States Pharmacopeia

General Chapters: <811> POWDER FINENESS

Classification of Powders by Fineness

Classification of Powder d50 Sieve Opening (m)
Very Coarse
Coarse

> 1000
3551000

Moderately Fine

180355

Fine

125180

Very Fine

90125

d50= smallest sieve opening through which 50% or more of the material passes

u80"

Electrical sensing zone method Coulter Counter!

u Instrument measures particle
volume which can be expressed
as dv : the diameter of a sphere
that has the same volume as the
particle. !
u T h e n u m b e r a n d s i z e o f
particles suspended in an
electrolyte is determined by
causing them to pass through
an orifice an either side of
which is immersed an electrode. !
u T h e c h a n g e s i n e l e c t r i c
impedance (resistance) as
particles pass through the
orifice generate voltage pulses
whose amplitude are
proportional to the volumes of
the particles. !
u8
1"
u Volume
distribution!

Optical sensing zone method!

u Obscuration of light source relates to particle size
(area)!
u Advantage of not requiring medium to be an
electrolyte!

u82"

Laser light scattering techniques!

u Laser Diffraction Particle Size Analysis !
l (Particle size range 0.02-2000m) !

u Photon Correlation Spectroscopy!

l (Particle size range :1nm to 5m)

u83"

Suspension

Material
Gas

Gas

Liquid

Solid

Liquid
Fuel sprays
Paints
Aerosols
Inhalers

Bubbles

Solid
Powders not liquid
dispersible.
Pneumatic transport
soluble powders

Emulsions
Powders easily liquid
2 phase fluids
dispersed.
Cohesive powders.
Reference standards
(reticules)

u84"

Advantages:!
!
u Non-intrusive : uses a low power laser beam !
u Fast : typically <3minutes to take a measurement and analyse. !
u Precise and wide range - up to 64 size bands can be displayed
covering a range of up to 1000,000:1 in size.!
u Absolute measurement, no calibration is required. The
instrument is based on fundamental physical properties.!
u Simple to use!
u Highly versatile!
Disadvantages:!
u expense!
u volume measurement all other outputs are numerical
transformations of this basic output form, assuming spherical
particles!
u must be a difference in refractive indices between particles
and suspending medium!

u85"

PCS!
u Large particles move more slowly than small particles, so that
the rate of fluctuation of the light scattered from them is also
slower.!
u PCS uses the rate of change of these light fluctuations to
determine the size distribution of the particles scattering light.!
u Comparison of a "snap-shot" of each speckle pattern with
another taken at a very short time later (microseconds). !
u The time dependent change in position of the speckles relates
to the change of position of the particles and hence particle
size.!
u The dynamic light signal is sampled and correlated with itself
at different time intervals using a digital correlator and
associated computer software. !
u The relationship of the auto-correlation function obtained to
time intervals is processed to provide estimates of the particle
u86"
size distribution.!

Advantages:!
u Non-intrusive !
!!
u Fast
!
!!
u Nanometre size range!
Disadvantages:!
u Sample prep critical!
u Vibration, temperature fluctuations can interfere with
analysis!
u Restricted to solid in liquid or liquid in liquid samples!
u Expense!
u Need to know R.I. values and viscosity!

u87"

u88"

Particle size distribution!

u89"

u90"

Separation Terminology
u Separation Techniques take advantage of the differences in
characteristics between minerals:!
l Flotation: Attachment of minerals to air bubbles hydrophibicity!
l Magnetic Separation: Apply magnetic field to minerals or
heavy media!
l Radiometric sorting: Read or apply radiometric field to
minerals!
l Gravity Separation: differences in specific gravity of
materials, Stokes law, centrifugal force, sedimentation!
l Electrostatic Separation: Apply electrostatic polarity!
u Particle size distribution, shape, and density has large influence
on results!

u Separation Methods:!
lFroth Flotation !
lGravity!
lMagnetic!
lElectrostatic!
lRadiometric/Photometric!
u Solid/liquid separation (Dewatering)!
lThickeners/Clarifiers!
lFilters!
lDriers!
!

Mineral Processing Terminology Review

u Concentration: Another word for grade!
u Heads: A term that is used to denote the mineral
found in the FEED to a circuit.!
u Head Grade: aka feed concentration!
u Middlings: valuable mineral plus gangue locked
together !
u Concentrate: a purified mineral. May require
further downstream processing to convert for
end uses. Examples: Copper and nickel sulfides !
u Tailings - Material rejected from a mill after the
recoverable valuable minerals have been
extracted.!

u Separation of concentrates often performed

prior to chemical processes"
u Solid-liquid separation used everywhere "

Mineral Processing!
u Two basic operating strategies common in
separatory circuit operation.!
uMaximize recovery while maintaining
concentrate grade. !
uMaximize concentrate grade while
maintaining recovery.!
u Strategy ultimately based on sales contract
penalty charges for impurities!

uFroth flotation:!
uMost common method for
separating sulfide minerals from
each other and from waste
minerals or gangue !
uAlso used in potash, phosphates!
uA stream of air bubbles is
passed through the pulp. Being
hydrophobic, the particles attach
to the bubbles which, of course,
are filled with air. !
uThe bubbles float to the surface
and collect in a froth layer that
either flows over the top !

Froth Flotation!

u Chemical additives: !

Froth Flotation!

uFrother: a long chain alkyl alcohol, is added to stabilize the froth layer. !
u Collector: organic chemical (eg. Xanthates), selectively adsorbs onto the surface of
the mineral of interest and renders it hydrophobic (afraid of water) non-polar head!
u Modifier: adjust pH of water!
uActivator: cause a mineral to float with a collector when it would otherwise not float.!
uDepressant: prevent a mineral from floating. Example: Starch, guar depress flotation
of clays in potash !

Froth Flotation!
Water mineral surface chemistry:!
uWater is a polar molecule. Hydrogen
atoms have slightly positive charge,
oxygen slightly negative charge.!
uThus, pH has a important effect on
flotation performance!
uParticles may have an electrical
charge on their surface when placed in
water.!
uSign and magnitude of the charge
depends on the atoms on the particle
surface and the ions in solution. !
uSurface will tend to dominate the
flotation properties of the mineral!
uSulphide minerals can react with
oxygen (oxidize) in water used during
mining and concentrating processes.!
uThese reactions can change the
surface charge usually rendering it
hydrophilic, thus non-floating. "

Flotation!
u Flotation cell froth, carrying wet concentrate!
u Color of froth reflects the mineral particles being
recovered. High grade material has a distinct color. !
u More locked particles and gangue will change the color. !
u If froth is completely barren, it will be clear to white and
milky. !

Flotation!
u Flotation cell flow!

Flotation!

u Process control parameters:!

l Feed grade - increase in will result in a higher grade
final concentrate at approximately the same recovery
(mass balance)!
l Feed size distribution - finer will result in higher
recovery and grade in the final concentrate
(liberation)!
l Feed % solids - increase will result in a lower grade
and higher recovery to the final concentrate
(entrainment)!
l Feed tonnage - increase in will result in lower
recovery and higher grade in the final concentrate
(shorter residence time)!
l Air addition rate - increase will raise recovery and
lower the grade of the final concentrate (entrainment)!
l Froth depth - lowering will increase recovery and
lower the grade of the final concentrate (entrainment)!

Flotation!
u Mechanical flotation cell parts!

u Column flotation cells:!

u Do not use mechanical
agitation (impellers).
Instead, mixing is achieved
by the turbulence provided
by rising bubbles. !
u Mostly used to produce
final grade concentrates
because they are capable
of great selectivity. !
u Other features:!
l Tall shape froth much
deeper!
l bubble generation
system - spargers!
l use of wash water high degree of
cleaning, entrainment
virtually eliminated.
!

Flotation!

u Flotation process is
broadly divided into
rougher, cleaner and
scavenger stages,
each using many
(bank of) flotation
cells :!
u Concentrate from
the rougher stage
are further
concentrated in the
cleaner stage. !
u Tailings from the
rougher or cleaner
stage are fed to the
scavenger stage.!
u With all the internal
recycles, operation
of a flotation plant is
a somewhat delicate
balancing act. !

Flotation circuit!

u Characteristics:!
u Rougher stage:!
l provide sufficient retention
time to achieve target
recovery. !
l Eliminates a large portion of
unwanted material as
tailings, thus greatly
reducing size of next
stages. !
u Cleaning stage is to produce the
target grade: !
l more than one stage of
cleaning. Typically the first
cleaners treat rougher
concentrate, the second
cleaners treat first cleaner
concentrate and so on!
u Scavenger stage:!
l scavenger concentrates
usually contain a high
proportion of locked
middling particles. !
l normally sent to regrind. !

Flotation!

u Regrind:!
u First grind fine enough
to liberate gangue, but
too coarse to liberate
valuable minerals. !
u Liberated gangue can
be discarded in a
separation step before
regrinding to liberate
more of the valuable
mineral. !
u Avoids grinding
liberated gangue
unnecessarily, thus
saving power.!
u Also thought that
regrinding "cleans" the
particle surface,
enhancing the
effectiveness of the
chemicals used in
flotation.
!

Flotation!

Flotation!
u Conditioning - set the correct chemical conditions
prior to a flotation stage!
u Use a stirred tank!
u pH adjustment common conditioning step!
u Activator also common, example: copper sulphate
for sphalerite flotation!
u Aeration oxidize selected surfaces, example: pyrite!

Flotation circuit design philosophy!

u Keep it simple:!
u Avoid, when possible, unit operation with long
time delays, such as thickeners.!
u The best circulating load is no circulating load circulating loads are inherently unstable.!
u The more complex the ore, the greater the need
for a simple circuit arrangement.!
u Deficiencies in liberation or pulp chemistry
cannot be corrected by recirculation. In fact the
opposite will probably occur.!
u In a plant environment, a simple responsive
circuit will almost invariably outperform a
complicated circuit.!
u If a human can't understand, balance, or control
a circuit, a computer certainly can't either.!

Flotation!

u Ancillary
equipment:!
u The most
important
measurement is
grade. !
u Usually use X-ray
fluorescence
(XRF)
measurement as
an on-stream
analyzer (OSA)
tool!
u Provides
trending, or as an
integral part of
automatic
process control.
!

Flotation!

u Standard
flotation: !
u Most common
type of circuit!
u separates a
single valuable
mineral from
gangue. !
u Float the
valuable
mineral !
u Example: Cu!

Flotation Types!

u Reverse
flotation:!
u gangue is
floated!
u practical if
small amount
of gangue
removed from
a large stream.!
u example is
flotation of
pyrite from
zinc/lead
concentrate!

Flotation Types!

Flotation Types!
u Bulk flotation:!
u Two or more
values floated
together!
u one set of
conditions!
u example is
bulk copper /
lead flotation !

u Differential
flotation:!
u bulk
concentrate
is separated
into two
products !
u Change
chemical
conditions!
u example is
copper /
lead
concentrate
flotation !

Flotation Types!

u One basic
circuit
arrangement
has been found
to be
universally
applicable to a
wide range of
ores and
minerals.!
u Example:!
u Standard
roughercleanerscavenger with
regrind!
u Good for low
grade, simple
ore such as Cu!

Flotation Circuit!

Flotation Circuit!
u Example:!
u Standard
roughercleanerscavenger
with regrind,
times two!
u Common for
Cu/Zn, Cu/Ni,
Pb/Zn!

Froth Flotation Potash

-!

u Composition:"
l NaCl: "
"
l KCl: "
"
Shaft
l KMgCl3.6H2O:
l Insolubles: "

"55%"
"35-40%"
"1-5%"
"1-8%"

u Size Range of Natural Crystals

in Ore:"
l 1-10 mm"

Froth Flotation Potash

- clays scrubbed from ore surface
- insolubles separated by cyclone or flotation!

Shaft

Magnetic Separation!
u used on minerals which are affected by a magnetic field !
u Ferromagnetic minerals are magnetic themselves. Example: magnetite !
u paramagnetic or diamagnetic: weakly attracted to or repelled by a magnetic
field. "
u Examples: ilmenite (FeTiO3), rutile (TiO2), wolframite ((Fe, Mn)WO4),"

u Principle:
difference in
polarity of the
material, or the
degree of
electrical
conductivity of
the particles !
u Examples: iron
ore, graphite ore,
feldspar,
fluorspar, rock
salt, phosphate,
and different
plastics !
u pre-charge the
particle surface
and apply polarity!
u Feed must be dry!!

Electrostatic Separation!

u Used in:!
u uranium (gamma
from ore)!
u diamonds (X ray
source)!
u Reading head!
u Air blast!
u Similar to
photometric!

Radiometric Sorting!

Friability Separation!
u Bradford breaker: !
u Used for crushing, sizing, and cleaning of run-of-mine coal and
other friable materials.!
u Product is relatively coarse, with minimum fines, and that is 100% to
size "

Gravity Separation

u Main principles: Stokes and Newtons

laws
u Gravity and/or centrifugal force

u Separation based mainly on particle

se>ling rate, which is in turn dependent
on:
l Size
l Shape
l Density
u Classication is key! A large low density
particle = small high density se>ling rate
u Size distribution must match equipment
capabilities
u Slimes (-20 micron) detrimental due to
viscosity
u Used for very heavy minerals (W, Sn, Au)
or very light (coal)

u Sink/float separation, aka

heavy media separation
(HMS)!
u uses differences in
specific gravity (SG),
density and buoyancy
forces to separate
minerals. !
u By mixing media with a
high SG along with ore
that has two different
minerals each with an SG
that is sufficiently
different from the other !
u Example is coal and
shale. Coal has a SG of
1.0 to 1.5. Shale has an
SG of 2.4 to 2.8. Add fine
magnetite (s.p. 4.0) to
water to make slurry SG
between 1.5-2.4!
u Good for coarse feed,
fines pollute the media!

Gravity Separation!

Gravity Separation!
u Jig:!
u Handle
minerals that
have:!
l high
density !
l Too
coarse
to be
leached
or
floated !
u Water is
pulsed up
through the
screen. !
u The heavy
mineral
sinks
through the
ragging !

Gravity Separation!
u
u
u
u

Spiral concentrator:!
Mild centrifugal force !
Used for fines (~1mm) but not slimes!
May use heavy media, can also be water-only!

Gravity Separation!
u Shaker table:!
u deck may be
tilted to
different
angles and
vibrated !
u riffles (ridges)
running
lengthways!
u Very efficient!
u Low tonnage!

Gravity Separation!
u Centrifugal
concentrator:!
u Spins the slurry
inside a bowl at a
high RPM, generates
200-300 Gs!
u Centrifugal action
forces the heavies to
the surface of the
bowl's interior !
u Commonly used for
gold!
u Useful down to
~0.05mm particles!

Gravity Separation!
u Crossflow
separator:!
u Hindered bed
settling !
u Used for fines in
many industries!
u Tangential (cross
flow) feed!
u Teeter bed
water injection
upward through
slurry!
u Fluidized bed
forms!
!

Gravity Separation!
u
u
u
u

Heavy/dense media cyclone:!

look like classifying hydrocyclones !
Used for coal and diamonds!
Typically use fine magnetite or ferrosilicon slurry, can
also be water-only or heavy liquid!
u near-horizontal orientation allowing for large apex sizes !

Gravity Separation!
u Heavy/dense
media:!
u Media recycle
system starts
to get
complex !

Gravity Separation - Metallurgical coal!

Gravity is your friend!!

u Most older mills
built on hillsides!
u Main flows by
gravity down to
next circuit =
minimal pumps!!

Dewatering Terminology
u Dewatering: To remove water from a substance. Also
refers to the circuit where this takes place. !
u Dewatering Techniques:!
l Thickener/Clarifier: Allow gravity settling!
l Sand filter: Remove entrained solids !
l Filter: Apply air pressure/vacuum to draw water out!
l Centrifuge: Apply centrifugal force!
l Dryer: Apply heat to evaporate!
u Slurry Density: The amount of solids in a slurry, expressed
as a percentage by weight.!
u Moisture: The percentage by weight of water in a sample,
corollary to density!

Dewatering Equipment!
u Thickeners are large
diameter conical bottom
tanks!
u accelerate settling of solids
and dewatering of tailings. !
u As feed enters the
thickener in the feed well
the solids start to settle
immediately. !
u Solids collection by
rotating rakes, which force
the solids inward and down
to the bottom of the cone. !
u Liquids overflow the top of
the thickener tank into a
launder!

Dewatering Equipment!
u Thickener:!
u The thickened solids are
pumped from the bottom of
the cone as an underflow !
u Further dewatering of
underflow may be
performed (for example, in
a filter press)!
u The overflow is (relatively)
clear water which is piped
to the next process step !
u Conventional thickener
main objective is
maximizing tonnage or
underflow density!

Dewatering Equipment!
u Low power, high gearing, high torque!
u Rakes turn slowly, and lift/lower as required (operational/emergency)!
u Bridge suspends drive and rakes!

Dewatering Equipment!
u
u
u
u
u
u

Flocculation: Accelerates settling!

Addition of a synthetic polymer, resulting in agglomeration (flocs).!
Flocculants are typically polyacrylamide or derivatives.!
Can be cationic, non-ionic, or anionic. !
Molecular Weight (MW) and degree of ionicity can vary.!
Often best performance when flocculant charge is opposite of
particle surface charge.!

Dewatering Equipment!
u Factors Affecting O/F Clarity !
l Settling properties of the solids (material, flocculent vs. discrete,
% solids)!
l Area of unit.!
l Feed rate. !
u Factors Affecting U/F Density !
l Depth of compression bed.!
l Residence time (U/F pumping rate, feed rate).!
l Compressibility properties of the solids.!

Flocculant
Center well Overflow

Underflow

Dewatering Equipment!
u Free (particulate) settling near the top.!
u Zone (hindered) settling in the middle, near the
water-solids interface.!
u Compression at the bottom.!

Dewatering Equipment!
u
u
u
u
u

Counter Current Decantation (CCD)!

Widely used in mining!
high capital, low operating costs!
2 or more thickeners in series!
Feed to each stage consists of U/F from preceding stage plus
O/F from following stage, O/F and U/F move counter-currently!

Dewatering Equipment!
u

Counter Current Decantation (CCD)!

Typically, feed is from leaching, discharge solids to tailings, liquid to recovery!

Wash ratio = tonnage of wash water / dry tonnage of feed!

Dewatering Equipment!
u

Counter Current Decantation (CCD)!

How many stages are required?!

l Assume perfect mixing in each
stage of the process.!

R = fraction of dissolved species in feed

that is recovered in the first stage O/F!

O = overflow liquor mass!

U = underflow liquor mass!

N = number of CCD stages!

Number of Stages (N)

1
2
3
4
5
6

O O
1
U U

R=
O N+1
1
U

Efficiency (R)
0.714
0.897
0.961
0.984
0.994
0.998

Ancillary Equipment!
u Nuclear density
gauge:!
u commonly fixed to
a pipe. !
u used to measure
density of slurry!

Clarifiers!
u
u
u
u
u

Clarifiers look like thickeners!

Main objective is O/F clarity, not U/F density!
May use fluidized bed self filter!
Generally lower density feed!
Rise rate critical for difficult-to-settle feed!

Clarifier for sludge!

Sand Filter!
u
u
u

used for removing small amounts of suspended matter. Eg. From thickener
overflow solutions. Useful to less than 10 microns (0.010mm)!
turbid solution passes through bed of granular sand where the suspended matter
is retained. !
When the rate of percolation decreases, the bed is regenerated by back-washing
with water to expel the suspended matter out !

Sand Filter!
u
u
u
u

Typically several in parallel operation!

One in backwash while remainder online!
Flowrate of backwash high enough to lift media bed, but not enough to flush it out!
Backwash to CCD, often via surge tank!

Dewatering Equipment!
u Disc filter:!
u Uses vacuum
through manifold!
u Rotates through
slurry!
u Blowoff dried
cake!
u Removable cloth
sectors!
u Next generation:
ceramic discs capillary!

Dewatering Equipment!
u Other vacuum filters:!
u Drum filter!
l One cloth!
l Often spray bars!
u Variant: hyperbaric filter!
u Filters often high
maintenance!

Dewatering Equipment!
u Other vacuum
filters:!
u Belt filter!
lLonger
drying time!
lCounter
current
washing
possible!

Dewatering Equipment!
u Ancillary Equipment:!
u Vacuum pump and filtrate pump!
u Receiver tank and/or a barometric leg are required to prevent
filtrate from entering and damaging the vacuum pump !

Dewatering Equipment!
u Pressure filter:!
u Low moisture
product!
u Batch process!
u High maintenance!

Dewatering Equipment!
u Centrifuge!

Dewatering Equipment!
u
u
u

Filter press:!
intermittent operation. !
Has series of shallow
compartments whose
vertical walls are lined
with fabric. !
suspension is pumped
into these
compartments under
pressure!
Solids are either
retained on the walls as
a thin layer, making a
cake !
filtrate runs down the
solid walls behind the
fabric and escapes
through openings at
the bottom of the
press. !

Dewatering Equipment!
u Rotary kiln dryer:!
u heat an air space up and then tumble the wet
material through this space until it is dried !
u revolving shell is on a slight incline !

Dewatering Equipment!
u Rotary kiln dryer:!
u Direct or indirect fired!
u Chains and hammers prevent concentrate
from sticking to the shell. !

Gravity Separation coal plant!

Diamonds!

Oil Sands!

Titanium Corporation Ft. McMurray / Regina

First stage: cleans the sand of rocks and organic using vibrating screens and
scrubbing techniques. Attritioning - caustic solution to clean the mineral surface.
Second stage: concentrate the valuable heavy minerals using large gravity spirals.
concentrate is dried - magnetic, thermal and electrostatic properties used to
separate the titanium and zircon minerals

Gold!