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By R A. Pax, B Cornish

Increasing the throughput of the MMG Century operation by over 25% from past practice to preserve cash flow close to the end of life of mine has revealed new throughput and load dynamic instabilities in the SAG mill causing significant time averaged loss of production. A twelve microphone array around the SAG mill (Pax, 2014) using the non-contact acoustic measurement methodology (Pax, 2011, 2012) has been used to diagnose the new dynamics. Dynamic acoustic noise signal information allows discrimination of the behaviour of the steel balls and the rock. Determination of mill load, toe and shoulder angles, water holdup, and proxies for mill load are possible.The instability was diagnosed with the help of an abnormality in the liners/lifters of the SAG mill with one row of lifters having a slightly increased in-mill life compared to the rest. The steel shoulder angle is observed to be disturbed cyclically at a rate of precisely one revolution at low throughputs of 750 t/h. However, at throughputs closer to 1100 t/h, the cyclic signal disappears indicating additional dynamics to randomise the repetitive behaviour of the mill charge. The cyclic signal has been used to operate the SAG mill with improved stability at 1100 t/h by adjusting the feed water addition rate.This paper presents and discusses these results and proposes the suggested origin of the extra dynamics. A small consistent aberration of the lifters circumferentially provides a useful detector of stable mill operation and a novel sensor for the dynamics of the internal operation of a SAG mill.CITATION:Pax, R A and Cornish, B, 2015. A novel measurement for the internal operation of a semi-autogenous mill using acoustic sensors – a case study, in Proceedings MetPlant 2015, pp 120–128 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 7, 2015

By T. Grammatikopoulos, C. Gibson, M. Aghamirian

"Lithium is a silver-white alkali metal that has recently become a target commodity for many junior mining companies. Lithium has a wide range of applications including ceramics and glass, lubricating greases, air treatment, continuous cast mold flux powders, polymer production, and primary aluminium production, but the current popularity of lithium can be attributed to an anticipated increase in demand for lithium ion batteries. The most common lithium-bearing minerals occur globally in pegmatites and granites. Spodumene [LiAl(Si2O6)] is the most desirable economic lithium-bearing mineral due to its high lithium content (theoretical Li2O content of about 8 wt%). However, lithium can also be hosted in petalite, micas, tourmaline, and phosphate minerals. In Canada there are a number of spodumene deposits in Ontario and Quebec at development stage that have the potential to help narrow the forecast lithium supply gap stemming from the widespread acceptance and use of electric vehicles. This paper discusses the beneficiation of hard rock lithium deposits, including an in depth review of the use of flotation to upgrade spodumene. A review of the use of dense media separation (DMS), magnetic separation, and roasting as means to process spodumene bearing ores is also discussed. INTRODUCTION Lithium is a soft, silver-white alkali metal with atomic number 3. As of 2015, the end use of lithium was estimated to be as follows: lithium-ion batteries (35%), ceramics and glass (32%), lubricating greases (9%), air treatment (5%), continuous casting mould flux powders (5%), polymer production (4%), primary aluminium production (1%) and other uses (9%) (Jaskula, 2014). Lithium is found in brine lake deposits containing lithium chloride and in hard rock pegmatite deposits. It can be sold in a range of product types; as mineral concentrate, brine, compound (lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide) and metal depending on its intended end use (Goonan, 2012; Jaskula 2014). In the 1990s the United States and Chile were the largest producers of lithium globally, primarily from brine operations (Ober, 1994). Most of the lithium compounds produced over this period were consumed in the glass, ceramics and aluminium industries. In the 1980s and 1990s there were two major lithium operations in the United States: brine operations at Silver Peak, Nevada, and a spodumene mine and lithium carbonate/lithium hydroxide plant in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. The Kings Mountain operations ceased production in 1991 and were eventually dismantled in 1994. Brine operations were also active in Argentina and Chile, while the largest lithium ore deposit in the world was operated at Greenbushes, Western Australia. During this period it was predicted that major shifts in demand for lithium would come from the success and widespread use of electric vehicles (Ober, 1994)."

Jan 1, 2017

By Raj K. Rajamani, Samira Rashidi

High pressure grinding rolls have been utilized in various operations during the past four decades, simply due to their inherent mode of breakage that offers metallurgical benefits with pronounced energy reduction. For every new application, wear and in particular roll surface wear protection has always been the focal point of HPGR trade-off studies. Wear remains an important issue throughout a mine’s life given inevitable variations in the ore deposits properties. Hence, the capability of continuous scanning of rolls provides ample information about any deviations in the design values as well as their effect on the wear pattern. In part I of this manuscript, we present the feasibility of in-line scanning of roll surface in a 200 × 100 mm lab-scale HPGR. First, the in-line scanning was developed in a mock-up roll and then the scanner was moved to the laboratory-scale HPGR. We present the choice of scanners and the methods adopted to achieve high-level accuracy of determining wear. Even though we planned for micron-level precision of scanning, the inherent variability in shaft rotation was higher than the variability in the roll diameter due to wear. The hundred-kilogram mass processed in the HPGR was not sufficient to create enough wear that is discernible to the in-line scanner. Yet, the method tested is a promising avenue for inline scanning of HPGR rolls.

By M W. N Buxton, M S. Shishvan, J Benndorf

The flow of information, and consequently the decision-making along the chain of mining from exploration to beneficiation, typically occurs in a discontinuous fashion over long timespans. In addition, due to the uncertain nature of the knowledge about deposits and the inherent spatial distribution of material characteristics, actual production performance in terms of produced ore grades and quantity and extraction process efficiency often deviate from expectations. Reconciliation exercises to adjust mineral reserve models and planning assumptions are performed with timely lags of weeks, months or even years.With the development of modern information and communication technology over the last decade, a flood of data about different aspects of the production process is available in a real-time manner. For example, sensor technology enables online characterisation of geochemical, mineralogical and physical material characteristics on conveyor belts or at working faces. The ability to utilise this additional information and feed it back into reserve block models and planning assumptions opens up new opportunities to continuously control the decisions made in production planning to increase resource recovery and process efficiency. This leads to a change in paradigm from a discontinuous method to near real-time reserve reconciliation and model updating, which calls for suitable modelling and optimisation methodologies to quantify prior knowledge in the reserve model, process and integrate information from different sensor sources, back propagate the gain in information into reserve models and efficiently optimise operational decisions in real-time.This paper introduces the concept of an integrated closed-loop framework for real-time reserve management, incorporating sensor-based material characterisation, geostatistical modelling under uncertainty, modern data assimilation methods for sequential model updating and mining system simulation and optimisation. The effectiveness of the framework and the value added will be demonstrated in an illustrative case study.CITATION:Benndorf, J, Buxton, M W N and Shishvan, M S, 2014. Sensor-based real-time resource model reconciliation for improved mine production control – a conceptual framework, in Proceedings Orebody Modelling and Strategic Mine Planning Symposium 2014, pp 223–234 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Nov 24, 2014

By R. M. Becker

As part of the Bureau of Mines program for examining the Nation's iron and titanium resources, magnetic, gravity, and geologic surveys were made to permit an estimate of the extent and magnitude of the Iron Mountain, Colorado, titaniferous magnetite deposit. Gabbro is the dominant rock type of the area. Within the gabbro are lenses of titaniferous magnetite, 5 to 25 feet wide and as much as several hundred feet long. These lenses comprise a zone which has scattered occurrences of magnetite for 2,200 feet. To the west, the gabbro grades into a strip of pyroxenite that in turn borders a large monzonite mass. A wedgelike broadening of the pyroxenite with depth accompanied by little or no increase in the titaniferous magnetite is considered a reasonable interpretation of the field data. The iron deposits appear to be limited and discontinuous.

Jan 1, 1961

By J. William Ganser

This paper is one of a series being prepared by the U. S. Bureau of Mines describing mining and milling methods and costs at cement-plant quarries throughout the United States. These papers are designed to disseminate technical information regarding the methods used. The cost tabulations represent local operating expenditures only and not total production costs. It is recognized that publication of total production costs might in many instances cause embarrassment to individual producers as well as to the industry as a whole. On the other hand, operating costs are essential to the technical discussion and study of the methods employed. The attention of the reader is specifically palled to this differentiation in order that no misunderstanding of the scope of the cost tabulations shall ensue. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance of Fred Burkett, civil engineer, and F. O. Londrey, chief clerk, of the Trinity Portland Cement Co., for assistance in preparation of this paper, "The Geology of Dallas County. 1918," Bulletin 1818, Texas Geological Survey, Austin, Tex., by E. W. Shuler, was also freely consulted.

Jan 1, 1931

By E. J. Matson

From February until July 1943 the Bureau of Mines conducted an exploration project at the Majuba Hill mine to determine tonnage aria grade of the copper and tin ore and to search for extension of the mineralization. The work comprised sampling, long-hole drilling, underground excavation, and ore-dressing test.

Jan 1, 1948

By Adeyemi Adesina, Subhabrata Mishra, Syed Mohammed Mustakim, Malaya Kumar Jena, Shaswat Kumar Das

Utilization of low-grade manganese ore adopting the carbothermic reduction roasting process is a proven method to produce high-grade manganese ore. To minimize industrial waste and protect the environment, gas cleaning plant sludge (GCPS), which is a solid waste from steel industries, was employed as a reductant to perform the reduction roasting process. The optimum conditions to carry out reduction roasting of the low-grade manganese ore were found to be: a roasting temperature of 950 °C, a residence time of 2 h, 40% GCPS as reductant, and magnetic separation at 5000 G for a manganese ore size of –10 mm. A lowgrade manganese ore comprising Mn grade 31.27% and Fe grade 19.78% having a Mn/Fe ratio of 1.58 containing a high silica content of 26.48% was used for the carbothermic reduction roasting having mineral phases of pyrolusite (MnO2) and hematite (Fe2O3) as found from XRD. The gangue minerals were separated during the magnetic separation, and the upgraded product was obtained, which reached a maximum value of TMn 49.5% with RMn 76.55% and TFe 62.19% with RFe 42.51%. In the study, activated charcoal (AC) was also taken as a reductant for comparative analysis; the experimental results revealed that GPCS performed better than that of the AC, showing potential to be used as a reductant in metallurgical industries. However, the resultedMn/Fe ratio was very low for the reduced sample; therefore, it can be used for smelting along with high-grade manganese ores as a feed.

Mar 5, 2021

By Raj K. Rajamani, Samira Rashidi

High pressure grinding rolls have been utilized in various operations during the past four decades, simply due to their inherent mode of breakage that offers metallurgical benefits with pronounced energy reduction. For every new application, wear and in particular roll surface wear protection has always been the focal point of HPGR trade-off studies. Wear remains an important issue throughout a mine’s life given inevitable variations in the ore deposits properties. Hence, the capability of continuous scanning of rolls provides ample information about any deviations in the design values as well as their effect on the wear pattern. In part I of this manuscript, we present the feasibility of in-line scanning of roll surface in a 200 × 100 mm lab-scale HPGR. First, the in-line scanning was developed in a mock-up roll and then the scanner was moved to the laboratory-scale HPGR. We present the choice of scanners and the methods adopted to achieve high-level accuracy of determining wear. Even though we planned for micron-level precision of scanning, the inherent variability in shaft rotation was higher than the variability in the roll diameter due to wear. The hundred-kilogram mass processed in the HPGR was not sufficient to create enough wear that is discernible to the in-line scanner. Yet, the method tested is a promising avenue for inline scanning of HPGR rolls.

By S. K. Kawatra

In most operating coal-cleaning plants, a significant amount of pyrite is recovered in the froth during flotation of high-sulfur coal. Reducing the pyrite recovery first requires that the primary recovery mechanism should be Identified, as different measures are required for reducing entrainment, locked-particle flotation, or true hydrophobic flotation. In this paper, evidence is presented which suggests that hydrophobic flotation is not an important mechanism for recovery of liberated pyrite from freshly-ground coal when the collector is a neutral oil, and that the bulk of the floated pyrite occurs either as a result of simple entrainment or by mechanical locking with floatable coal particles. Column flotation results are also presented which show that significant sulfur reductions can be achieved by reducing levels of entrainment.

Jan 1, 1992

By W. F. Netzeband

This paper, which describes mining methods and practices at the Rialto zinc-lead mine American Zinc, Lead & Smelting Co., in northeastern Oklahoma, is one of a series being prepared by the Bureau of Mines on mining methods, practices, and costs in various mining districts of the United States, The Rialto mine is in the SE1/4 SW1/4 sec. 20 and the NW1/4 sec. 29, T. 29 N., R. 23 E., Ottawa County, Okla. (fig. 1). The 200-acre property is southwest of and adjacent to the town of Picher in the central part of the Picher field of the Tri-State zinc-lead mining district (fig. 2). Other mines of the company adjoin the Rialto on the east and south. Zinc-lead ores have been mined almost continuously from the Rialto tract since 1916. The property was acquired by American Zinc, Lead & Smelting Co. late in 1951, and the mine was operated thereafter by the Nellie B Division of that company until the end of 1955, when it was subleased to the Residue Mining Co.

Jan 1, 1958

By H. P. Holmes

Tonnage quantities of hafnium metal have been prepared in Kroll-process equipment designed for producing zirconium. Some slight process modifications have been necessary, but overall operation is the same as for zirconium. Hafnium oxide is chlorinated in the presence of carbon and the resultant hafnium tetrachloride reduced by magnesium metal. Byproduct magnesium chloride is removed in a high-vacuum distillation step and the hafnium sponge metal crushed for further use. Arc-melted metal can be forged and rolled to sheet, but the best material produced to date would not be considered cold ductile. INTRODUCTION This investigation is part of the program for the production of pure metals from domestic and foreign ores that has been underway at the Bureau of Mines for several years. It was done in cooperation with the Atomic Energy Commission and the Bureau of Ships.

Jan 1, 1955

By Rui-Qing Li, John G. Peacey, Peter J. Hancock

"Noranda has been investigating a pyrometallurgical process for the direct recovery of zinc from zinc concentrate and zinc and iron containing residues. The process consists of injecting dry zinc concentrate and secondary zinc materials into a molten iron oxysulphide bath, volatilizing metallic zinc into furnace off gas essentially free of sulphur or S02, fixing sulphur contained in the feed materials as iron oxysulphide matte which is disposed, and recovering metallic zinc in an ISP type lead splash condenser. Combustion of petroleum coke with air or oxygen enriched air inside the oxygen containing matte supplies part of the heat, and the products of combustion dilute the zinc-laden gas to a desired level.This paper describes the process concept, thermodynamic background, experimental tests, mass and heat balance calculation for a conceptual flowsheet, environmental stability of the residue and advantages and disadvantages of the process. Experimental tests have successfully proved the process concept and thermodynamic predictions. Direct smelting of zinc concentrate and residues inside an iron oxysulfide bath has a great potential to become a cost effective and flexible zinc smelting process.1. INTRODUCTIONZinc is mainly produced by a roast-leach-electrowinning process route, which accounts for about 80% of the world primary zinc production. This process produces high quality zinc with very high zinc recovery (>95%) but suffers from several major drawbacks such as using high cost electricity as reductant, producing environmentally problematic iron containing leach residue (jarosite or goethite) and the difficulty in treating secondary zinc feed materials containing high impurity levels, such as electric arc furnace dusts from the steel industry, and other complex sources. Also in some areas, markets for sulphuric acid are distant resulting in negative realizations on acid sales.The Imperial Smelting Furnace (ISF) process is the major pyrometallurgical process to treat zinc-lead concentrate. The advantage of this process over the electrolytic zinc process is its flexibility in treating high-lead, bulk concentrates with high recoveries of lead, copper and precious metals. However, this is a two-stage process involving sintering of Zn-Pb concentrates followed by blast furnace reduction. The process requires large amounts of high-quality coke which is a major operation cost, and the sintering process which results in serious environmental problems."

Jan 1, 1996

By G. H. McKay

AT the Eagle mine, near Gilman, Colorado, where the Empire Zinc Company have installed an underground mill, transportation problems were comparatively simple. A railway siding on the Denver and Rio Grande railway is equipped with an unloading dock or platform at the portal of their service incline adit to the mill. This 18-degree incline is approximately 600 feet long from the unloading track to the head of the mill skipway. For the Big Missouri mill, upwards of 2,500 tons of material and equipment had to be trucked from tidewater at Stewart, B.C., a distance of 21 miles to the Big Missouri camp at elevation 2,800. From that point, this freight had to be moved either over or through the Big Missouri ridge, rising to elevation 3,450, to its final location 800 feet from the surface between elevations 2,150 and 2,350. Immediately after leaving the government dock at Stewart, the road crosses the International boundary line into Hyder, Alaska, and then follows a water grade for eleven miles along the lower stretches of the Salmon river. leaving the river, the road climbs for two miles before crossing back into British Columbia territory at Silver Heights, and then continues for another mile and a half to where the Big Missouri road branches off from the main road to the Premier mine. For a distance of four miles from the junction of the roads, the Missouri road is very narrow, with many sharp curves and with irregular up and down pitches and grades up to 25 per cent until it reaches the Summit. From there on, a fairly easy grade leads a mile and a half to the end of the road on Joker Plats. In winter, the last stretch of road is subject to heavy snow drifting, especially through a narrow funnel-shaped gulch, known as 'The Gap', where the snow may pile up to a depth of over twenty feet.

Jan 1, 1938

By I. M. Masters

Iron removal and control in processes employing pressure leaching technologies developed at Dynatec Corporation are reviewed. Discussions are focused on recent developments in the processing of nickel-copper matte and copper concentrates, and on the Ambatovy laterite project in Madagascar. Iron control and its implications on flowsheet design in the pressure acid leaching (PAL) treatment of laterite ores and in the oxidative pressure leaching of mixed nickel-cobalt sulphide intermediates are also discussed.

Jan 1, 2006

By P. Abachi

Cemented carbides or hard metals that generally consist of hard tungsten carbide and a tough metal binder such as cobalt are important in many segments of the world economy, ranging from automobile related components to machining, cutting, and drilling tools. For metal cutting operations such as turning and milling, replaceable cemented carbide inserts are frequently used. The exposure of inserts to very severe conditions (e.g. temperatures as high as 1000°C) in combination with very high loads, limits their lifetime. When the tools and components are scrapped, they are collected with a view to recovering the tungsten carbide and cobalt due to both their environmental aspects and their strategic importance. In this work, a selective electrolysis process was used for recovery of WC powder particles from cemented carbide scraps. The WC-10Co and WC-10Co-VC up to 3 wt.% VC was produced using powder metallurgy route. The mean particle size of WC, Co and VC were selected as 2.5, l.5 and 2.2 µm respectively. Referring to electrochemical curves of WC-10Co cemented carbides in hydrochloric acid solutions with different concentrations, the recovery rate was enhanced in IN acid. Therefore, this solution was selected for recycling of all samples. The surfaces of as-produced and corroded specimens were investigated using a scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Detection of corrosion products was provided by energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). According to results, the selective electrolysis process could be useful in the recycling of scrap carbide materials, although more studies should be undertaken on economical aspects of the process and the quality of samples produced using recovered powders.

Jan 1, 2005

By C Li

Removal of gangue minerals from ilmenite concentrates can be accomplished by relatively low temperature roasting in controlled gas atmospheres to selectively enhance the magnetic separation characteristics of the ilmenite. At roasting temperatures below 800¦C the magnetising reactions are often not consistent with phase equilibria considerations. Metastable phases can nucleate and control the roasting products. In weathered ilmenites the phase assemblages and microstructures in the altered ilmenite grains can influence the roasting reactions. In this paper we give an overview of the phase chemistry of chemically weathered ilmenites and of metastable phases formed by low temperature roasting. We also report the results of roast experiments conducted in a neutral gas atmosphere. Major increases in magnetic properties after short roasting times at low temperatures were obtained for a range of ilmenite concentrates. For example heating a secondary ilmenite concentrate from Western Australia for 15 minutes in nitrogen at 600¦C gave an increase in the three kilogauss magnetic fraction from three to 92 wt per cent. The solid state phase changes accompanying the inert atmosphere roasts were characterised by combining elemental analyses with quantitative phase analyses of the ilmenite concentrates and their roast products. It was found that the phase reaction that is principally responsible for the increase in the magnetic properties of weathered ilmenites involves a transformation of disordered ferrous-containing pseudorutile to an ordered ilmenite-hematite solid solution containing typically ten to 35 mole per cent of the hematite component. Examples are given of the application of the inert atmosphere roast to effect separations of ilmenite from gangue minerals.

Jan 1, 2001

By J. F. Fiset, N. Bouzoubaâ, N. Reynier, C. Laviolette, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) is developing a disposal strategy for radioactive wastes, which contain significant amounts of uranium, cesium, and mercury. There are safety and economic incentives for the extraction of these elements before permanent storage in deep underground repositories. In addition, the actinide elements are also an important component in rare earth element (REE) ores and considered as impurities. Actinides separation from REE tailings is a significant concern in order to manage radioactive nuclides. Reprocessing mine wastes may present significant financial and environmental benefits. Experiments were carried out with radioactive cemented wastes (RCW) prepared at CanmetMINING. For all of the tested RCW batches, solubilisation yields are above 97% for Cs and 98% for U and Hg. Sulphuric acid leaching with potassium iodide improved the solubilisation of Hg by oxidation and formation of the tetraiodide complex (e.g. HgI4 2-, Kf = 2.1030). Cs and Hg were removed selectively by using potassium cobalt hexacyanoferrate (KCFC) and Lewatit TP214 ion-exchange resin respectively. U recovery using the chelating resin Lewatit TP260 was the most efficient. The presence of high iodine concentration improved the U uptake by the resin. The best U elution was obtained using 1 M Na2CO3, which resulted in 99% U recovery. U was then precipitated as sodium diuranate. A counter current effluent recirculation was performed successfully on RCW. The process was also applied to submerged tailings collected from two U mines and an REE ore. This paper presents an innovative process, using sulphuric acid and potassium iodide, for U, Cs, a

Jan 1, 2016

By Juan B. Yianatos

"After almost 100 years, since the first commercial application began in Australia, flotation has shown an extraordinary growth and nearly 2 billion tons of ore per year are presently treated by flotation processes. During this time flotation has promoted a wide scope of research activities ranging from fundamental chemistry and hydrodynamic studies to studies of industrial operations. In general, fundamental studies have been mainly related to ideal situations. In recent years, however, large efforts have been focusing on achieving a better insight into the actual sub-processes provided by the development of new and more sophisticated instrumentation. Since the massive incorporation of flotation columns, around 15 years ago, a renewed interest in flotation fundamental studies, process modelling and new cell designs have been observed worldwide. The key role of the froth has been recognized as an independent and sometimes rate limiting process step. Thus, separation of pulp and froth process stages seems the most appropriate in terms of process modelling, diagnostic, design and scale-up purposes.In relation to flotation equipment development, until the middle of the 1970’s, only the sub-aeration mechanical cells were dominant. Since the 1980’s, the use of pneumatic cells and forced air mechanical cells has emerged strongly. Also, in the last decade, flotation equipment has shown a dramatic increase in size, reaching values of 200m3 in unitary mechanical cells and more than 300m3 in columns. The general feeling, however, is that, despite the great advance observed in terms of process knowledge, the mechanisms and principles of industrial flotation cells design and scale-up are still not fully understood.Advances in process instrumentation and control now in use allow for more efficient operations, both in metallurgical performance and savings in operating costs."

Jan 1, 2003

By Juan B. Yianatos

"After almost 100 years, since the first commercial application began in Australia, flotation has shown an extraordinary growth and nearly 2 billion tons of ore per year are presently treated by flotation processes. During this time flotation has promoted a wide scope of research activities ranging from fundamental chemistry and hydrodynamic studies to studies of industrial operations. In general, fundamental studies have been mainly related to ideal situations. In recent years, however, large efforts have been focusing on achieving a better insight into the actual sub-processes provided by the development of new and more sophisticated instrumentation. Since the massive incorporation of flotation columns, around 15 years ago, a renewed interest in flotation fundamental studies, process modelling and new cell designs have been observed worldwide. The key role of the froth has been recognized as an independent and sometimes rate limiting process step. Thus, separation of pulp and froth process stages seems the most appropriate in terms of process modelling, diagnostic, design and scale-up purposes.In relation to flotation equipment development, until the middle of the 1970?s, only the sub-aeration mechanical cells were dominant. Since the 1980?s, the use of pneumatic cells and forced air mechanical cells has emerged strongly. Also, in the last decade, flotation equipment has shown a dramatic increase in size, reaching values of 200m3 in unitary mechanical cells and more than 300m3 in columns. The general feeling, however, is that, despite the great advance observed in terms of process knowledge, the mechanisms and principles of industrial flotation cells design and scale-up are still not fully understood.Advances in process instrumentation and control now in use allow for more efficient operations, both in metallurgical performance and savings in operating costs.INTRODUCTIONFlotation is a widely used process within the minerals processing industry, as well as being used for water treatment and de-inking of recycled paper. Froth flotation started in Australia at the beginning of the 20th century and since then flotation technology has made significant advances. Flotation was firstly applied to sulfide ores. The largest tonnages treated by flotation are copper and copper/molybdenum ores, handling about 50% of the total ore processed. Also significant are phosphate, iron ore and coal treatments. At present, Chile is the foremost copper producer in the world with around 35% of the world?s production. Figure 1(a) shows the evolution of copper production in Chile over the last decade. The total amount of fine copper produced in year 2001 was 4.7 million tons, from which 3.2 million tons was processed by flotation while 1.5 million tons went through LIX-SX-EW processes, which also showed significant development during the same period (Anon, 2001). The total flotation treatment of copper ores in Chile is about 325 million tons per year (Anon, 2002), so the world treatment of copper ore by flotation can be estimated at about 1 billion tons per year. Consequently a total of nearly 2 billion tons of ore per year is presently processed worldwide by flotation (Fuerstenau, 2001). In order to handle the higher tonnage of low-grade ore, a worldwide trend towards the development and use of larger flotation machines began in the 1960?s. Figure 1(b) shows that the trend became extremely marked from the beginning of the 1990?s, which is consistent with the strong increase in copper production during the same period."

Jan 1, 2003