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By S. Owada

A national project of ?Establishing ?Green-Hydrogen (G-H)? Society in Honjo-Waseda Area? is now being developed by Waseda University together with four other universities and ten companies. The project involves three tasks of technological development of, (1)?G-H? production, (2)?G-H? refining, transportation and storage, and (3)?G-H? utilization. This paper focuses the first task of ?G-H? production from aluminium dross. We developed the physical treatment process by combining selective grinding with vibrating rod mill and electrostatic separation, in order to produce two kinds of materials, one is metal aluminium concentrate to recover it and the other is raw material to produce ?G-H? and aluminium hydroxide which can be generated by the treatment with sodium hydroxide aqueous solution. Here, we described the concentration mechanism of metal aluminium in the selective grinding and electrostatic separation and proposed a separation flowchart for optimizing the ?G-H? system in Honjo-Waseda area.

Jan 1, 2014

By A. Lewis

"Thiol collectors including the xanthates and dithiophosphates have dominated the sulfide mineral processing industry for over a century. Tecflote represents completely different chemistry, without sulfur or phosphorus, and will float all sulfides and associated precious metals. As these collectors are surfactant in nature, they comprise a head group which binds to mineral surfaces, a spacer and a long hydrophobic tail. The modification of the spacer behind the head group allows for collector optimisation for different sulfide ore types and process conditions.The Tecflote surfactants have been designed to be either very selective against pyrite at the natural pH of the ore (pH 7-9) or to float all sulfides including pyrite. Depending on the ore type and the process flow sheet, the use of lime can be maintained, reduced or completely eliminated.Tecflote can be used either as a rougher collector giving good recovery and grade for the sulfide minerals or it can be used to target valuable minerals after regrind and through cleaner flotation. It has repeatedly shown to be very effective at holding onto gold through the cleaner steps. The low solubility has a significant impact on the mechanism and surface activity of the collector, resulting in a very different flotation response compared to conventional thiol collectors.INTRODUCTIONXanthate was first made in 1882 by Zeise and first used in flotation in 1924 (Keller, 2018). In 1946 Keller patented thionocarbamate as a collector, which was produced by Dow Chemicals (Keller, 2018). Later it was replaced by Dow product Z-200, while dialkylthionocarbamate was discovered by Harris et al. (Harris, 1954. No significant chemistry change to collectors has occurred since they were introduced in the mid-20th century and now that the feed grades have been declining over the last decades creating a need to find more selective collectors to extract difficult and complex ores and pushing the industry to look at other reagents."

Jan 1, 2018

By M. Rudolph, E. Schach, M. Buchmann, T. Leißner, N. Krupko, U. Peuker, M. Kern

"In mineral processing, density and magnetic susceptibility are two very fundamental properties. For the beneficiation of valuables to produce a saleable concentrate a detailed understanding of these properties is essential. Especially when it comes to the processing of cassiterite, which is the main mineral for tin production, they become highly prominent. Due to the chemically inert character of cassiterite towards most industrial applied leaching agents, density and magnetic separation processes are mainly applied for its beneficiation. To guarantee an optimized utilization of the different operations not only cassiterite but also the different gangue minerals have to be considered. In this study, a skarn ore is characterized by density and magnetic susceptibility. Therefore, the material was first split into different density classes by heavy liquid separation. The obtained classes were further separated by their susceptibility to finally obtain a density-susceptibility matrix. For this purpose, an isodynamic separator was used. A more detailed characterization of the materials is done via gas pycnometer, magnetic susceptibility balance and vibrating sample magnetometer to estimate the characteristics of density and susceptibility for the various classes. Further, the determination of the chemical assay and the mineral intergrowth by mineral liberation analysis is used to generate a three dimensional database for detailed characterization of the present ore. The objective of this study is to estimate potential material streams for a modular processing plant via characterization of the material for the entire deposit by the two afore mentioned characteristic properties. The established multidimensional data matrix, enables predictions for the separation properties of the material and contributes to the characterization of the deposit within the context of geometallurgy."

Jan 1, 2018

By T. Shumba

The solvent extraction section of an old Uranium Plant in the Vaal River region produced a sub-stance called Crud (Chalk River Unidentified Deposit) that formed within the aqueous/organic interface of the settler of the solvent extraction circuit. The crud was deposited together with gold tailings to the tailings dam many years ago. Previous research done on the crud confirmed that ex-posed crud leaches Mn and Ni at concentrations that are well above their acceptable risk limits as well as Zn that leaches at concentrations that are slightly lower than its acceptable risk limit. Soil washing and bioremediation technologies were employed to treat the contaminated soil. Various laboratory test work and the pilot scale studies were conducted in parallel with each other and the results of the laboratory studies were used to determine critical parameters. Four lixiviants, i.e. sulphuric acid, acetic acid, oxalic acid and ethylene diamine acetic acid were tested at three concentration levels i.e. 0.001M, 0.0001M and 0.00001M, respectively. Column tests showed that the leaching of the heavy metals increases as the soil porosity increases. Silica sand was added to increase porosity of the contaminated soil. Highest Mn removal was achieved mainly by sulphuric and oxalic acid at 0.001M at all soil levels. EDTA was significantly efficient in the removal of Ni and Zn. The recovery of heavy metals, particularly Mn, decreased as the depth of sampling in-creased. Heterogeneous bacteria and filamentous organism plate counts were conducted to evaluate the growth of the bacteria and filamentous organisms in the soil. Results showed that more organism growth took place in the bioremediated soil with a fertilizer added to it. The leaching of metals from the soil that was bioremediated in the pilot study was generally higher than the extraction of the metals from the soil that was leached with no bioremediation carried out. The results from this study suggest that the leaching of heavy metals from the contaminated soil is to a large extent dependant on the pH of the leaching solution. By increasing the soil?s porosity and bioremediating the soil, higher extractions of metals were achieved.

Jan 1, 2014

By S. Swaroopa

Copper-chromium mixed oxides are widely used as catalyst for organic chemicals industry, NOx and CO oxidation, solid propellant etc. In the present investigation, one such spent Cu-Cr catalyst has been tested for recovering copper and chromium values through hydrometallurgical route. The spent catalyst used in this study contains about 42% Cu and 36% Cr. Phase analysis through XRD indicates that major phases are copper chromium oxide (CuCrO2) and copper chromate (CuCr2O4) while minor phase is copper oxide (Cu64O). SEM images show that high energy ball milling changes surface morphology significantly ? more regular shaped grains in unmilled samples changed to fine agglomerates. Surface area also changes significantly due to milling. Preliminary leaching experiments with NH3 and H2SO4 media using unmilled samples indicate that both the media are suitable for selective extraction of copper. About 55% copper recovery is achieved in 2 h using 1.2 M NH3 + 0.2M (NH4)2SO4 solution at 100°C. Increasing NH3 concentration or temperature does not improve the recovery significantly. Under the above conditions chromium, dissolution is insignificant (max. 2.24%). XRD analysis of the residue indicates that copper chromate fraction (CuCr2O4), which is a spinel structure, remains mostly intact. In sulphuric acid media at ambient temperature, 47% copper recovery is achieved with 7.5% (v/v) H2SO4 and maximum of 57% with the increase in acid concentration to 20%. However, 67% recovery is achieved by increasing the leaching temperature to 150°C. High energy ball milled samples show improved leaching efficiency. Under the leaching conditions of 7% H2SO4 (v/v), 2% pulp density, 80°C an unmilled sample yields 47% Cu recovery whereas 3h and 5h milled samples yield 65% and 90% Cu recovery respectively in 2h leaching time. Influence of temperature is also more pronounced in milled sample leaching in comparison to unmilled sample. Water leaching of alkali (NaOH) roasted milled sample carried out at 750°C for 2 h with 100% NaOH (w/w) resulted in 80% Cr recovery as compared to 37% Cr recovery using unmilled sample under the same conditions. Keywords: spent catalyst, copper, chromium, leaching, mechanical activation, roasting

Sep 1, 2012

By P. Radziszewski

In comminution research, ore breakage and wear are usually studied independently of one another. Much of this is due to the fact that wear is usually a slow process compared to ore kage. However, the abrasion wheel test used to determine the abrasive wear contribution to total steel media wear provides the opportunity to study not only abrasive wear and friction but also ore breakage. In this paper, we will explore the use of the abrasion wheel wear test device to study abrasive wear, friction and ore breakage using standard Ottawa foundry sand. We will look into the feasibility of applying the work index as well as t10methodologies to this test set-up. We will also look at how the work index results evolve with abrasive wear and friction. We will then discuss the merits of pursuing the use of this abrasion wheel test for not only wear characterization but also breakage characterization.

Jan 1, 2014

By John A. Herbst

The Mineral Processing Industry needs accurate Production Simulators for the design of future plants and expansions. To achieve this, these simulators should not only provide an accurate portrayal of the dynamics of individual pieces of equipment they should include the impact of discrete stochastic events such as scheduled and unscheduled maintenance so the relationships between availability, equipment sizes, and plant capacity are understood. To provide such a tool accurate dynamic Population Balance Models need to be combined with solid discrete event modeling. The current paper provides a description of how these two disparate modeling techniques were combined and the associated benefits from this combination. Keywords: dynamic plant simulation, population balance models, discrete event models, prefeasibility and feasibility studies, plant design and expansion

Sep 1, 2012

By V. Sheikhzadeh, M. Saghaeian, R. Hejazi, M. Zare

High Pressure Grinding Roll (HPGR) plays a major role in increasing specific surface area of iron ore concentrate for producing pellet feed. HPGR grinding mechanism implies that material be compressed between the two rolls, therefore layer of material must be able to resist required pressure for achieving suitable grinding conditions. In this study for determining a simple relationship between material pressure resistance ability and HPGR main design parameters, piston press tests were performed on different iron ore concentrate samples along with HPGR Blaine increasing tests. Piston press tests results showed that by decreasing moisture content, material pressure resistance increased and in constant moisture content this parameter will change based on material specifications. HPGR Blaine increasing tests results showed that by decreasing moisture content, HPGR specific throughput and working gap increased and in constant moisture content this parameter will change based on material specifications. For all of the studied samples at worst condition, we got the results including: HPGR delta gap equal to zero, specific throughput lower than 200 ts/hm3.According to the tests results, HPGR Applicability Index (HAI) can be introduced at four different class types from 1 (weak) to 4 (excellent). This index determines achievable specific throughput and possibility of using HPGR according to material specifications, i.e. for HAI 1-4 the pressure resistance is <90, 90 to<125, 125 to <150 and = 150 bar, respectively. Similarly for HAI 1-4 specific throughput is <200, =200, =220 and =250, respectively. So based on design moisture content, if concentrate HAI is 3 or 4, HPGR is a correct choice. For HAI 2, HPGR can also be used. But for a material with HAI equal to 1, HPGR is not a good solution. As a result in order to apply HPGR for HAI 1, material condition such as moisture or slime content should be decreased.

Jan 1, 2018

Incomplete liberation of mineral particles is one of the key factors limiting the performance of industrial flotation circuits. This work aims to quantify the relationship between different breakage modes and how these affect mineral liberation properties. A copper porphyry (bornite) ore sample was subjected to breakage using a piston-die compression unit and an impact mill. The particles produced as a result of each mode of breakage were then characterised using Mineral Liberation Analysis (MLA) to quantify the mineralogical and liberation properties of the progeny particles. The impact mill was found to produce bornite that was finer grained relative to the host particles. In con-trast, bornite discharged from the piston-die unit closely followed the size distribution of the host particles and was retained to a greater extent in the larger/intermediate size fractions. The results provide insight into what breakage methods are optimal for the purposes of downstream separation.

Jan 1, 2014

By D. Saramak

"High-pressure grinding technology is considered as one of the most efficient techniques of ore comminution, especially in terms of energy consumption. HPGR devices has been utilized in many mining-related industrial sectors, including iron and non-ferrous metal ores processing (copper, platinum, gold), as well as cement and limestone flour production. Even though the technology well known (introduced into mineral processing circuits in 80’s), there are still examples of ineffective operation of HPGR devices. This is a result of improper application of HPGR into individual crushing circuit. The purpose of the paper was to analyze selected effects achieved in HPGR on the course and effectiveness of beneficiation operations. Investigations were carried out for copper ore, and investigative programme was run for different values of HPGR pressing force, as well as changeable ore characteristics (content of fine size fractions, material moisture). All crushing products were then treated in flotation process, in order to determine useful mineral recovery. Results of investigations show that HPGR operating pressure influences the metal recovery in proportional way, however too extensive pressure values have relatively lower impact on increasing of the metal recovery. Particle size distribution of HPGR feed and its moisture have lower influence on recovery level than HPGR pressure, but too extensive moisture content influences the higher energy consumption of the roller press, together with less effective comminution. The second aspect raised in the paper was a possibility to control and optimize the HPGR-based circuit. There were presented the proposed approach to adjustment of HPGR operating parameters that enables the higher metal recovery.INTRODUCTION The high-pressure grinding technology, invented and developed by Professor Schoenert in 70’s (Schoenert, 1979), is currently regarded as one of the most efficient methods of hard ore comminution. Since then the technology was introduced into raw materials treatment circuits in many mining and mining-related industrial sectors, including iron and non-ferrous metal ores processing (copper, platinum, gold), as well as cement and limestone flour production. Considerable number of works concerning modeling and optimization of HPGR operation were also presented (Daniel & Morell, 2004, Tavares, 2005, Saramak, 2012, Saramak & Kleiv, 2013). Nowadays high-pressure grinding rolls devices are considered as well know technology with over 500 sold machines, according to various sources."

Jan 1, 2018

By de Vaux. Deryck, Natalie J. Shackleton, Vratislav Malysiak Cyril T. O. Connor

"The major losses of PGM and base metals in the beneficiation of platinum group deposits occur during the separation of gangue from the value minerals by selective flotation. A number of studies have shown that this negative impact on flotation is due to surface passivation, caused by various ions that may originate from the external water supply or, as is likely in the majority of cases, from the oxidation of the mineral surfaces and the grinding media. This investigation aimed at reducing surface passivation of pentlandite and inadvertent activation of pyroxene, thereby improving ultimate valuable mineral recovery and selectivity. Both synthetic minerals and plant ores were studied in order to determine the effect surface passivation and inadvertent activation have on mineral surface alteration and floatability. Zeta potential determinations, microflotation, ToF-SIMS (Time of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry) analyses, laboratory batch flotation tests and continuous flotation testwork were used as tools to study the surface alteration and/or floatability.Zeta potential determinations and ToF-SIMS analyses showed that copper adsorption is non-selective. Both pentlandite and pyroxene become copper (II)-activated in the presence of copper sulphate and subsequently, in the presence of xanthate, adsorption of the collector will occur onto copper activated mineral surfaces. Zeta potential determinations also showed an alteration of the surface charge in the presence of polyphosphate, thereby inhibiting surface passivation of sulphides by slime coatings due to surface repulsion.The addition of diethylenetriamine (DETA) reduces the copper concentration on both minerals, predominantly on the pyroxene surfaces and polyphosphate further enhances the selectivity at pH 6.The microflotation and batch flotation data obtained has shown a significant improvement in the ultimate flotation response of valuable mineral recovery and concentrate grade compared to the standard reagent regime, while the continuous flotation results significantly improved the selectivity, however, at a similar ultimate recovery."

Jan 1, 2003

By V. V. Morozov, Ganbaatar Zorigt, Delgerbat Lodoy, Y. P. Morozov

"At the processing plant Erdenet, a new facility for advanced ore diagnostics in-stream (at the conveyor), based on optical analyser of mineral composition, was tested. Such systems provide highly accurate in-stream measurements of ore properties. The system provided information on the ore mineralogical composition, the particle size distribution and the impregnation of minerals. A special flatbed facility for optical spectrum-based estimation of fine-crushed ore has been developed, being incorporated into the existing system of ore sampling and analysis. Application of the flatbed facility renders possible a high accuracy of determining ore mineralogical composition. High precision of the optical spectrum-based estimation is achieved using special devices, installed in the sampling and the sample analysis flow sheet, applied by the technical control department. Modern systems for optical spectrum-based estimation of ore grade provide a basis for effective automated control of ore benefication processes, based on the principle of advanced ore grade control. Process management task of grinding and flotation was to choose options that take into account the composition and grade of the ore coming. The calculation data array comprises consumption of reagents, ore processing, grind size etc. The systems implemented at the processing plant contributed to increasing copper and molybdenum recovery. INTRODUCTION In-stream ore grade analysis is a new trend in effective control of ore benefication processes. This is realised based on radiometric measurements in the X-ray and visible spectrum regions, in which mineral components of the initial ore (Sbárbaro and Villar, 2010) or the benefication products become apparent (Hyotyniemi and Ylinen, 1998; Haavisto and Hyötyniemi, 2010). An important advantage of such methods is in-stream measuring ore parameters, including mass fractions of individual minerals, which makes it possible to use the information obtained in the processes of automated control."

Jan 1, 2018

By Chen Jianhua, Shen Zhenchang, Zhang Ming, Chen Feifei

"With flotation cells scale-up, the performance of flotation cells is increasingly variated for short-coming and dead zones existing. The residence time distribution which shows the movement of tracers can assess the unexpected flows such as short circuit and dead zone in a flotation cell. In this paper, the residence time distribution of pilot flotation cell is investigated with CFD simulation. Based on the theoretical model, the short-coming probability and dead zone probability are quantitative. The ideal average residence time is similar with the actual average residence time. The mixing effect of the flotation cell approaches the ideal continuous stirred tank reactor. The operating parameters such as speed and feed velocity have complicated influence on residence time distribution. The research would be helpful to understanding flow in flotation cell and improving performances of flotation cell.INTRODUCTIONFroth flotation is a method which purifies minerals according to difference of physical and chemical surface characters of different mineral particles (Shen, Z., Chen J, 2012). Flotation cell is a key equipment for froth flotation method. The flotation cell performances have great influences on flotation index.It is difficult to evaluate flotation cell how to improve flotation procedure to complexity.The main flotation cell performances are aeration volume, air dispersion, solid suspension and residence time distribution, etc (Shen, Z., Lu, S., 2008). Residence time distribution is an important fluid hydrodynamics which could reveal the flow of pulp, mixing of particles and air bubbles. In the flotation cell, the ideal average residence time of pulp could obtain easily. But the fluid differential units would be different flow paths. The residence time of the fluid differential units is variation and would be longer or less than the average residence time. The residence time distribution would reveal the mixing effect and predict the not ideal flow in the flotation cell such as shorting cutting, dead zone, etc. As we know, the shorting cutting and dead zone would be decreased the real flotation time and it is disadvantage to better flotation effect, especially for large flotation cell. It is impossible to eliminate the not ideal flow totally. It is very important to reveal and decrease the shorting cutting and dead zone probability in the flotation cell."

Jan 1, 2018

By G. Y. Zhou

During Zijinshan copper heap bioleaching, pyrite was leached in plenty resulting in high ferric concentration in solution. It has affected bioleaching and extraction processing greatly. It results much acid and iron in solution and bad effect to extraction processing. The paper studied the influence factors in the course of pyrite leaching and ferric ion chemical oxidation, especially studied the redox potential for copper bioleaching so as to find key factors affecting the dissolution difference between chalcocite and pyrite. The results show that the redox potential is important factor. Copper and pyrite leaching rates are 95% and 11% respectively and there is great dissolution difference between them at redox potential 700 mV (SHE). During pyrite bioleaching, the indirect action of bacteria gives priority to bioleaching cooperating with the direct attack of microbial cells attached to the mineral surface. Redox potential is determined by ratio of ferric and ferrous, ferric in solution was supplied by the way of oxidation of T. f bacteria, sufficient bacteria concentration and active character were two vial factors of controlling redox potential. It is indicated that copper can be selectively bioleached during copper bioleaching by controlling redox potential of bioleaching. The conclusion will provide theoretic foundation on balance of acid and iron during bioleaching for copper of higher S/Cu ratio. The experinment proved that bacteria activation was decreased on condition of both low pH value and intermittent aeratation during bioleaching. It resulted that the oxidation velocity of ferrous ion was decreased and redox potential was controlled. The dissolution of pyrite was depressed. It would be possible to actualize selective leaching of secondary sulfide copper ore during bioleaching process.

Jan 1, 2014

By M. F. He

There are three polymorphic modifications in pyrrhotite (monoclinic, hexagonal and orthorhombic), with monoclinic and hexagonal polymorph being more abundant. The floatability of different crystalline structures of pyrrhotite (monoclinic and hexagonal) is studied in this paper. It is shown that the floatability difference of monoclinic and hexagonal is obvious and that the flotation recovery of monoclinic pyrrhotite is greater than that of hexagonal pyrrhotite using different collectors . Using butyl dithiophosphate as collector, the flotation recovery of pyrrhotite is higher than when sodium diethyl dithiocarbamate and sodium butyl xanthate are used as the collectors. Monoclinic and hexagonal pyrrhotites are more easily activated by Cu2+ in acidic conditions than in alkaline conditions, while Cu2+ can not activate hexagonal pyrrhotite when sodium diethyldithiocarbamate was used as the collector. By the measurement of contact angle, it is indicated that monoclinic and hex-agonal pyrrhotite float well and are easily activated by Cu2+when dithiophosphate was used as the collector. Using sodium diethyl dithiocarbamate as a collector, the flotation behavior of pyrrhotite was investigated. The relationship between potential and pH range for pyrrhotite flotation was established. The results show that the flotation of pyrrhotite is dependent on pulp potential at certain pH values.

Jan 1, 2014

By R. S. Wang, S. Z. Zhou, L. Wan, K. W. Zeng, Z. J. Sun, W. G. Wu, Z. B. Qian, X. R. Zhang, Z. K. Hu, Y. Yu

"In view of the present situation that the traditional environment friendly depressants for galena aren’t very effective in the separation of mixed concentrate including copper sulfide and lead sulfide, this research describes a new environment friendly depressant PD-1 and investigates its effects and mechanism in the separation of chalcopyrite and galena. This study is carried out through flotation tests, analysis of infrared spectra and absorption measurements. It is shown that when O-isopropyl-N-ethyl thionocarbamate (Z200) is used as collector, chalcopyrite and galena can be separated in the presence of PD-1 under appropriate conditions. Therefore, it can be concluded that PD-1 has an excellent depression ability and great selectivity for galena. Meanwhile, analysis of infrared spectra demonstrates that PD-1 can strongly absorb on the galena surface by chemical interaction with Pb2+, while it hardly absorbs on the chalcopyrite surface. In addition, the results of absorption measurements reveal that competitive adsorption occurs on the galena surface between PD-1 and Z200, PD-1 can block the absorption of Z200 on the galena surface. However, PD-1 has a little effect on the absorption of Z200 on the chalcopyrite surface under above conditions. What’s more, the hydrophilic groups of PD-1 molecules can make galena effectively depressed. The results of mechanism analysis are in accordance with those of flotation tests.INTRODUCTION In the processing of copper-lead sulfide ores, the process, copper increase and lead reduction (Zhang et al., 2017) after reagents removal of rough concentrate produced by mixed flotation of chalcopyrite and galena, is usually adopted. However, as a result of tight symbiosis and the similar flotability of chalcopyrite and galena, the separation is difficult (Hu and Feng, 2006). There are 3 kinds of depressants for galena in the separation of chalcopyrite and galena concentrate,including dichromate, sulfite and combined depressants of organic or inorganic reagents (Wei, 2012). As dichromate would cause serious environmental pollution, it is gradually banned to be used in industry (Xu et al., 2017; Lin et al., 2017). what’s more, due to the need of acidic slurry, using sulfite is not conductive to the maintenance of equipment and stable production(Wang, 1999). As for the combined depressants, they also have disadvantages of complex pharmaceutical system and no ideal separation effect (Wei and Sun, 2008). Therefore, the development of new safe and effective depressants for galena is a research focus for researchers in the minerals processing (Chen, 2000). In this paper, a new type of organic depressant PD-1 is applied to the copper-lead separation process of ""copper increase and lead reduction"" using Z200 as the collector. In addition, the performances and mechanism of its depression to galena are studied emphatically."

Jan 1, 2018

By Xiaoming Wang

This paper describes a new magnetic separator integrating dynamic permanent magnetic force, gravity and flow dynamics to enhance the quality of the iron concentration. This equipment can increase the grade of concentrate by controlling the formation of magnetic agglomerations to reject most gangue. Test results indicates that the compound force field separator can be applied in improving the quality of iron concentrate and has a wide range of potential market applications. Keywords: magnetic separator, compound force field, rotating magnetic system, magnetite concentration

Sep 1, 2012

By B. Gorain, O. A. Bascur

"The advent of digital revolution has now enabled us with numerous tools that could be leveraged to transform our operational data into actionable insights. Key opportunities with digitization include better visualization, transparency, integrated planning and execution for value-chain optimization, that results in smarter production, intelligent response to changes in ore, process and equipment conditions, reduce energy and waste along with prevention of asset breakdown, safety and environmental issues. It is important to realize that these digital tools have limited value, from a metallurgical operational context, if we cannot bring-in the appropriate domain expertise along with getting the basics right. The focus within Barrick is to ensure that there is adequate depth of different disciplines built into our platforms along with breadth to integrate other disciplines such as geology and mining for an effective Mine-to-Mill integration. A gold recovery improvement strategy based on optimal Gaudin size distribution, leaching performance monitoring and guidance via feed grade maps is discussed. Simultaneous identification of process and equipment constraints enable finding the best overall conditions for Gold recovery. This paper discusses the methodology, findings, and challenges in the ongoing journey of implementing a Metallurgy Analytics platform that evolves from being retrospectively descriptive to anticipatively prescriptive.INTRODUCTION The last few decades have seen some remarkable advancement in information technology, but recently various digital technologies have resulted in several synergies to deliver innovation in diverse applications. The mining industry has been relatively slow in adopting these technologies compared to the other industries, but this scenario is changing fast. Mining companies globally are going through a series of challenges such as declining ore grades with complex metallurgy, increasing depth of ore bodies, high capital and operating costs, lower productivity, shortage of technical resources, significant pressure from stakeholders to deliver, along with growing environmental and corporate social responsibility issues. Improvement in profitability would need significant improvements in operational performance."

Jan 1, 2018

By X. Tong

Flotation researches of indium-beard marmatite from the Dulong multi-metallic ore in the Yunnan Province of China has been studied in order to improve the grades and recoveries of zinc and indium of the zinc concentrate in the Dulong concentration plant. The experimental results have shown that copper sulfate mixed with a chemical reagent X-1 as the activator in the marmatite flotation produced a much better beneficiation than copper sulfate alone, increasing the zinc and indium recoveries of 10% and 6%, respectively, while the concentrate grades were unchanged. Also, the new activator acted well around pH 10, allowing large savings on lime consumption in the marmatite flotation. In addition, it has been found that a sufficient activated time of activator with ore slur-ry in the flotation is needed to achieve good beneficiation of the marmatite ore.

Jan 1, 2014

By Partha Patra

Numerous proteins of varying properties are available in extracellular bacterial proteins (EBP) isolated from Paenibacillus polymyxa. EBP was fractionated through ammonium sulfate precipitation in a controlled fashion and characterized through SDS-PAGE technique. Different groups of proteins, (Group A~D) exhibited varying degrees of surface affinity to minerals such as quartz, pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena and sphalerite. Interaction with mineral specific bioproteins rendered pyrite and chalcopyrite hydrophilic while surface of quartz, galena and sphalerite turned more hydro-phobic. Specific groups of proteins could thus be used for selective separation of galena, sphalerite and quartz from pyrite and chalcopyrite (as a mixed sulfide) through microbially-induced flotation or selective flocculation.

Jan 1, 2014