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By Aziza A. Yousef, Suzan S. Ibrahim, Mahmoud A. Arafa, Mohamed A. Abdel Khalek

Due to the shortage of fresh water in the Middle East, seawater has been used as an alternative in flotation beneficiation. The flotation process requires about 7 m3 of water/mt ore. This article aims to study the effect of seawater cations and anions on the flotation. Natural pure francolite, calcite, dolomite and quartz were characterized by chemical, thermal and x-ray diffraction analyses, surface area, solubility and zeta potential. Synthetic seawater was prepared with the major chemical composition similar to natural seawater as follow; 2.45% NaCl, 0.52% MgCl2, 0.41% Na2SO4, 0.116% CaCl2 and 0.07% KCl. Also, natural seawater was used in application. The point zero of charge was estimated at pH 6.5, 7.8, 9.2 and 2.2 for francolite, calcite, dolomite and quartz, respectively. Calcium ions were released from the three minerals with Mg2+ and P2O5 3– released from dolomite and phosphate, respectively. The adsorption of collector, zeta-potential and floatability of pure minerals were studied. The effect of individual cations and anions predominant in seawater are studied on individual mineral or group. The troublesome Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions should be controlled by soda ash addition. Sodium silicate improved the selectivity of mineral mixtures and natural ore. At optimum conditions the calcareous phosphate ore yielded a concentrate of 34% P2O5, at 83% recovery with 0.61% MgO, from an ore assaying 25.3% P2O5 and 9.4% MgO. To minimize the Clcontent, fresh water of about 0.5 m3 /t was used and the Cl- decreased to about 0.09 %

Jan 1, 2003

By Pengbo Chu, James Finch

Bubbles around 1 mm diameter provide the high interfacial area for capture and transport of hydrophobic particles in flotation. The formation of such fine bubbles is commonly achieved by addition of frothers that appear to simultaneously retard coalescence and promote break-up. High inorganic salt content in process water can substitute for frother. In this work we focus on the action of salt (sodium chloride) on formation of bubbles by break-up. An experimental setup that isolates break-up from coalescence was employed. A pocket of air is exposed to controlled mechanical turbulence to produce single bubbles by the induced deformation of the air and the events imaged. The presence of salt is shown to produce smaller bubbles than in water alone. Comparison with a similar study on frothers is made. The argument is advanced that the presence of frother and salt creates surface tension gradients at the air/water interface which add to the mechanical energy of the deformation and break-up process.

Jan 1, 2014

By W. S. Eu

Thermal treatment of mineral ores can initiate thermal phase transformations which can affect either their activation or deactivation, subsequently influencing their ability to dissolve in a leaching reagent. The formation of rutile and hematite from ilmenite minerals, for example, has been suggested to occur through a series of reduction and segregation reactions. This process has been used in beneficiating low-grade weathered ilmenite ores to higher grade rutile. Despite decades of re-search, the mechanism of this process is not well understood, because dissolved intermediates are poorly crystalline and are difficult to quantify, with the exception of the final rutile products. Previous studies have shown that disrupted intermediate phases, by thermal treatment, are most susceptible to reagent attack and can often demonstrate ?activation? effects. In this study, synchrotron based X-ray diffraction method was used to investigate in-situ and in real-time the transformation of ilmenite minerals to rutile and hematite during calcination. The rate of formation and disappearance of specific Bragg peaks during the reaction and thermal decomposition of the mineral were used to derive an understanding of the solid-state reactions. The effects of the mineral transformation were validated by laboratory based batch calcination and leaching in sulphuric acid. The results suggest that transformation of major mineral phases occurs within of specific window of operation and thermal treatment appears to influence the extent of activation and leachability of ilmenite minerals.

Jan 1, 2014

By V. Sovmen

The gold-ore Olympiada deposit is located within the Yenissei range (Krasnoyarsk Region, Russia). Primary sulphides ores are metasomatic changed rocks, mica-calcite-quartz structure with impurity amphiboles, chlorites, carbon, the rare thin grains of sulfides (up to 3%~5%) and native gold. The structures of ores are fine-grained, prevailing texture of ores - interspersed, vein-interspersed, band-interspersed, veinlet. The most important minerals in the deposit are: gold, arsenopyrite, pyrrhotite, antimonite, Sb-sulphosalt, quartz, muscovite, calcite, siderite, titanium minerals, chlorite and minor sulfides like chalcopyrite, galena, sphalerite, etc. A common problem in mineralogical studies applied to mineral processing (concentration, cyanidation, etc.) is the characterization of gold in ores and technological products. This paper discusses the behavior of minerals during technological process at operating factory in Olympiada Mine and gold distribution in the ores and products. For the mineralogical characterization of minerals ? combination of analytical techniques was used. Gold is encountered in the primary ores as free grains among rocks, growth with sulfides and nonmetallic minerals, inclusions in sulfides, sulphosalt, and nonmetallic minerals. The gold-sulphide ores of Olympiada deposit can be quite complicated for enrichment. With the purpose to increase the extraction of metal from concentrates by liberating the dispersed gold, forming inclusions in sul-fides, there is used technology of biooxidation of flotation concentrates in Olympiada Mine. Gold and the basic ore-forming minerals in the ores feed, sulphidic concentrates, biocakes, tailings of concentrates of flotation and products of hydrometallurgical leaching have been studied in the mineralogical research. During researches it is established that pyrrhotite was completely oxidized while arsenopyrite was oxidized almost completely in the bacterial oxidation process. Pyrite and antimony minerals behave similarly and were oxidized only partially. The main oxyhydroxides in the bacterial oxida-tion process are goethite, limonite and jarosite. The results of mineralogical researches showed reasons of losses of gold during hydrometallurgical enrichment.

Jan 1, 2014

By John A. Herbst, Ming Song, Xiangjun Qiu

"It has been known for sometime that as wear occurs in tumbling mills there is an associated change in mill throughput. These changes have traditionally been simplistically, attributed to “mill volume effects”. New high fidelity simulation (HFS) tools (involving DEM, CFD and Breakage models) are now giving new “microscale” insights into the complex interactions that occur between evolving lifter/liner profiles and breakage. An illustration of this analysis is shown in Figure 1 below.Here we see that after a new lining is installed (Region I) the wearing process reduces the liner thickness resulting in a larger power draw and an associated higher throughput until Region II is reached. By this point the lifter height is reduced significantly changing charge motion (less cataracting) the power begins to decline, but the comminution efficiency increases with this type of “calmer” breakage environment therefore the throughput continues to increase. In Region III the lifter is no longer providing the minimum required charge lifting action, the power and the throughput both drop off significantly. In the last two stages the behavior is especially complex because throughput is not linearly related to power since grinding efficiency is changing.The study described here shows that these new HFS tools allow the design of wear part profiles which will maximize mill productivity over the entire life of liner/lifter systems. A simple example of such a design procedure is shown involving the selection of a sinusoidal profile for a 34 ft diameter SAG mill.The paper discusses how the principles exposed in this simple example can be applied to search for an optimal profile in which non-standard modifications are allowed to compensate for throughput or wear shortcomings of standard profiles."

Jan 1, 2003

By Sanggono Adisasmito

"The quality of the higher education in Indonesia is being improved by implementing a program financed by the World Bank under a project named QUE (Quality for Undergraduate Education). The investments are provided to selected study programs through a competitive selection process. The grant finances staff development, the purchase of equipments, textbooks, consumables, technical assistance, and incentives for outstanding faculties such as teaching grants, project grants, lecture note awards, and educational policy studies. These additional investments are provided to produce chemical engineering graduates that will compete beyond the national market.Chemical Engineering Department of Institut Teknologi Bandung in Indonesia has been selected to receive the QUE grant beginning the year 2000 and ending the year 2004. The department is actively involved in the mineral processing issues, particularly in the aspects of energy supply and the environmental protection. The activities are distributed in different laboratories and areas of expertise, such as: thermodynamics and utility systems, process equipment, chemical reaction and catalysis, microbiology and bioprocess engineering, process control, ceramics, as well as polymer and membrane technology. The main objectives of the QUE project are to improve the undergraduate program in the following aspects: Relevance, Academic atmosphere, Institutional management and commitment, Sustainability, as well as Efficiency and productivity, or abbreviated as RAISE. At the end of every fiscal year, the progress of the program is evaluated to measure the effectiveness of the project.The achievement of the QUE project objectives were assessed using performance indicators developed during the program design. There are six indicators to measure the performance of the individual program of study, such as: (1) Admission Test score, (2) average students' Grade Point Average (GPA), (3) average graduates' length of study, (4) graduates' waiting time before getting first job, (5) Test of English as Foreign Language (TOEFL) score, (6) Graduate Record Examination (GRE) score. Essentially, the RAISE evaluation criteria will be used to perform three main functions, such as (1) to measure the achievement through the six quantitative performance indicators, (2) to support the progress of evaluation and reporting throughout the implementation of the program, (3) to provide a universal framework for qualitative evaluation."

Jan 1, 2003

By S. J. Liu

The conventional collector for bauxite mineral is oleic acid, which is highly insoluble and must be used in high dosage in bauxite flotation operations, that is the great drawback of oleic acid in use. A series of hydroxamic acid were synthesized, and their collecting ability to certain minerals in bauxite: diaspore, kaolinite were studied. The collecting power of various reagents to diaspore in an incremental sequence were shown as follows: benzyl hydroxamic acid<amylic hydroxamic ac-id<heptylic hydroxamic acid<oleic acid<octylic hydroxamic acid; while the incremental sequence of the collecting power to kaolinite was like this: benzyl hydroxamic acid<amylic hydroxamic ac-id<heptylic hydroxamic acid<octylic hydroxamic acid<oleic acid. It could be seen that octylic hydroxamic acid had the capability of high collectivity and good selectivity, and octylic hydroxamic acid was chosen to use in the following experiments. Reduced zeta potential showed the adsorption of the anionic collector on the mineral. By the adsorptive capability and IR tests, the adsorption of octylic hydroxamic acid on diaspore was determined to be chemical absorption, which was greater than that of oleic acid, as it was physical absorption. Results of floatation experiments on manually mixed minerals indicated that the collectivity and selectivity of octylic hydroxamic acid were better than oleic acid.

Jan 1, 2014

By E. Guerrini, M. Maccagni, J. Nielsen

"The solution for the treatment of the EAFD has not yet been fully achieved. Some of this dust has still not found an appropriate final destination. Large consortium treatment plants are quite expensive both in terms of investment and operating cost. Meanwhile, the tolling expenses for steel production companies are becoming very important, causing them to look for alternatives. Some steel plants are looking to close their production loop by internal treatment of their dust. Some years ago, Engitec began studying the coupling of the EZINEX® Process, an ammonium chloride electrolysis to recover the zinc contained in the EAFD, with the INDUTEC® Process, a pyro process based on an induction furnace that can convert EAFD into a C.Z.O. similar to the Waelz oxide. The combination of these two processes provides an alternative to the existing treatment options and is particularly interesting for relatively small capacities. In this paper, we would like to give the latest update about these two processes and their possible integration INTRODUCTION Zinc is contained in numerous wastes and secondary raw materials that can be thought of as high zinc concentrate mines. This is a very interesting source of Zn that is typically easily exploitable. Unfortunately, only a portion of these materials are currently processed to recover the metal value, while stabilized or unstabilized landfilling is often the final destination. Pyrometallurgical processes are mainly used to convert the zinc into crude zinc oxide (CZO). The various processes are very similar and characterized by the fact that the zinc bearing materials are usually submitted to a thermal treatment [1] in which the zinc is reduced, vaporized and re-oxidized producing CZO. This material not only contains zinc oxide, but also relatively high concentrations of heavy metals. Many potential CZO sources, such as electric arc furnace dust (EAF), galvanizing ashes, brass foundry and converters fumes also contain chlorides, fluorides and alkali metals that will transfer to the CZO. The classic example is the Waelz oxide [2]. This CZO is an intermediate product that must be transformed into zinc salts or zinc metal. Until now, the conversion to zinc metal is done through two main processes: the sulphate leaching and electrowinning system and the Imperial Smelting Process (ISP). ISP is facing a crisis for technical and economic reasons that has led to the closing of most of the existing plants. In any case, before being fed to one of these two processes, the CZO must be treated to eliminate or reduce some of the contained impurities. In particular, the halides are most harmful to these processes."

Jan 1, 2018

By E. Guerrini, M. Maccagni, J. Nielsen

"The solution for the treatment of the EAFD has not yet been fully achieved. Some of this dust has still not found an appropriate final destination. Large consortium treatment plants are quite expensive both in terms of investment and operating cost. Meanwhile, the tolling expenses for steel production companies are becoming very important, causing them to look for alternatives. Some steel plants are looking to close their production loop by internal treatment of their dust. Some years ago, Engitec began studying the coupling of the EZINEX® Process, an ammonium chloride electrolysis to recover the zinc contained in the EAFD, with the INDUTEC® Process, a pyro process based on an induction furnace that can convert EAFD into a C.Z.O. similar to the Waelz oxide. The combination of these two processes provides an alternative to the existing treatment options and is particularly interesting for relatively small capacities. In this paper, we would like to give the latest update about these two processes and their possible integration INTRODUCTION Zinc is contained in numerous wastes and secondary raw materials that can be thought of as high zinc concentrate mines. This is a very interesting source of Zn that is typically easily exploitable. Unfortunately, only a portion of these materials are currently processed to recover the metal value, while stabilized or unstabilized landfilling is often the final destination. Pyrometallurgical processes are mainly used to convert the zinc into crude zinc oxide (CZO). The various processes are very similar and characterized by the fact that the zinc bearing materials are usually submitted to a thermal treatment [1] in which the zinc is reduced, vaporized and re-oxidized producing CZO. This material not only contains zinc oxide, but also relatively high concentrations of heavy metals. Many potential CZO sources, such as electric arc furnace dust (EAF), galvanizing ashes, brass foundry and converters fumes also contain chlorides, fluorides and alkali metals that will transfer to the CZO. The classic example is the Waelz oxide [2]. This CZO is an intermediate product that must be transformed into zinc salts or zinc metal. Until now, the conversion to zinc metal is done through two main processes: the sulphate leaching and electrowinning system and the Imperial Smelting Process (ISP). ISP is facing a crisis for technical and economic reasons that has led to the closing of most of the existing plants. In any case, before being fed to one of these two processes, the CZO must be treated to eliminate or reduce some of the contained impurities. In particular, the halides are most harmful to these processes."

Jan 1, 2018

By Tracy Shimmield, Philip Samar

"Metals have been mined as ores since pre-history but metal production has increased dramatically in modern times driven by expanding Global GDP. Metal ore mining produces large amounts of waste rock and mine tailings. Mine tailings are the wastes produced after extracting the desired metal from the ore. There are several ways of dealing with this waste, and Ritcey (2005) identifies the following possibilities, land-based storage, backfill to the mine, deep lake disposal and marine disposal. In Papua New Guinea (PNG), both Misima and Lihir Mines adopted the marine disposal option, releasing tailings through a submerged pipe onto the sea floor. This special case is referred to as Deep Sea Tailings Placement (DSTP) in which the tailings deposition is sufficiently deep as to be below the euphotic zone. The most important aspect of deep sea tailings placement is that the tailings are deposited at great depth where exchanges between the seabed and the surface layers are small. The first quantitative multidisciplinary study of tailings impact on the deep sea was carried out from 2006 to 2010 in Papua New Guinea. The physical, chemical and biological work carried out has placed PNG at the forefront of research into the assessment and management of deep-sea environmental impacts related to mining in PNG. The study has provided data which has led to a better understanding of the ecological and geochemical processes in deep water that accompany DSTP in PNG and provided baseline data on deep-sea ecosystems in a scientifically poorly known tropical ocean. Additionally, guidelines on best practice for DSTP have been developed Here we present geochemical data obtained from sediment samples from the marine environment surrounding Lihir and Misima Islands."

Jan 1, 2014

By A. N. Zagorodnyaya, T. N. Bukurov, Z. S. Abisheva, A. S. Sharipova

"The paper describes the results of stripping of copper production dusts by leaching with aqueous soda, nitric acid solutions and recovery from solutions resulting in the production of lead sulphate, tribasic lead sulfate (TBLS), ammonium perrhenate, zinc, copper-cadmium cake.The combination of two stripping operations under chosen optimal conditions allows the recovery of 98% rhenium, 82% lead, 92 % copper, and 96% zinc and cadmium each. The major amount of rhenium (~ 80%) is recovered at the carbonization stage, and other metals - at the nitric acid leaching stage.Lead sulfate was precipitated by mixing solutions resulting from carbonization and leaching. Tribasic lead sulfate was produced by dissolving lead sulfate in sodium hydroxide solutions. Rhenium was recovered from mother liquor resulting from lead sulfate precipitation by liquid-liquid extraction and zinc was recovered from raffinates. Trialkylamine (TAA) was used as an extractant for rhenium recovery and di-2- ethylhexylphosphoric acid was used for zinc recovery. Optimal liquid-liquid extraction parameters have been defined allowing the recovery of 96% rhenium in crude ammonium perrhenate and 94% zinc in sulfuric acid solution. Based on the experimental data, the flowchart for dust processing to produce salable products - lead, rhenium, zinc salts has been suggested."

Jan 1, 2003

By Kozlov Andrey, Matveeva Tamara

"The results of mineralogical and technological studies of platiniferous dunites from Svetloborsky zonal massif (Urals platinum belt) are presented and the basic typomorphic signs of productive mineral assemblages are substantiated. The characteristic features of platinum ore mineralization are revealed: a wide range of iron-platinum alloys, enrichment of ore-formed system by the elements Os, Ir, Rh and activity of the S and As in it, intrusion of Fe-Ni sulfides in platinum and its fusion with magnetite. More than 80% of PGM mineral grains has size less than 100 microns, that determines the possibility of significant losses of platinum in the process of gravity separation and the need for additional recovery processes for small and fine fractions of platinum tailings and sludge products. Summarized results of laboratory tests of small-volume sample processing of platiniferous dunites are presented and the processing flow sheet is developed and tested. The flow sheet incorporates several stages, including stage-wise grinding and gravity separation of ore using the centrifugal concentrator Knelson KS-MD for differently sized material and flotation treatment of tailing products using new classes of reagents for additional recovery of PGM fines."

Jan 1, 2014

By K. V. Fedotov, E. V. Zelinskaya, O. V. Ulanova

"Mining enterprises, in particular, those on the territory of the Siberian platform, produce large amounts of pumped water, which cannot be recycled because of its high mineralization and, thus, is discharged as liquid waste either back into the ground or onto the surface. However, groundwater is often a valuable raw material and a source of useful chemical substances. Brines are unique groundwaters. In the current environmental and economic situation, the huge loss of natural raw materials and their deliberate conversion into wastes is unaffordable. The exploration of non-traditional sources of minerals such as the hydromineral resources (including pit water) is a matter of rational nature management. The industrial value of brines of the Siberian platform is due to the high contents of rare alkali and earth alkaline elements (lithium, rubidium, cesium, strontium, bromine, etc.). The absolute concentrations of these elements in brines are tens of times higher than the lower limits of the mining cut-off. The long-term data analysis was performed to estimate the environmental impact of liquid waste from two mining enterprises, namely, Korshunovskii (Irkutsk region) and Udachnaya (Southern Yakutia). The study was focused on the prospects of hydromineral resources as non-traditional sources of valuable elements and the exploration of technological processes for the selective extraction of rare alkali and earth alkaline metals from natural multi-component brines aimed at decreasing their negative environmental impact. The environmental and economic efficiency was proved for the processing of complex brines and the integrated selective extraction of rare earth metals from sodium chloride brines of the Korshunovskii plant and calcium chloride brines of the Udachnaya plant based on the ion exchange sorption, eluent chromatography, flotation, crystallization, and freezing techniques. The basic technological schemes were developed for the metal extraction from pit water and brines.INTRODUCTION In the Irkutsk region (the Angara–Lena artesian basin) and in Yakutia (the Olenek and Tunguska artesian basins), several mineral deposits are developed and, incidentally, aquifers bearing brines of different types are opened, which are eventually converted into liquid production waste (Rusetskaya et al., 1994) This raises the issue of the burial or utilization of brines since their use within the water circulation is impracticable under the existing technological conditions while their discharge into the surface watercourse is unacceptable because of the harmful environmental impact."

Jan 1, 2018

By S. L. Gubin, T. V. Ignatova, A. V. Levshin, D. O. Sharkovsky

"Flotation process applied for concentration of unoxidized ferruginous quartzites by PJSC Mikhailovsky GOK (MGOK) is based on wet magnetic separation of strong magnetic minerals. However quality of the resulting concentrate (Fe65-66%) is insufficient for production of metallics. Quality upgrade of magnetite concentrate via flotation has been implemented by MGOK to produce premium quality magnetite concentrate.Flotation is a challenging process due to sensitivity to varied amounts of reagents, fine and coarse mineral ratio, particle contact (retention) time and temperature of feed. Tomah’s PA-14 reagent (USA) has proven efficient for application in flotation of MGOK’s magnetite concentrate.Objective of this work is to select and prove applicability of selective agents for flotation upgrade of magnetite iron ore concentrate.Series of flotation tests has been carried out with application of new highly selective collecting agents produced by Akzo Nobel (Sweden), Clariant (Germany) as well as Akzo Nobel’s and Tomah’s cationic collector mix to improve performance efficiency of flotation process. Tomah’s flotation agents and Akzo Nobel’s Lilaflotproved to be the most effective for purposes of concentrate quality upgrade to Fe69.0% via flotation.Testing Method: Following scientific research methods were applied for testwork: system analysis, mathematical statistics, observation, comparison, trial (experiment).To determine key process factors a series of pilot tests was carried out. Most of the testwork was performed by PJSC Mikhailovsky GOK’s Central Process Laboratory.Work Results:-optimized flotation performance modes were defined to ensure production of three types of low-silica concentrate, i.e. containing SiO25%, SiO24% and below SiO23% by weight. Most efficient selective agents applicable for flotation have been defined. Mixture of higher aliphatic amines has proven to intensify selective flotation of quartz. It enables higher yield of chamber product maintaining desired quality of concentrate.Achieved process operation and performance factors have been revaluated.Value for Advancement and Expansion of Mineral Processing:Flotation of concentrate has enabled expansion of PJSC Mikhailovsky GOK’s production capacity, improved production quality, helped to maintain sustainability and competitive advantage of the company."

Jan 1, 2018

By Saeed Farrokhpay

It is known that the grinding condition has a major effect on the beneficiation characteristics of the minerals in subsequent processing, in particular, flotation. In the flotation process, particles surface and their condition can significantly influence collector adsorption and flotation performance. For example, particle shape and its surface roughness occurred during grinding may influence flotation characteristics of a specific ore. In fact, adsorption of different cationic and anionic species on mineral surfaces can be varied depending on the selected comminution procedure. The flotation performance of sulphide minerals can be detrimentally affected by the surface oxidation. The amount of surface oxidation may reduce the hydrophobicity of the mineral and makes adsorption of collectors less selective. Improved liberation may generally result in improved flotation recovery. However, this may result in finer grinding and slimes, and consequently, reduce the overall flotation recovery. This paper discusses the effect of wet and dry grinding on copper flotation of a complex Cu-Pb-Zn ore. Industrially, wet grinding is preferred due to its higher energy efficiency and owing to downstream processing requirements. In this study, series of flotation tests were conducted,and surface analysis (XPS and ToFSIMS) were performed after wet or dry grinding at two different P80 values. Mineralogical study was also conducted to investigate the liberation of valuable minerals after grinding. A higher copper flotation recovery was found for wet grinding. However, the copper recovery was increased by further grinding in both conditions (wet and dry). The results showed a higher collector adsorption on copper mineral surfaces after wet grinding. The surface analysis also revealed that the ore is slightly more oxidized after dry grinding probably due to higher temperature during dry grinding.

Sep 1, 2012

By Alex Joseph

A tertiary amine containing polyamine in its back bone was grafted to exfoliated graphite oxide by means of a series of chemical reactions.The synthesized amine functionalized polyaniline grafted to exfoliated graphite oxide (EGAMPANI) was characterized using various techniques such as, FTIR, TGA, Raman, and X-Ray diffraction.The synthesized EGAMPANI was blended with carbon paste electrode, and used to study the response of Hg2+ in acetate buffer solution.Preliminary analysis showed that the anodic current intensity using the EGAMPANI modified electrode was higher during a potential sweep and 10-4 M concentration of mercury could be detected which could be improved to 10-6 M using anodic stripping voltammetric technique. Keywords: metal sensor, exfoliated graphite oxide, functionalization, polyaniline

Sep 1, 2012

By C. Raghu Kumar

Hydraulic or teetered bed separators (TBS) are finding new avenues for application in the field of mineral processing. Floatex Density Separator (FDS) is a hydraulic/teetered bed separator capable of operating at high tonnage due to its advanced instrumentation. FDS/TBS is being used in Indian mineral sand industry for classification and segregation of different minerals. The purpose of this paper is to provide details on the performance of the plant scale FDS in recovering the chromite from feed (below 1mm size). Historically this feed has been processed using hydrocyclones and spiral classifiers; however, there is a strong trend now to employ teetered bed separators, thus allowing significant changes to be made in the plant for improving process efficiency. In the present work, the performance of the plant scale FDS is described in terms of partition curve (yield, cut size, classification efficiency/Ep) for different combination of process variables and also in terms of metallurgical grade and recovery. It is found that, efficient classification can be achieved at a maximum cut size of 380 µm with and the imperfection is also reported as low as 0.16. The grade of the underflow product is enriched as maximum as 52.2% Cr2O3 from a feed assaying 40.4% Cr2O3.

Sep 1, 2012

By Marlize Barkhuizen, Chris Aldrich

"Owing to environmental constraints, safety considerations and competitive pressures, the development of model-based process control and other automated systems have experienced considerable growth in the last few decades. Reliable process models are usually critical to the successful implementation of these systems. In complex processes, these models are often constructed from process data, as modelling from first principles may not be feasible or cost-effective.Even so, modelling or identification of nonlinear systems from historic plant data can be a daunting task and in the process industries the problem is complicated by the presence of noise from various sources, nonstationarity of the data, intermittence, such as observed in particulate flows, etc. Traditional methods, such as frequency analysis and linear modelling do not handle these systems well. Similar problems arise with the application of nonlinear theory developed over the last few decades, where much of the analysis depends on embedding of the data in a phase or pseudophase space, since these methods were not originally designed to deal with noisy systems.With singular spectrum analysis, the data are embedded in a high-dimensional reconstruction, followed by the introduction of a new coordinate system, where the origin is moved to the centroid of the reconstructed system states and the axes are represented by the dominant principal components of the states (points)."

Jan 1, 2003

By T. C. Rao

This presentation identifies how mineral (coal included) processing profession should look at the challenges (threats) being faced by mineral industry. Presently, the focus is more on supply and demand on minerals. In addition, the R&D activities in the chain of mine-to-metal are paying more attention (if not only on) the processes being adopted, development of new equipments and modeling and simulation. But the profession is grossly ignoring aspects such as impact of the processes on other resources, of the ways we extract, use and dispose them socio-economically and efficiently. A business model which may encompass all these dimensions are essential for the sustainable development of mineral industry and a possible approach in this direction is presented. To start with, for the sustainable growth and existence, the profession must be aware of the prospective impacts of their activities on critical factors such as ? political (changing government policies), geographical (environment, land, water and habitat), which have major bearing on the survival and growth of the industry. Mineral Processing professionals have to join hands with mining engineers to answer some relevant questions related to the impact of mineral industry on society. Mining can become economically viable only if mineral processing engineers come out with innovative solutions to reduce capital and operating costs. The solutions have to be adoptable and practically feasible so that industry looks at us for directions. In fact, we have to move towards beneficiation of nano particles striving towards zero waste. Some of the gaps in the knowledge of procedures being followed in the design and operation of processing plants are highlighted. Enhancing the knowledge base for solving unexplored possibilities, solutions to evolve sustainable development measures which demands innovation both at academic and practicing levels is the need of the future. Well-structured academic programmes are to be formulated so that the graduates of these programmes can make an effort to look at processes/concepts with a new insight and approach; the profession should excite the young brains with challenges. R&D funding agencies have to have a long-term perspective on mineral processing so that closer interactions between academic institutes, industry and R&D organizations are sustainable and that innovations are at least a few years ahead of needs of future challenges. Keywords: sustainable growth

Sep 1, 2012

By J. Broadhurst

"A number of metal supplying industries have in recent years seen the compilation of life cycle inventories (LCIs) and life cycle assessments (LCAs). The activity has largely been driven by the interest of ultimate metal users, such as the automotive industry, in the interest of designing more sustainable products. Often, the compilation of such inventories has been little more than an auditing exercise. However, the process of conducting an LCA can have more value, guiding designers and operators to points within the technology train where significant emissions and impacts originate. The LCA product can thus be used to inform on-site environmental management, and, where process data is used to construct dynamic operational models, to support strategic decision making in the realm of project planning and technology selection. LCA thus serves as a valuable tool to support the industry’s drive to support the sustainable development of the societies in which it operates.This paper reviews and compares the priorities of environmental and closure planning in the design phase, with environmental management and auditing during operation, and with green procurement of minerals and metals products. It shows how life cycle assessments of various complexities can be used to reconcile these various objectives, ensuring that the latter, critical to business success, can be addressed from the outset in a new project. The paper then reviews a case study of the use of LCA in the base & precious metals industry, where the complexity of the operation disallowed the simpler auditing process so that a detailed process understanding had to be built up in order to compile a meaningful life cycle inventory."

Jan 1, 2003