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By Y. Jeong, K. Kim

Excess water can lead to instability and even failure in tailings storage facilities (TSFs). Simply reducing the amount of water in TSFs could be the best way to ensure the safety of nearby communities. In this case study we investigated the effects of reducing the water content in tailings slurry at a copper-cobalt-zinc mine in Mexico. An environmentally friendly polymer was used as a drag reduction agent (DRA) to offset the increase in solids percentage. The potential effects of the increased solids concentration on the tailings transportation system were also assessed. A series of ‘what if’ studies was conducted to assess whether adding the polymer would allow the solids concentration to be increased without changing the pressure loss in the tailings pipeline. The studies entailed conducting pipe loop tests to investigate these changes under various solids/ polymer concentrations and then constructing a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation model using the test results. The validated model was used to determine the optimal polymer percentages needed to maintain the same pressure loss under baseline (30% solids) conditions, and to assess the potential risks (clogging, increased erosion rates) to the pipelines. The potential water savings were found to be significant, varying from about 1.852 Mm3/a at 35% solids to 3.915 Mm3/a at 45% solids.

Dec 13, 2023

By George A. Johnson, Leon H. Banks

The Missouri-Kansas Zinc Corpn., operating in the Waco district, 15 miles northwest of .Joplin, Mo., owns large tailing piles made during milling operations of the years 1918-28 by the Butte-Kansas, Acme, and Barnsdall mining companies, whose holdings have been purchased and consolidated under the ownership of the Missouri-Kansas Zinc Corpn. These tailings had been considered too low in value to be worth retreating by the ordinary methods. C. Erb Wuensch, consulting engineer of the Missouri-Kansas Zinc Corpn., noted the difference in the type of tailing from upper-level and lower-level ore. The latter contained hard lime chats. He also found that mill losses had been due to particles of blende on the corners or sides of the chats and to the existence of soft, porous, cellular, lime chats containing varying amounts of blende. He conceived the idea that a quick grind in rolls or hall rnills might change the type of the rnaterial so that jigging could rnake a clean tailing for discard and a partly concentrated product sufficient in blende content to justify the expense of fine grinding in hall mills to free the mineral entirely. A laboratory was equipped with the necessary machines and the writers were assigned the problem of developing a method of retreating the tailings. Laboratory Testing From preliminary drill sampling of each pile was obtained the blende content, the soluble sulfate content, and the general characteristics of the material to he treated. The tailings were a mixture of lime and flint with some shale. Visual examination showed most of the blende to be in the dolomite and very little in the flint, although there were some flint particles with blende on the cleavages. The blende was found as particles on the corners or cleavage faces in one type of chat and in another disseminated in a soft, porous, cellular lime. Because of the porosity of the latter type of chat, the apparent specific gravity, under hindered-settling conditions, is less than that of a solid piece of lime or flint. That it,

Jan 1, 1930

By Michael J. Messel

W. P. MOULD*—Has consideration been given to the problem of retreating the 4,000,000 ton tailings pile to recover the very considerable amount of asbestos fiber that was lost over the years due to insufficient operation and poor recoveries? Also, what was known about the possible content of chromite and the sulphides of nickel and cobalt? M. J. MESSEL (author's reply)—Consideration was given to the problem but nothing concrete has been done up to this time. W. P. MOULD—I am certain the tail- ings contain a very considerable quantity of fiber, not all of which is in the shortest lengths, because in the milling of talc rock from a neighboring location having a common origin with the asbestos bearing serpentine source of the tailings pile, a concentrate carrying 15 pct Ni and Co in complex sulphides and constituting about 4/10 of 1 pct of the talc rock was recovered. In the belief that the tailings also contained an appreciable content of chromite (then in demand, 1937) it was suggested to the management of the asbestos company that a truck load of the current tailings be sent to the flotation plant of the talc company where it would be put over the concentrating tables in an effort to discover the presence and roughly the percentages of chromite, nickel, and cobalt. Preparations for the test were woefully inadequate and the test was completely snarled up by the surprisingly large quantity of asbestos fiber from 1 in. long down to very short fiber, all of which matted up and plugged launders and pumps with disastrous effects and practically the total loss of the sample. If anything was indicaded by the test, it was that a wet process for milling asbestos was worthy of very serious consideration. M. J. MESSEL—A wet milling process for tailings retreatment only, is at present under study at our plant. One asbestos mining company in Canada has constructed a fairly large test plant for this purpose, but as yet no definite results have been obtained other than in a small test unit plant which were in some respects quite encouraging.

Jan 1, 1950

By C. O. Brawner

The advent of larger drilling, excavation, and milling equipment is resulting in a tremendous increase in the scale and annual tonnage of open pit mining. At the present time, open pits up to 3000 ft. deep, and tailings dams and waste dumps up to 600 ft. high are being planned. One of the major problems that projects of this magnitude create is stability. Stability at open pit mining developments must be assessed for tailings dams, waste dumps, and open pit slopes in overburden soil and in rock. Soil mechanics principles are used to assess the stability for the first three. This science was developed by Dr. Karl Terzaghi in the 1920’s, and since that time the theories and principles have been tested and evaluated. This experience has resulted in the development of sound theoretical concepts, workable sampling and testing techniques, and accurate methods of analysis. Typical problems that can be analyzed include: -bearing capacity of soil under dams and waste dumps. - amount of seepage under and through dams. - stability of slopes and determination of safe slope angles for tailings dams, waste dumps, and open pits. - influence of earthquakes on stability. - influence and cost of different excavation and construction techniques. To assist in comparing engineering experience, an international soil classification system has been developed and used for several decades. In addition, many excellent text books are available outlining soil mechanics principles and techniques. A high degree of technology exists in soil mechanics. This, the mining engineer cannot afford to ignore. If soil mechanics principles had been applied, many major failures involving tailings, tailings dams, or waste dumps, such as those at Aberfan, Mufulira, Luanshya, and El Cobre would not have occurred. Tailings dams are planned in Canada that will be up to 600 ft. high. Construction procedures used in the past have paid little attention to the compaction of the shell material or to the influence of earthquakes on stability. This neglect has led to failures. While failures in low dams may not be too serious, for high dams such failures could have catastrophic results. Another major area of concern is the stability of rock slopes. From the standpoint of long

Jan 1, 1971

By D. E. Martin, K. J. Hamill, H. J. Miller

1. INTRODUCTION In April 1979, the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued the Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) on Uranium Milling (NUREG-0511) for public comment. While the GEIS is a broad environmental impact assessment of the U.S. uranium milling industry as a whole, its primary focus is on the issue of uranium mill tailings disposal and long term isolation. In August of 1979, proposed regulations (U.S. Federal Register Notice 44FR50012), incorporating both conclusions of the GEIS and provisions of recent U.S. legislation on uranium mill tailings (Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978--UMTRCA), were also issued for public comment. This paper (1) briefly reviews the major conclusions of the draft GEIS, (2) summarizes the major elements and rationale of the associated, proposed regulations, and (3) reviews some of the major issues raised during the public comment period and changes which the NRC staff expects will be made in finalizing the GEIS and regulations. The risk in summarizing a document of such broad scope and complexity as the GEIS is that the depth of evaluation and the full technical bases for conclusions reached may not be adequately conveyed. Recognizing this, those Sections of the draft GEIS where a more complete discussion of the issues is presented are parenthetically noted in this paper in order to facilitate location of additional background and supporting material. 2. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS In the GEIS, a full range of tailings disposal alternatives was considered. These alternatives ranged from the past practice of doing little or nothing to control tailings, to advanced treatment alternatives such as nitric acid leaching to increase removal of radioactive elements and fixation of tailings in cement or asphalt. Our broad conclusions were: -Any alternative which results in the need for ongoing, active maintenance to assure long term containment, is unacceptable. (12.3.2.1) -Advanced treatment alternatives are unwarranted since they offer uncertain incremental benefits yet involve costs which may be as much as an order of magnitude greater than costs associated with acceptable alternatives. In addition, the advanced treatment

Jan 1, 1980

By David Minson

On many occasions, operators have seen that high density and paste thickener performance does not meet the initial design expectations, and the installed equipment produces lower than expected thickener underflow solids content. This lower-density tailings slurry leads to more water and lower beaching angles being seen at the tailings storage facility (TSF). This not only reduces storage capacity, but also increases the risks of non-compliance with environmental permit constraints. Reasons for the shortfall in performance can be many, but perhaps the main problem is inadequate understanding of the critical components of thickener design and operation, with too much reliance placed on standardised design terminology; such as tph/m2. This paper discusses additional factors that influence high-density thickener operation and presents test work that defines “Dynamic Slurry Fluidity”, “Bed Compaction Rates”, and “Natural Slump Angles” for these high yield stress/viscosity slurries. Finally, the paper uses this data to define thickener geometry, drive torque, floor slope(s), rake blade configuration and how this can be used to provide engineers with more tools for in depth evaluation of a High-Density thickener design. INTRODUCTION Generally copper mines are high tonnage operations, with copper flotation concentrators producing high volumes of tailings slurries of milled solids and water. As a result, Tailings Storage Facilities (TSF) become very large and this, along with potential scarcity of water, favours a design that maximises storage space. In theory, the use of filtration equipment that achieves immediate water recovery, high TSF in-situ densities and high stacking angles are preferred for this duty. However, large tailings filter units are uncommon, and have high operating and capital costs that favour the use of thickeners. The use of high-density thickeners to produce a thick or near-paste like slurry with high un- sheared yield stress values above 100 Pascals, is becoming more common. The higher thickener underflow is required to not only maximise water recirculation within the mill, but to also increase beaching angles, maximise tailings storage capacity and minimise evaporation losses arising from large areas of superficial water. However, the reliability of this equipment is also under scrutiny and there is perhaps a need to better define these designs.

Jan 1, 2019

By F. H. Wang

The Yinmao Lead-Zinc Mine Co. Ltd. has got 50 years of mining history. In recent years, the manganese grade in the flotation tailings has been continuously increasing. In order to make fuller use of the existing resources, as well as to increase the company?s economic efficiency, our company adopted the technique ?magnetic separation? and ?iron removal? to effectively recycle the manganese concentrate resources.

Jan 1, 2014

By R Knight

The spatial variability of geometallurgical characteristics in a mineral deposit can have significant impact on financial and mine planning, mineral processing, concentrate quality and tailings composition throughout the life of a project. These characteristics that may determine the success of a project are not readily apparent to geologists unless they are integrated with deposit geology and assay data, modelled in 3D and incorporated into resource block models.One of the primary objectives of geometallurgy is to integrate and incorporate various geologic, geotechnical and geometallurgical parameters into resource block models, which typically are limited to in situ tonnes and grade of economic metals. Critical attributes, such as concentration of deleterious elements that affect the project viability need to be identified and integrated into the resource block model early in the exploration stage to predict project profitability and address potential environmental impacts.Using data from a volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit we present an example of the integration of ore geochemistry (cadmium, arsenic and antimony) with the results of preliminary, bench-scale metallurgical test work in a 3D geometallurgical model that predicts subdomains of poor-quality concentrate and tailings containing environmentally-sensitive elements. This critical information was incorporated into the existing resource block model in order to inform both financial modelling and mine planning.This example demonstrates that geometallurgical data can be effectively integrated with geological and assay data using Leapfrog MiningTM software (Leapfrog Mining) early in the exploration stage of a project. Three-dimensional representations of geometallurgical data can be created directly using primary additive data, as well as from proxies of non-additive parameters. Resource block models can be updated continually with new information as the project passes from exploration through production. In addition, the software allows for 3D visualisation of the characteristics of the materials that will eventually constitute the mill concentrate, tailings, and waste. This study emphasises the critical importance of establishing a systematic geometallurgical approach early in the exploration stage that can be continuously updated with new information throughout the life of the project. In the example that we present, sulfide ore that had otherwise been identified as high-value (in the absence of geochemical and metallurgical data) turns out to be low-value ore due to concentrate penalties and increased environmental impact.

Sep 5, 2011

By A Xenidis, N Papassiopi, I Paspaliari

Acid generating sulfidic tailings covering a surface area of approximately ten hectares have been deposited in the historic mining area of Lavrion in Greece. For the development of a remediation strategy, the performance of three alternative acid generation control techniques was assessed under actual field conditions. The techniques involved the application of dry covers, including a synthetic HDPE liner and a compacted clay layer with capillary barriers. Furthermore, the potential formation of a low permeability hardpan layer at the sulfidic tailings surface by limestone addition was investigated. The field tests covered an area of 2500 m2, which was divided in equal quadrants, corresponding to the control plot and the three alternative remedial options. To monitor the amount and quality of percolated water, lysimeters were installed beneath the four plot areas. Based on the monitoring results over a period of six years, due to the dry climate encountered in the Lavrion area, a low amount of water percolates through the pyrites if no action is taken (control area), corresponding to 20 - 25 mm per year. This water is highly acidic, pH = 1.2, and contains a heavy load of contaminants, eg Fe 40 g/L, Zn 15 g/L, and As 1.5 g/L. The HDPE cover eliminated the percolation of water into the material for a period of five years, whereas thereafter the volume of leachates increased to values similar to those recorded in the control plot. The water collected in the lysimeter of the clay cover has been minimal corresponding to approximately five per cent of the drainage volume produced in the control area. In the fourth plot, which involved limestone addition to sulfidic tailings, the volume of drainage initially collected was almost double compared to the control area. After three years of monitoring, significant reduction in the amount of percolated water was observed, attributed to the formation of a cemented layer (hardpan), at a depth of 40-80 cm from the testpad surface.

Jan 1, 2003

By Brenda J. Burd

A very extensive spatial and temporal database on benthic infauna and associated sediment metals has been collected for Island Copper Mine on Vancouver Island, B.C. Canada from 1969 (pre-discharge) to 1998 (3 years post-discharge). The tailings deposited as organically impoverished, copper-rich, clays, silts and sands distributed according to particle size, bottom turbidity currents and strong, vertically mixed tidal currents. In addition, a large deposition of coarser waste rock along the north shore of Rupert Inlet contributed substantial material in the shallower, near-field area.

Jan 1, 2001

By W. L. Cornell

Bulk sulfide concentrate produced from Missouri Pb ore concentrator tailings must be reground to liberate sulfide values for subsequent sepa-ration. Studies to determine grinding parameters for optimum liberation were carried out using optical microscopy coupled with image analysis. The major sulfide phases present in the ground mineral particulates are marca-site, pyrite, sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite, siegenite. and bravoite. Results showed that the base metal minerals were liberated by grinding to 74 micrometers (200 mesh), but the siegenite and bravoite required grinding to 20 micrometers or less to achieve liberation. Both the experimental method and results are presented.

Jan 1, 1987

By A. G. Roach

This paper deals with a plant built under joint agreement between the Canadian and United States Governments to supply the strategic mineral, corundum, at a time when African production was dwindling and war demands still increasing. The operation began in September 1944, retreating the tailings from a former mill by gravity methods, and is still in production (Sept. 1946). In 1942, when it became apparent that South African production would be insufficient to meet mounting wartime requirements of corundum, a survey was made of Canadian sources of the mineral, at the request of the Foreign Economic Administration of the U. S. Government. The investigation' indicated that the quickest and cheapest supply would be obtained by reworking the tailings deposit at Craig-mont, Ontario. Sampling of the dump by Canadian Government engineers revealed that 125,000 tons of tailings, averaging 2.96 pct corundum, was available for retreat-ment. Ore-dressing tests on representative samples of the deposit were conducted by the writer in the laboratories of the Industrial Minerals Section of the Department of Mines and Resources at Ottawa; and gravity concentration on tables was indicated as the most suitable method of treatment. Decision to proceed with the project was deferred until May 9, construction was begun on May 18, and tune-up operation of the plant begun on Sept. IS, 1944. Corundum—Its Properties and Uses Corundum is an oxide of aluminum having the formula Al2O3. Its outstanding characteristic is its great hardness; 9 in the Mohs scale. In this respect it is second only to the diamond. It usually occurs in barrel-shaped crystals in nepheline syenites and other feldspathic rocks deficient in silica. It has a specific gravity of 3.95 to 4.1 and is insoluble and infusible. In color it ranges from white, through red and green, to black. Ruby and sapphire are gem varieties of corundum. Corundum is supplied to industry as closely graded grain.= The coarser roducts (10 to 24-mesh) are used largely for snagging wheels in the steel-castings industry, while the finer grades (from 70-mesh down to flours) find a wide application in the polishing of lenses and for other uses in the optical trade. All sizes of corundum grain are in close competition with synthetic abrasives such as carborundum and alundum. In some fields of application the artificial product is superior to the natural grain but not in' all. The shape of the particle and its behavior under conditions of actual use determine its sphere of employment. The United States is the largest 'Onsumer of corundum, annual consumption in peacetime approaching 3000 tons; during the war this figure was roughly doubled. During the years 1902 to 1913, the bulk

Jan 1, 1948

By A. G. Roach

This paper deals with a plant built under joint agreement between the Canadian and United States Governments to supply the strategic mineral, corundum, at a time when African production was dwindling and war demands still increasing. The operation began in September 1944, retreating the tailings from a former mill by gravity methods, and is still in production (Sept. 1946). In 1942, when it became apparent that South African production would be insufficient to meet mounting wartime requirements of corundum, a survey was made of Canadian sources of the mineral, at the request of the Foreign Economic Administration of the U. S. Government. The investigation' indicated that the quickest and cheapest supply would be obtained by reworking the tailings deposit at Craig-mont, Ontario. Sampling of the dump by Canadian Government engineers revealed that 125,000 tons of tailings, averaging 2.96 pct corundum, was available for retreat-ment. Ore-dressing tests on representative samples of the deposit were conducted by the writer in the laboratories of the Industrial Minerals Section of the Department of Mines and Resources at Ottawa; and gravity concentration on tables was indicated as the most suitable method of treatment. Decision to proceed with the project was deferred until May 9, construction was begun on May 18, and tune-up operation of the plant begun on Sept. IS, 1944. Corundum—Its Properties and Uses Corundum is an oxide of aluminum having the formula Al2O3. Its outstanding characteristic is its great hardness; 9 in the Mohs scale. In this respect it is second only to the diamond. It usually occurs in barrel-shaped crystals in nepheline syenites and other feldspathic rocks deficient in silica. It has a specific gravity of 3.95 to 4.1 and is insoluble and infusible. In color it ranges from white, through red and green, to black. Ruby and sapphire are gem varieties of corundum. Corundum is supplied to industry as closely graded grain.= The coarser roducts (10 to 24-mesh) are used largely for snagging wheels in the steel-castings industry, while the finer grades (from 70-mesh down to flours) find a wide application in the polishing of lenses and for other uses in the optical trade. All sizes of corundum grain are in close competition with synthetic abrasives such as carborundum and alundum. In some fields of application the artificial product is superior to the natural grain but not in' all. The shape of the particle and its behavior under conditions of actual use determine its sphere of employment. The United States is the largest 'Onsumer of corundum, annual consumption in peacetime approaching 3000 tons; during the war this figure was roughly doubled. During the years 1902 to 1913, the bulk

Jan 1, 1948

By Congcong Chen, Bo Ma

When assessing the safety of a tailings dam, the constant weight method (CWM) is one of the most commonly used methods. However, when the evaluation indicator value suggests serious defects, the evaluation value is often inconsistent with the actual situation. To address this issue, the variable weight method (VWM) is introduced to assess the safety of the tailings dam. Initially, a three-layer indicator system for dam failure safety assessment is built, and individual indicator values are divided into four grades. Then, an appropriate state variable weight function is constructed and relevant parameters are determined. Finally, a case study is illustrated to verify the effectiveness of the model. The assessment results of the VWM more closely represent the actual situation than that of the CWM, which is more helpful for decision makers and technicians to take scientific and reasonable precautionary measures, thereby improving the safety management of the tailings pond.

Oct 8, 2022

By Atsushi Shibayama

The aim of this research was to develop a copper recovery process from mine tailings (0.34%Cu) using flotation followed by high-pressure oxidative leaching (HPOL) and solvent extraction. The results of HPOL using the concentrate of mine tailings obtained by flotation under the optimal conditions of the previous study shown that an efficient copper dissolution of 94.4% was achieved in an H2O media, while the copper concentration of PLS reached to be 2.9 g/L. The solvent extraction of PLS obtained from the optimal HPOL showed that 91.3% copper was recovered in stripped solution under the determined optimum conditions, in which the copper concentration achieved to be 44.8 g/L. Finally, a proposed copper recovery process from the concentrate of mine tailings was developed by combination of HPOL and solvent extraction, while a total copper recovery of 86% was achieved.

By C. P. Kelley, T. J. McKeon

Several recent developments in fine screening technology have been implemented at the DuPont Starke, Florida plant allowing enhanced zircon recoveries while minimizing operator requirements and total operational costs. The total design concept came about through the efforts of engineers at Derrick Corporation (Buffalo, New York), DuPont Titanium Technologies (Starke, Florida) and Roche Mining (Carrara, Australia). The use of the Kelsey Jigs for zircon recoveries from the tailings stream requires two wet sizing functions in order to operate properly. The first wet sizing is required on the initial mineral slurry feed to the Kelsey Jig. This sizing is intended to protect the Kelsey Jigs internal screen basket from plugging with nearsize particles, thereby keeping production rates maximized. The second sizing function is intended to recover properly sized garnet ragging material, which inadvertently ends up in the tailings stream leaving the Kelsey Jig. The unique machine design developed by the three partners in this project incorporated both wet sizing functions (protection and garnet recovery) into a single patented high capacity wet screening machine fitted with patented screen surface technology. This screen surface technology allowed for high capacity slurry handling capabilities at separations as fine as 230 microns while experiencing no nearsize blinding and extremely long screen panel life. The high open area urethane screen surfaces utilized in the application typically last 20 to 30 times longer than stainless steel wire surfaces. The stacked machine design minimized total equipment requirements and screen footprint requirements, and reduced power consumption and overall installation costs.

Jan 1, 2005

By J. Slivnik, A. Stergarsek

[The site] [Z]irovski vrh uranium ore deposit is located in the extreme north-western part of Yugoslavia, some fourthy kilometers from the capital of Socialist Republic of Slovenia, Ljubljana, not far from the Italian and Austrian border. The sandstone type deposit of uranium ore with medium grade is located in a foothill of Julian Alps. The site shows some typical conditions for this region, which demand special attention in respect to the incorporation of an uranium treatment facility into environment. Among these specific conditions the following site characteristics should be mentioned: - populated area of agricultural and recreational value, - unconvenient climatic conditions with excessive rainfall and long lasting temperature inversions in the winter time, - very pure surface and underground waters which supply the drinking water reservate for large area including the capital of Slovenia, - sharp relief, - unconvenient geological structure. The choise of technology The intention to produce uranium and at the same time respecting the natural characteristics and existing uses of the site made the design of the ore treatment facility relatively difficult one. In general, there were two basic alternatives available perform the task. First alternative was to adopt the usual technological flowsheet with wet tailings disposal and with discharge of used water i.e. liquid effluents into the river. In order to prevent the negative impact of such technology on the sourrounding area sophisticated water purification installation and costly measures in wet tailings disposal e.g. impermeabilisation of large areas by concrete injections, large dam constructions, uncertain capturing of the water sources should be employed. Second alternative was to modify the usual flowsheet by employing the maximal recycling of liquid effluents to the process and to dispose the solid

Jan 1, 1980

By L. J. Froisland

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation requested U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) assistance in developing design data for moving lead-zinc-gold tailings from their current location without disrupting the existing chemically stable conditions. This report presents results of USBM work in determining (1) the minimum required time to air dry the tailings to approximately 20 pet moisture under various drying conditions both in the laboratory and in the field, (2) the degree of oxidation or reduction that occurs during drying, (3) the effect of lime or cement addition before drying, and (4) the likely equilibrium conditions of the dried tailings after deposition at the new location. The limited number of tests performed by the USBM in the available time frame established trends in oxidation levels but did not provide absolute statistical validity of data values. All data from drying and oxidation testing are included in appendices to this report.

Jan 1, 2010

By H. Palza, C. Ihle, S. Contreras

"Processing of minerals, particularly treatment of tailings, has been increasingly challenged by the presence of clays in the feed of thickeners. This occurrence is expected to become increasingly important given the nature of ore deposits currently being exploited and those that have been recently discovered. In sedimentation operations (solid-liquid separation), industrial flocculants often fail to coagulate clay-containing fines, generating supernatants with high levels of turbidity, thus implying operational problems. Recently, it has been reported that graphene oxide (GO), a graphite derivative with high oxygen-containing groups, could enhance the flocculation of clay systems, due to the interaction between clays and GO functional groups. In the present work, we investigated the effect of doping industrial flocculants (commercial polyacrylamide) with GO on the floculation of kaolinite suspensions in a solid-liquid separation stage. Separation performance was evaluated by studying flocculation kinetics using a focused beam reflectance measurement (FBRM) instrument, in a set of batch tests. A statistical analysis of the flocculation kinetics and floc population distribution was further carried out. Our results suggest the existence of a synergistic effect between the studied flocculants and GO. This effect is observed as a decrease of clay fine contents in the supernatant, thus improving solid-liquid separation eficiency for high clay containing tailings. INTRODUCTION Copper, given its mechanical, physical and chemical characteristics, is a critical material for the progress of society and so has been from early stages of mankind. Demand for this metal has increased due to the growth of cities and the technological explosion, leading to increase current mining production and reinforce the efforts in exploration for new deposits (Elshkaki et al. 2016). As copper-rich deposits are being depleted, it has been necessary to develop proper technology to mine deposits of lower grades and more complex mineralogies, keeping in mind that the economic window that allows the exploitation of them is reduced by the increase on operating costs (Crowson 2012 and Northey et al. 2014). High clay bearing minerals are found in many of those low-grade copper deposits, and they induce problems in all stages of the mineral processing route (Taner and Onen 2016). Particularly, in the solid-liquid separation stage, the flocculation process fails to remove the clay fraction from suspension and it leads to operational issues such as filter damage, overconsumption of reagents and the need to add an extra clarifying step for the recovered process water. Those problematics pose an interesting challenge."

Jan 1, 2018

By L. Vollert

In August 2018, the first full-scale HydroFloatTM cells for the recovery of coarse composited copper and gold were commissioned at Newcrest’s Cadia Valley operation in New South Wales, Australia. The primary objective of the installation is to recover coarse value-bearing composites that are lost to conventional flotation tailings, without the need for additional power input for particle size reduction to improve mineral liberation. This paper examines the application of Eriez HydroFloatTM technology for the recovery of coarse, poorly liberated copper sulphide particles drawing on recent experience from lab scale testwork through circuit design and commissioning of the full-scale installation at Cadia Valley. INTRODUCTION In the face of declining copper head grades and a tightening regulatory environment around the use of wet tailings dams, the processing of copper ores at coarser particle sizes has become a focal point for the industry. Sulphide flotation using the Eriez HydroFloatTM is one of the emergent technologies that sits under this umbrella of coarse pre-concentration. It has been demonstrated through numerous lab and pilot scale testwork programs carried out by Newcrest and others (Awatey, Kohmuench, Thanasekaran, Skinner & Zanin, 2013), to improve the flotation recovery of sulphide-rock composite particles with low surface liberation, relative to conventional flotation technology. The HydroFloatTM technology has been used widely for the recovery of coarse potash, phosphate, coal, vermiculite, spodumene and diamonds but has never been applied at full scale in either gold or sulphide flotation. In August 2018, the first full-scale 3.4 m diameter HydroFloatTM cells for the recovery of coarse composite copper and gold were commissioned at Newcrest’s Cadia Valley operation in New South Wales. The primary objective of the installation is to recover coarse value-bearing composite particles that are lost to conventional flotation tailings, without the need for additional upfront power input for particle size reduction to improve mineral liberation.

Jan 1, 2019