2228 XXXI International Mineral Processing Congress 2024 Proceedings/Washington, DC/Sep 29–Oct 3
phase, respectively, E
1 is the energy barrier due to the
repulsive EDL and repulsive vdW forces, E
h is the hydro-
dynamic resistance to film thinning, and W
a is the work of
adhesion between a particle and an air bubble. If q increases,
both E1 and Eh decrease and increase kij. Another conse-
quence of increasing q is to increase W
a and hence mini-
mize the probability of coarse particle detachment. Thus,
the flotation rate constant is a function of both chemistry
and hydrodynamic parameters.
Simulations were carried out on a low-grade (0.24%
Cu) porphyry copper ore processed in a rougher-cleaner-
recleaner-CST circuit at a 1,455 tph throughput in four
parallel rougher banks. The processing plant consisted of
four parallel rougher banks consisting of five 4,500 ft3
mechanically agitated flotation cells. The volumetric and
mass flow rates of the CL were 22 and 11,6%, respectively,
with the detailed simulation algorithms and results shown
elsewhere (Gupta et al., 2023). The simulations were carried
out by varying the volumetric flow of CL, with the results
presented in Figure 3. As shown, throughput increased by
decreasing the volumetric flows of the CLs, which can be
attributed to the increase in the volumetric flow of fresh
feed consisting of fast floating particles. By discarding the
CST, or in a closed circuit, the throughput was increased by
24.8% at the cost of copper recovery from 86.65 to 85.3, as
shown in Figure 4. Also shown are the results obtained by
recovering the coper in the CST using the TLF process. If
the CST was recovered using the TLF process, the copper
recovery of the flotation circuit was increased to 88.62% at
Figure 3. The benefit of opening the copper flotation circuit
and treating the CST separately using TLF
Figure 4. A proposed flowsheet for two-liquid flotation to recover fine copper from cleaner scavenger tails (CST)
phase, respectively, E
1 is the energy barrier due to the
repulsive EDL and repulsive vdW forces, E
h is the hydro-
dynamic resistance to film thinning, and W
a is the work of
adhesion between a particle and an air bubble. If q increases,
both E1 and Eh decrease and increase kij. Another conse-
quence of increasing q is to increase W
a and hence mini-
mize the probability of coarse particle detachment. Thus,
the flotation rate constant is a function of both chemistry
and hydrodynamic parameters.
Simulations were carried out on a low-grade (0.24%
Cu) porphyry copper ore processed in a rougher-cleaner-
recleaner-CST circuit at a 1,455 tph throughput in four
parallel rougher banks. The processing plant consisted of
four parallel rougher banks consisting of five 4,500 ft3
mechanically agitated flotation cells. The volumetric and
mass flow rates of the CL were 22 and 11,6%, respectively,
with the detailed simulation algorithms and results shown
elsewhere (Gupta et al., 2023). The simulations were carried
out by varying the volumetric flow of CL, with the results
presented in Figure 3. As shown, throughput increased by
decreasing the volumetric flows of the CLs, which can be
attributed to the increase in the volumetric flow of fresh
feed consisting of fast floating particles. By discarding the
CST, or in a closed circuit, the throughput was increased by
24.8% at the cost of copper recovery from 86.65 to 85.3, as
shown in Figure 4. Also shown are the results obtained by
recovering the coper in the CST using the TLF process. If
the CST was recovered using the TLF process, the copper
recovery of the flotation circuit was increased to 88.62% at
Figure 3. The benefit of opening the copper flotation circuit
and treating the CST separately using TLF
Figure 4. A proposed flowsheet for two-liquid flotation to recover fine copper from cleaner scavenger tails (CST)