2646 XXXI International Mineral Processing Congress 2024 Proceedings/Washington, DC/Sep 29–Oct 3
material (fines) represents 76.9% of the feed with 69.2% of
calcite grade. This material meets cement production stan-
dards, with similar calcite grade to the feed material, so it is
not a waste in the process. After the material is sorted, the
CH and FH products, representing one fourth of mate-
rial fed to the sorter, are floated to generate a final product
with 92.7% calcite grade. Then, the CL and FL products
would represent dry waste, with 49.4% of calcite grade,
which has to be stacked in waste piles. Finally, the CM and
FM products could be blended with the undersize mate-
rial to be used in cement production. In this alternative,
0.8 tons of solids are discarded as wet tailings, and 1.0 ton
are discarded as coarse dry waste, both values are informed
per ton of high-grade final product generated. When com-
paring both alternatives, less material is discarded in the
second one and the majority is coarse dry waste which is
cheaper to dispose.
Another important variable to consider is energy
demand for both alternatives. The energy consumption
on crushing and grinding was estimated through working
indexes reported in literature, 0.8 kWh/t and 14.45 kWh/t
for crushing and grinding respectively (Tosun &Konak,
2015 Mannheim &Kruszelnicka, 2022). The SBS-
flotation alternative stands out with its significantly lower
energy consumption, requiring only 31.8 kWh/t of high-
grade final product compared to 71.8 kWh/t for the first
alternative. This translates to a remarkable 55.7% energy
saving.
CONCLUSIONS
This study demonstrated the effectiveness of combining
sensor-based sorting (SBS) and flotation for selective pro-
cessing of Queguay Formation limestone. SBS was able to
separate the coarse fractions of the feed sample into three
significantly different products based on its calcite content.
Subsequently, the usage of sodium oleate as collector and
sodium silicate as depressant in flotation achieved a success-
ful separation of calcite from quartz to produce a high-grade
final product. The interaction between SBS and froth flota-
tion was evaluated by using the different products from SBS
as flotation feed, demonstrating their complementary roles.
Furthermore, an alternative relying only on flotation was
evaluated to compare with the alternative including SBS.
Overall, the SBS-flotation alternative presented a
much more cost-effective and sustainable option since
waste generation and energy consumption are reduced
when comparing to the alternative relying only in flotation.
The results highlight the synergy of SBS and flotation in
this scenario. Adjusting the SBS criteria based on specific
application goals and optimizing the early crushing stages
to maximize SBS-suitable feed are crucial steps to unlock
the full potential of this combined scheme.
REFERENCES
Al Omari, M. M. (2016). Chapter two -Calcium carbon-
ate. Profiles of Drug Substances, Excipientes and Related
Methodology, 41, 31–132.
Cernuschi, F. (2014). Minería en Uruguay: Materias pri-
mas, minería y reciclaje en el mundo .Uruguay ciencia,
18.
de Amores, I., Seiler, S., Tomey, E., &Sánchez, G. (2023).
Reverse calcite flotation applied for the beneficiation
of Queguay Formation limestone (Internal report).
Montevideo, Uruguay.
Deng, J., Yang, S., Liu, C., &Li, H. (2019). Effects of the
calcite on quartz flotation using the reagent scheme of
starch/dodecylamine. Colloids and Surfaces A, 583.
Dhar, P., Thornhill, M., &Kota, H. R. (2020). An over-
view of calcite recovery by flotation. Materials Circular
Economy.
Mannheim, V., &Kruszelnicka, W. (2022). Energy-Model
and Life Cycle-Model for grinding processes of lime-
stone products. Energies, 3816.
National Department of Mining and Geology. (1987).
Memoria Explicativa de la Carta de Materias Primas
Minerales No Metálicas. Montevideo, Uruguay.
Paranhos, R. S., dos Santos, E. G., Veras, M. M.,
Guadagnin, F., &Pasetto, G. A. (2020). Performance
analysis of optical and x-ray transmitter sensors for
limestone classification in South of Brazil. Journal of
Materials Research and Technology, 1305–1312.
Peukert, D., Xu, C., &Dowd, P. (2022). A review of sen-
sor-based sorting in mineral processing: The potential
benefits of sensor fusion. Minerals, 12(11), 1364.
Rahimi, S., Irannajad, M., &Mehdilo, A. (2017).
Comparative studies of two cationic collectors in the
flotation of pyrolusite and calcite. International Journal
of Mineral Processing, 167, 103–112.
Rao, D., Bhaskar Raju, G., &Prabhakar, S. (2009).
Beneficiation of siliceous limestone sample. AT Mineral
Processing, 50(6), 36–47.
Ribeiro, J. C., Santos, S. M., &Tran, H. (2007). Experience
of low lime mud solids problems at a kraft pulp mill.
Proc. of the International Chemical Recovery Conference.
Siva, T., Muralidharan, S., Sathiyanarayanan, S.,
Manikandan, S., &Jayachandran, M. (2017).
Enhanced polymer induced precipitation of polymor-
phous in calcium carbonate: calcite, aragonite, vat-
erite phases. Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic
Polymers and Materials, 27, 770–779.
material (fines) represents 76.9% of the feed with 69.2% of
calcite grade. This material meets cement production stan-
dards, with similar calcite grade to the feed material, so it is
not a waste in the process. After the material is sorted, the
CH and FH products, representing one fourth of mate-
rial fed to the sorter, are floated to generate a final product
with 92.7% calcite grade. Then, the CL and FL products
would represent dry waste, with 49.4% of calcite grade,
which has to be stacked in waste piles. Finally, the CM and
FM products could be blended with the undersize mate-
rial to be used in cement production. In this alternative,
0.8 tons of solids are discarded as wet tailings, and 1.0 ton
are discarded as coarse dry waste, both values are informed
per ton of high-grade final product generated. When com-
paring both alternatives, less material is discarded in the
second one and the majority is coarse dry waste which is
cheaper to dispose.
Another important variable to consider is energy
demand for both alternatives. The energy consumption
on crushing and grinding was estimated through working
indexes reported in literature, 0.8 kWh/t and 14.45 kWh/t
for crushing and grinding respectively (Tosun &Konak,
2015 Mannheim &Kruszelnicka, 2022). The SBS-
flotation alternative stands out with its significantly lower
energy consumption, requiring only 31.8 kWh/t of high-
grade final product compared to 71.8 kWh/t for the first
alternative. This translates to a remarkable 55.7% energy
saving.
CONCLUSIONS
This study demonstrated the effectiveness of combining
sensor-based sorting (SBS) and flotation for selective pro-
cessing of Queguay Formation limestone. SBS was able to
separate the coarse fractions of the feed sample into three
significantly different products based on its calcite content.
Subsequently, the usage of sodium oleate as collector and
sodium silicate as depressant in flotation achieved a success-
ful separation of calcite from quartz to produce a high-grade
final product. The interaction between SBS and froth flota-
tion was evaluated by using the different products from SBS
as flotation feed, demonstrating their complementary roles.
Furthermore, an alternative relying only on flotation was
evaluated to compare with the alternative including SBS.
Overall, the SBS-flotation alternative presented a
much more cost-effective and sustainable option since
waste generation and energy consumption are reduced
when comparing to the alternative relying only in flotation.
The results highlight the synergy of SBS and flotation in
this scenario. Adjusting the SBS criteria based on specific
application goals and optimizing the early crushing stages
to maximize SBS-suitable feed are crucial steps to unlock
the full potential of this combined scheme.
REFERENCES
Al Omari, M. M. (2016). Chapter two -Calcium carbon-
ate. Profiles of Drug Substances, Excipientes and Related
Methodology, 41, 31–132.
Cernuschi, F. (2014). Minería en Uruguay: Materias pri-
mas, minería y reciclaje en el mundo .Uruguay ciencia,
18.
de Amores, I., Seiler, S., Tomey, E., &Sánchez, G. (2023).
Reverse calcite flotation applied for the beneficiation
of Queguay Formation limestone (Internal report).
Montevideo, Uruguay.
Deng, J., Yang, S., Liu, C., &Li, H. (2019). Effects of the
calcite on quartz flotation using the reagent scheme of
starch/dodecylamine. Colloids and Surfaces A, 583.
Dhar, P., Thornhill, M., &Kota, H. R. (2020). An over-
view of calcite recovery by flotation. Materials Circular
Economy.
Mannheim, V., &Kruszelnicka, W. (2022). Energy-Model
and Life Cycle-Model for grinding processes of lime-
stone products. Energies, 3816.
National Department of Mining and Geology. (1987).
Memoria Explicativa de la Carta de Materias Primas
Minerales No Metálicas. Montevideo, Uruguay.
Paranhos, R. S., dos Santos, E. G., Veras, M. M.,
Guadagnin, F., &Pasetto, G. A. (2020). Performance
analysis of optical and x-ray transmitter sensors for
limestone classification in South of Brazil. Journal of
Materials Research and Technology, 1305–1312.
Peukert, D., Xu, C., &Dowd, P. (2022). A review of sen-
sor-based sorting in mineral processing: The potential
benefits of sensor fusion. Minerals, 12(11), 1364.
Rahimi, S., Irannajad, M., &Mehdilo, A. (2017).
Comparative studies of two cationic collectors in the
flotation of pyrolusite and calcite. International Journal
of Mineral Processing, 167, 103–112.
Rao, D., Bhaskar Raju, G., &Prabhakar, S. (2009).
Beneficiation of siliceous limestone sample. AT Mineral
Processing, 50(6), 36–47.
Ribeiro, J. C., Santos, S. M., &Tran, H. (2007). Experience
of low lime mud solids problems at a kraft pulp mill.
Proc. of the International Chemical Recovery Conference.
Siva, T., Muralidharan, S., Sathiyanarayanan, S.,
Manikandan, S., &Jayachandran, M. (2017).
Enhanced polymer induced precipitation of polymor-
phous in calcium carbonate: calcite, aragonite, vat-
erite phases. Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic
Polymers and Materials, 27, 770–779.