2832 XXXI International Mineral Processing Congress 2024 Proceedings/Washington, DC/Sep 29–Oct 3
reduced significantly and the life of the facility could
be extended.
Figure 4 presents the proposed circuit configuration with
the NovaCell ™ in the coarse rougher duty. The NovaCell ™
feed stream would be the cyclone overflow. The NovaCell ™
product would be pumped to the regrind and cleaner cir-
cuits to produce a saleable concentrate. Given the expected
NovaCell ™ product copper grades and mass pull, it likely
that the existing regrind milling and cleaner circuits could
be utilized without the need for major modifications. The
NovaCell ™ fine tails (i.e., the classification circuit fines)
will feed the existing rougher circuit for additional copper
recovery. The NovaCell ™ coarse tails will be sent out of the
circuit for mechanical dewatering and dry tailings disposal.
At the flotation feed grind size (P80) of 350 µm, it is
predicted that the plant-scale NovaCell ™ unit, together
with the existing flotation circuit, would increase the final
copper product recovery from 70% to ~86%. This is based
on a copper feed grade of 0.25% Cu.
A high-level economic analysis was undertaken, based
on the following assumptions:
0.00
2.00
4.00
6.00
8.00
10.00
12.00
14.00
16.00
18.00
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450
Particle Size (μm)
NovaCell Agitair Cell
Figure 3. Case study 1, copper assay-by-size results for the NovaCell™ and Agitair cell
Figure 4. Process schematic of a NovaCell™ in coarse rougher duty
Copper
Grade
(%)
reduced significantly and the life of the facility could
be extended.
Figure 4 presents the proposed circuit configuration with
the NovaCell ™ in the coarse rougher duty. The NovaCell ™
feed stream would be the cyclone overflow. The NovaCell ™
product would be pumped to the regrind and cleaner cir-
cuits to produce a saleable concentrate. Given the expected
NovaCell ™ product copper grades and mass pull, it likely
that the existing regrind milling and cleaner circuits could
be utilized without the need for major modifications. The
NovaCell ™ fine tails (i.e., the classification circuit fines)
will feed the existing rougher circuit for additional copper
recovery. The NovaCell ™ coarse tails will be sent out of the
circuit for mechanical dewatering and dry tailings disposal.
At the flotation feed grind size (P80) of 350 µm, it is
predicted that the plant-scale NovaCell ™ unit, together
with the existing flotation circuit, would increase the final
copper product recovery from 70% to ~86%. This is based
on a copper feed grade of 0.25% Cu.
A high-level economic analysis was undertaken, based
on the following assumptions:
0.00
2.00
4.00
6.00
8.00
10.00
12.00
14.00
16.00
18.00
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450
Particle Size (μm)
NovaCell Agitair Cell
Figure 3. Case study 1, copper assay-by-size results for the NovaCell™ and Agitair cell
Figure 4. Process schematic of a NovaCell™ in coarse rougher duty
Copper
Grade
(%)