XXXI International Mineral Processing Congress 2024 Proceedings/Washington, DC/Sep 29–Oct 3 2901
(Kohmuench et al., 2001). However, over the last decade,
the HydroFloat ® has attracted interest in the flotation of
coarse, composite and high-density minerals such as gold,
chalcopyrite and sphalerite (Awatey et al., 2013, Awatey
et al., 2015, Fosu et al., 2015, Seaman and Vollert, 2017,
Kohmuench et al., 2018). Although Rio Tinto installed the
first demonstration industrial-scale HydroFloat ® system at
their Kennecott operation in the United States of America
(Hobert et al., 2023), the first production industrial-scale
HydroFloat ® was successfully installed in a base metal sul-
phide scavenger application at Newmont’s Cadia Valley
Operations in Australia (Seaman and Vollert, 2017), with
other base metal processing installations in South America.
Technology adoption in the mineral processing indus-
try is generally slow, usually spanning several years between
development and widespread implementation on operat-
ing sites. Although there is an appetite in the industry for
coarse particle flotation because of the associated benefits
such as reduced energy consumption, increased through-
put, reduced reagent consumption, and better tailings man-
agement, fluidised bed flotation, be it the HydroFloat ®,
CoarseAIR ™ or NovaCell ™ flotation cell have had a slow
uptake. One of the reasons for the slow uptake is the diffi-
culty in conducting benchtop laboratory-based assessments
of the technology. The laboratory test units for these devices
usually require large samples (15–25 kg) for a single test
and up to several 100 kg to conduct initial scoping studies
for new ore feed material. This renders the sample require-
ments for these tests prohibitive for test campaigns that
require many tests at various conditions. It also rules out
work limited by sample sizes, such as geometallurgical test-
ing requiring drill core as feedstock.
To address the aforementioned challenge, researchers at
the University of Queensland’s Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral
Research Centre (JKMRC) have developed a small-scale
fluidised bed flotation device that is operated in a batch
mode and only requires 1–2 kg sample of ore for a single
test. This will enable rapid and efficient testing for param-
eters such as ore amenability, geometallurgical evaluation,
circuit modelling and design, as well as more routine metal-
lurgical assessment.
The current work is one step in characterising the small-
scale fluidised bed apparatus. To gain broad acceptance, the
device must demonstrate its capability to produce repro-
ducible flotation outcomes. It must also be able to predict
the performance of a full-scale HydroFloat ® when the oper-
ating parameters are varied. The aim of the current work is,
therefore in two parts:
• To understand how the operating conditions affect
the flotation performance in the small-scale device.
• To compare the flotation results obtained from tests
performed using the small-scale fluidised device to
those obtained from tests conducted in a full-scale
industrial HydroFloat ® unit.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Small-Scale Fluidised Bed Device
Figure 1 shows a schematic design of the small-scale flui-
dised bed flotation device for the tests. It consists of a trans-
parent cylinder (internal diameter: 80 mm) divided into
two sections by a sintered disc with a defined porosity that
prevents solids from moving from the top chamber to the
Figure 1. A Schematic representation of the small-scale fluidised bed flotation device
(Verster et al., 2023)
(Kohmuench et al., 2001). However, over the last decade,
the HydroFloat ® has attracted interest in the flotation of
coarse, composite and high-density minerals such as gold,
chalcopyrite and sphalerite (Awatey et al., 2013, Awatey
et al., 2015, Fosu et al., 2015, Seaman and Vollert, 2017,
Kohmuench et al., 2018). Although Rio Tinto installed the
first demonstration industrial-scale HydroFloat ® system at
their Kennecott operation in the United States of America
(Hobert et al., 2023), the first production industrial-scale
HydroFloat ® was successfully installed in a base metal sul-
phide scavenger application at Newmont’s Cadia Valley
Operations in Australia (Seaman and Vollert, 2017), with
other base metal processing installations in South America.
Technology adoption in the mineral processing indus-
try is generally slow, usually spanning several years between
development and widespread implementation on operat-
ing sites. Although there is an appetite in the industry for
coarse particle flotation because of the associated benefits
such as reduced energy consumption, increased through-
put, reduced reagent consumption, and better tailings man-
agement, fluidised bed flotation, be it the HydroFloat ®,
CoarseAIR ™ or NovaCell ™ flotation cell have had a slow
uptake. One of the reasons for the slow uptake is the diffi-
culty in conducting benchtop laboratory-based assessments
of the technology. The laboratory test units for these devices
usually require large samples (15–25 kg) for a single test
and up to several 100 kg to conduct initial scoping studies
for new ore feed material. This renders the sample require-
ments for these tests prohibitive for test campaigns that
require many tests at various conditions. It also rules out
work limited by sample sizes, such as geometallurgical test-
ing requiring drill core as feedstock.
To address the aforementioned challenge, researchers at
the University of Queensland’s Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral
Research Centre (JKMRC) have developed a small-scale
fluidised bed flotation device that is operated in a batch
mode and only requires 1–2 kg sample of ore for a single
test. This will enable rapid and efficient testing for param-
eters such as ore amenability, geometallurgical evaluation,
circuit modelling and design, as well as more routine metal-
lurgical assessment.
The current work is one step in characterising the small-
scale fluidised bed apparatus. To gain broad acceptance, the
device must demonstrate its capability to produce repro-
ducible flotation outcomes. It must also be able to predict
the performance of a full-scale HydroFloat ® when the oper-
ating parameters are varied. The aim of the current work is,
therefore in two parts:
• To understand how the operating conditions affect
the flotation performance in the small-scale device.
• To compare the flotation results obtained from tests
performed using the small-scale fluidised device to
those obtained from tests conducted in a full-scale
industrial HydroFloat ® unit.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Small-Scale Fluidised Bed Device
Figure 1 shows a schematic design of the small-scale flui-
dised bed flotation device for the tests. It consists of a trans-
parent cylinder (internal diameter: 80 mm) divided into
two sections by a sintered disc with a defined porosity that
prevents solids from moving from the top chamber to the
Figure 1. A Schematic representation of the small-scale fluidised bed flotation device
(Verster et al., 2023)