Processing of Complex Ores (eBook)

Front Cover 1
Processing of Complex Ores 4
Copyright Page 5
Table of Contents 8
Organizing and Editorial Committee 6
Preface 7
Part 1: Flotation — Basic Research 12
Chapter 1. A study of the natural and induced hydrophobicity of some sulphide minerals by collectorless flotation 14
ABSTRACT 14
KEYWORDS 14
INTRODUCTION 15
RESULTS 17
DISCUSSION 22
EXPERIMENTAL 15
CONCLUSIONS 26
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 27
REFERENCES 27
Chapter 2. Natural hydrophobicity of native gold flakes and their flotation under different conditions 30
ABSTRACT 30
KEYWORDS 30
INTRODUCTION 30
EXPERIMENTAL 30
CONCLUSIONS 37
REFERENCES 37
Chapter 3. Orientation of thiol collectors on chalcocite 40
ABSTRACT 40
KEYWORDS 40
INTRODUCTION 40
MATERIALS AND METHODS 41
EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 44
CONCLUSIONS 49
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 50
REFERENCES 50
Chapter 4. Investigation on mechanism of sorption and aggregation properties of long-chained thiol collectors in application to polymineral copper ores 52
ABSTRACT 52
KEYWORDS 52
INTRODUCTION 52
EXPERIMENTAL 53
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 54
REFERENCES 59
Chapter 5. Some physico-chemical aspects in the flotation of complex pyritic ores 62
ABSTRACT 62
KEYWORDS 62
INTRODUCTION 62
ORE SAMPLES 62
TESTS IN A HALLIMOND TUBE 63
ZETA POTENTIAL 63
COLLECTOR ADSORPTION 64
DISSOLVED OXYGEN 65
PHYSICO-CHEMICAL FEATURES OF ORE FLOTATION 65
SIZE DISTRIBUTION 67
FLOTATION CELLS 69
DISCUSSION 70
CONCLUSION 71
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 71
REFERENCES 71
Chapter 6. The chemical principles of flotation, activation and depression of arsenopyrite 72
ABSTRACT 72
KEYWORDS 72
INTRODUCTION 72
METHODS 73
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 73
CONCLUSIONS 80
REFERENCES 80
Chapter 7. Electrochemical modification of sulphide flotation 82
ABSTRACT 82
KEYWORDS 82
INTRODUCTION 82
METHODS, RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 83
CONCLUSIONS 95
REFERENCES 95
Chapter 8. Selective bubble-particle detachment forces and flotation for the galena/quartz system 98
ABSTRACT 98
KEYWORDS 98
INTRODUCTION 98
EXPERIMENTAL 99
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 107
REFERENCES 107
Chapter 9. Effect of counter-ions on the floatability and adsorption of cetylpridinium cation at mineral surfaces 108
Introduction 108
Measurements 108
Interpretation 116
Abreviations 121
Literatur 121
Chapter 10. Preparation and structure-reactivity relationship of organophosphorous flotation reagents 122
ABSTRACT 122
KEYWORDS 122
INTRODUCTION 122
NEW COLLECTORS 123
CONCLUSIONS 130
REFERENCE 131
Chapter 11. Depressant action of low molecular weight non-ionic surfactants on talc 132
ABSTRACT 132
KEYWORDS 132
INTRODUCTION 132
MATERIALS AND METHODS 132
EXPERIMENTAL 134
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 135
CONCLUSION 140
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 140
REFERENCES 140
Chapter 12. Surface chemistry of complexing agents as depressants in salt-type mineral flotation 142
1. Introduction 142
2. Test systems 142
3. Flotations to test the complexIng agents as depressants 143
4. Collector adsorption 143
5. Adsorption of complexing agents 149
6. Composition of the suspension 152
7. Electrokinetic measurements 152
8. Summary 155
Abbreviations 156
Chapter 13. Pretreatment of flotation collectors 158
ABSTRACT 158
KEYWORDS 158
INTRODUCTION 158
METHODS 159
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 160
CONCLUSION 167
REFERENCES 167
Chapter 14. The chemistry and structure-activity relationships for new sulphide collectors 168
ABSTRACT 168
KEYWORDS 168
INTRODUCTION 168
EXPERIMENTAL 169
STRUCTURE-ACTIVITY RELATIONSHIPS AND RESULTS 170
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 176
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 177
REFERENCES 177
Part 2: Flotation — Plant Applications 178
Chapter 15. High intensity conditioning — a new approach to improving flotation of mineral slimes 180
ABSTRACT 180
KEYWORDS 180
INTRODUCTION 180
REFERENCES 192
Chapter 16. Pilot plant testing of metabisulphite in the lead circuit for Hilton ore 194
ABSTRACT 194
KEYWORDS 194
INTRODUCTION 194
DISCUSSION OF PILOT PLANT OPERATION AND RESULTS 197
DISCUSSION OF DOWN THE BANK DATA FOR GALENA ROUGHERS 202
CONCLUSIONS 203
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 203
REFERENCES 203
Chapter 17. Some observations on copper-zinc separation from complex sulphide ores 204
ABSTRACT 204
KEYWORDS 204
INTRODUCTION 204
COLLECTORLESS FLOTATION 205
SUMMARY 212
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 213
REFERENCES 213
Chapter 18. Potential controlled flotation and depression of copper sulphides and oxides using hydrosulphide in non-xanthate systems 214
ABSTRACT 214
KEYWORDS 214
INTRODUCTION 214
EXPERIMENTAL 215
RESULTS 217
DISCUSSION 222
PRACTICAL ASPECTS AND CONCLUDING REMARKS 223
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 224
REFERENCES 224
Chapter 19. Application of reverse pyrite flotation at Kidd Creek Mines Ltd 226
ABSTRACT 226
KEYWORDS 226
INTRODUCTION 226
PILOT PLANT TESTING 227
FLOWSHEET DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT SELECTION 229
OPERATING RESULTS WITH 'C' TYPE ORE 231
OPERATING PROBLEMS 232
DATA ANALYSIS 232
PERFORMANCE AND ISOEFFICIENCY CURVES 234
OPTIMIZATION OF THE COMBINED ZINC CIRCUIT 234
CONCLUSIONS 234
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 237
REFERENCES 237
Chapter 20. The separation of chalcopyrite from pyrrhotite 238
ABSTRACT 238
KEYWORDS 238
INTRODUCTION 238
MATERIAL AND PROCEDURE 239
RESULTS 240
CONCLUSIONS 244
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 245
REFERENCES 245
Chapter 21. Evaluation of the wash water addition in mechanical flotation cells by conductivity and tracer techniques 246
ABSTRACT 246
KEYWORDS 246
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 246
EXPERIMENTAL 248
METHODOLOGY 249
RESULTS 251
CONCLUSIONS 257
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 259
REFERENCES 259
Chapter 22. Barite recovery from secondary sources by froth flotation 260
ABSTRACT 260
KEYWORDS 260
INTRODUCTION 260
SECONDARY BARITE RAW MATERIALS - ORIGIN, MINERAL COMPOSITION AND POTENTIAL 260
MARKET REQUIREMENTS 261
CHARACTERIZATION OF RAW MATERIALS 262
FLOTATION STUDIES 263
OPTIMIZATION STRATEGIES 266
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 269
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 269
REFERENCES 270
Chapter 23. Split flotation of calcite from wollastonite and microcline—the calcite-rich wollastonite ore of northern Sweden 272
KEYWORDS 272
INTRODUCTION 272
EXPERIMENTAL 273
RESULTS 276
DISCUSSION 277
REFERENCES 289
Chapter 24. Water treatment and flotation studies on recycle water from pyrochlore processing plant 290
ABSTRACT 290
KEYWORDS 290
INTRODUCTION 291
ON-SITE WATER QUALITY 292
PILOT PLANT 294
MICRO-FLOTATION STUDIES 297
PRELIMINARY COST ESTIMATE OF BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT 300
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 300
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 300
REFERENCE 300
Part 3: Column Flotation 302
Chapter 24. The commissioning of the first flotation columns at Mount Isa Mines Limited 304
ABSTRACT 304
KEYWORDS 304
INTRODUCTION 304
THE LGM CIRCUIT 304
COMMISSIONING 306
ANALYSIS OF METALLURGICAL RESULTS 306
MIXING CHARACTERISTICS AND ENTRAINMENT 309
CONCLUSIONS 313
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 313
REFERENCES 313
Chapter 25. Large diameter column optimization and scale-up 314
ABSTRACT 314
KEYWORDS 314
INTRODUCTION 314
COLUMN CONSTRUCTION 315
INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL 315
IMPROVEMENTS 315
SIMULTANEOUS TESTING 320
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 320
REFERENCES 320
Chapter 26. Gas rate and froth depth effects on performance of a Cu-Ni separation flotation column 322
ABSTRACT 322
KEYWORDS 322
BACKGROUND 322
EVALUATION OF SELECTED OPERATING AND DESIGN PARAMETERS 326
CONCLUSIONS 333
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 333
REFERENCES 333
Chapter 27. A level detection probe for industrial flotation columns 336
ABSTRACT 336
KEYWORDS 336
LEVEL DETECTION IN FLOTATION COLUMNS: IMPORTANCE AND DIFFICULTIES 336
MEASUREMENT OF LOCAL CONDUCTANCE WITHIN A COLUMN 338
LEVEL DETECTION PROBE AND ASSOCIATED DATA COLLECTION SYSTEM 339
RESULTS OF PROBE TESTING EXPERIMENTS 341
OBSERVATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 343
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 345
REFERENCES 345
Chapter 28. Direct measurement of froth zone performance in a laboratory flotation column 346
ABSTRACT 346
KEYWORDS 346
INTRODUCTION 346
EXPERIMENTAL 350
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 351
CONCLUSIONS 357
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 357
NOMENCLATURE 357
REFERENCES 358
Chapter 29. Flotation column amenablity and scale-up parameter estimation tests 360
ABSTRACT 360
KEYWORDS 360
INTRODUCTION 360
AMENABILITY TESTS 360
SCALE UP TESTS 365
REFERENCES 369
Chapter 30. Characterization of gas sparging media in the flotation column 370
ABSTRACT 370
KEYWORDS 370
INTRODUCTION 370
EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP 371
CONCLUSIONS 378
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 379
REFERENCES 379
Chapter 31. Process mineralogy of column flotation 380
ABSTRACT 380
KEYWORDS 380
INTRODUCTION 380
POLARIS LEAD CONCENTRATE 380
SULLIVAN PILOT COLUMN - DEZINCING LEAD CONCENTRATE 383
SULLIVAN ZINC CONCENTRATE 384
RED DOG ZINC CONCENTRATE 386
PINE POINT ZINC CONCENTRATE 387
CONCLUSIONS 388
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 389
REFERENCES 389
Chapter 32. Column flotation with negative bias 390
ABSTRACT 390
KEYWORDS 390
INTRODUCTION 390
EXPERIMENTAL 391
RESULTS 391
CONCLUSIONS 396
REFERENCES 396
Chapter 33. Packed-bed column flotation for flyash beneficiation 398
ABSTRACT 398
KEYWORDS 398
INTRODUCTION 398
TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS 399
SELECTION OF FLOTATION MACHINES 400
MATERIALS AND FLOTATION REAGENTS 401
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 401
CONCLUSIONS 405
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 405
REFERENCES 405
Chapter 34. Gas rate limitation in column flotation 408
ABSTRACT 408
KEYWORDS 408
INTRODUCTION 408
EXPERIMENTAL WORK 409
CONCLUSIONS 417
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 417
NOTATION 417
REFERENCES 418
Part 4: Hydrometallurgical Treatment of Concentrates 420
Chapter 35. Treatment of Agnico Eagle's silver-bearing flotation concentrate by the nitrox process 422
ABSTRACT 422
KEYWORDS 422
INTRODUCTION 422
MINERALOGY 423
MILLING PRACTICE 423
REFINING PRACTICE 423
NEW PROCESS DEVELOPMENT 424
BENCH SCALE TESTWORK 424
CLOSED LOOP TESTWORK 428
SUMMARY 431
REFERENCES 431
Chapter 36. Gold and silver extraction with non-cyanide reagents from a refractory complex sulphide ore 432
ABSTRACT 432
KEYWORDS 432
INTRODUCTION 432
EXPERIMENTAL 433
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 434
CONCLUSION 439
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 439
REFERENCES 439
Chapter 37. Arseno/redox process for refractory gold ores 442
ABSTRACT 442
KEYWORDS 442
INTRODUCTION 442
PROCESS CHEMISTRY 443
WHOLE ORE TREATMENT 444
CONCENTRATE TREATMENT 446
IMPURITY CONTROL 447
SUMMARY 449
REFERENCES 450
Chapter 38. The acid test: criteria to evaluate processes for treating complex sulphides 452
ABSTRACT 452
KEY WORDS 452
INTRODUCTION 452
METHODOLOGY FOR FEED STOCK SELECTION 453
GRADE/RECOVERY RELATIONSHIPS 454
NET RETURNS TO THE MINES 457
PRICING FEED STOCKS FOR A NEW PROCESS 462
FEED STOCKS FOR AN SRL PLANT 465
TECHNICAL CRITERIA FOR INDUSTRY ACCEPTANCE 465
CONCLUSIONS 469
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 469
APPENDIX 470
REFERENCES 470
Chapter 39. Integrated biological process for complex sulphides 472
ABSTRACT 472
KEYWORDS 472
INTRODUCTION 472
METALS EXTRACTION 473
BIOLOGICAL SULPHATE REDUCTION 474
BIOLOGICAL CYANIDE DETOXIFICATION 481
INTEGRATED PROCESSING 485
REFERENCES 487
Part 5: Nb-Ta-Sn-W 490
Chapter 40. Aspects of tantalum concentration at Tanco 492
ABSTCACT 492
KEYWORDS 492
HISTORY 492
GEOLOGY AND MINING 493
CONCENTRATION 493
CONCLUDING OCMOENTS 500
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 500
REFERENCES 500
Chapter 41. Improving recovery in the processing of hard rock tin ores 502
ABSTRACT 502
INTRODUCTION 502
GRAVITY CONCENTRATION 503
FROTH FLOTATION 504
ENHANCEMENT OF CASSITERITE LIBERATION 504
CONCLUSIONS 505
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 506
REFERENCES 506
Chapter 42. Beneficiation of carbonatite ore-bearing niobium at Niobec Mine 508
ABSTRACT 508
KEYWORDS 508
INTRODUCTION 508
PYROCHLORE BENEFICIATION 508
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 517
Chapter 43. Hydrofluoric and sulphuric acid leaching of tantalite 518
ABSTRACT 518
KEYWORDS 518
INTRODUCTION 518
BACKGROUND 519
MATERIALS 519
EQUIPMENT AND PROCEDURES 520
RESULTS 520
CONCLUSIONS 524
REFERENCES 526
Chapter 44. A new device for determining the separability of high-specific gravity minerals 528
ABSTRACT 528
KEYWORDS 528
INTRODUCTION 528
THE MAGSTREAMTM CONCEPT AND MEASUREMENT DESCRIPTION 529
GRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE SEPARATIONS PERFORMED 531
SEPARABILITY OF A TIN SAMPLE 531
SEPARABILITY OF A NIOBIUM CONCENTRATE 535
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 537
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 537
REFERENCES 537
Part 6: Expert Systems 538
Chapter 45. Knowledge acquisition techniques for expert systems 540
ABSTRACT 540
KEYWORDS 540
INTRODUCTION 540
OVERVIEW 541
THE KNOWLEDGE ENGINEER 541
KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION AIDS AND MACHINE INDUCTION 542
KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION THROUGH INTERVIEWS 543
SUMMARY 546
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 546
REFERENCES 546
Chapter 46. Conflict resolution and knowledge accumulation in expert systems 548
ABSTRACT 548
KEYWORDS 548
INTRODUCTION 548
PART 1: UNCERTAINTY IN RULE-BASED EXPERT SYSTEMS 549
SEARCH CONFLICTS 550
INFERENCING CONFLICTS 551
CONFLICTING ADVICE 556
PART 2: ACCUMULATION OF KNOWLEDGE 557
ACKNOWLEDGMENT 561
REFERENCES 561
Chapter 47. Frames for the representation of knowledge 564
ABSTRACT 564
KEYWORDS 564
INTRODUCTION 564
KNOWLEDGE REPRESENTATION MODELS 565
AN EXAMPLE: THE GRINDING OF CLINKER 570
CONCLUSION 573
REFERENCES 574
APPENDIX 574
Chapter 48. Advances in expert system applications in mineral processing 576
ABSTRACT 576
KEYWORDS 576
INTRODUCTION 576
ON BEING HUMAN AND EXPERT 577
EXPERT SYSTEMS IN MINERAL PROCESSING 578
WHAT IS NEXT? 581
CONCLUSION 583
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 583
REFERENCES 583
Chapter 49. Minex: an expert system for technical qualitative mineralogy 586
ABSTRACT 586
KEYWORDS 586
INTRODUCTION 586
BACKGROUND 587
DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY 588
MINERAL GROUPS 591
MATCHING PROPERTIES 594
ACCUMULATING EVIDENCE 595
CORRECT CONCLUSION 595
INCORRECT CONCLUSION 595
FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS 595
ACKNOWLEDGMENT 596
REFERENCES 596
Subject index 598