scholarly journals Process Evaluation of an Iron Ore Operation Using the Floatability Component Model

Minerals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 589
Author(s):  
Stefan Geldenhuys ◽  
Thiago Souza Pinto ◽  
Laurindo Leal Filho ◽  
David Deglon

The Brucutu iron ore mine (Minas Gerais, Brazil) is Vale‘s largest iron producing operation achieving around 21 million tons per annum. Evaluation of flotation performance is of high importance as even small gains can lead to large monetary benefits. Cell-by-cell samples of the froth products, selected feed and pulp-products were analyzed for flow rate, particle size distribution and chemical composition. In addition, certain samples were analyzed on an assay-by-size basis and hydrodynamic measurements of certain flotation cells were also performed. This detailed experimental dataset was then used to calibrate a floatability component model of the process. Longer mainline residence time resulted in significant Fe2O3 losses while yielding little benefit in terms of SiO2 product grade. Scavenger 2 has twice the residence time of scavenger 1 while having to treat only 10% of the SiO2, resulting in high Fe2O3 recoveries to the froth and poor separation. In addition, it is shown that the Fe2O3 exhibits true flotation behavior resulting in increased Fe2O3 losses. Simulations using the floatability component model identified avenues of process improvement to address the identified behavior. The insight provided by the simulations into the dynamics of the flotation process is invaluable for process engineers.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdolrahim Foroutan ◽  
Majid Abbas Zadeh Haji Abadi ◽  
Yaser Kianinia ◽  
Mahdi Ghadiri

AbstractCollector type and pulp pH play an important role in the lead–zinc ore flotation process. In the current study, the effect of pulp pH and the collector type parameters on the galena and sphalerite flotation from a complex lead–zinc–iron ore was investigated. The ethyl xanthate and Aero 3418 collectors were used for lead flotation and Aero 3477 and amyl xanthate for zinc flotation. It was found that maximum lead grade could be achieved by using Aero 3418 as collector at pH 8. Also, iron and zinc recoveries and grades were increased in the lead concentrate at lower pH which caused zinc recovery reduction in the zinc concentrate and decrease the lead grade concentrate. Furthermore, the results showed that the maximum zinc grade and recovery of 42.9% and 76.7% were achieved at pH 6 in the presence of Aero 3477 as collector. For both collectors at pH 5, Zinc recovery was increased around 2–3%; however, the iron recovery was also increased at this pH which reduced the zinc concentrate quality. Finally, pH 8 and pH 6 were selected as optimum pH values for lead and zinc flotation circuits, respectively.


2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 781-786 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maowei Ji ◽  
Xiaojing Li ◽  
Shunchuan Wu ◽  
Yongtao Gao ◽  
Linlin Ge

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
R.A. Adebimpe ◽  
A.O. Fatoye

Knowledge of tailings characteristics is required for utilisation and management purposes in the mining and construction industry. Tailings from the mine waste dumps at Itakpe iron ore mine were collected and analysed in the laboratory to determine their chemical and physical characteristics and these include; permeability, porosity, specific gravity, particle size distribution, chemical composition and bioavailability factor of element. Geochemical speciation with quantitative X-ray powder diffraction was used to evaluate the chemical and mineral composition of Itakpe iron ore tailings. The aim is to offer base line data necessary to assess metal mobility and bioavailability. The distribution of heavy metals such as Cu, Ni, Cd, Cr, Zn and Fe was determined using multi- step sequential extraction. The results obtained indicate that the permeability is 6.24 x 10-3 cm/sec; porosity is 35%; and specific gravity is 3.58. The tailings is well graded and is sand gravel. Nickel and Zinc was found to be considerably high in exchangeable and bound to carbonates fraction which are mobile region and is bound to Fe – Mn oxides which is slightly mobile region but the higher concentration of Ni found in residual fraction. The implication of this result is that Nickel and Zinc partially enter into the food chain. Chromium and Cadmium concentration result indicated that these metals can easily enter into the food chain because of their presence in the mobile region and their higher mobility percentage.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-44
Author(s):  
Abdolhakim Batajrobeh Rudi ◽  
Mohsen Mohammadnia Ahmadi ◽  
Mehdi Mogharnasi ◽  
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Author(s):  
Amirhossein Najafabadipour ◽  
Gholamreza Kamali ◽  
Hossein Nezamabadi-pour

The Forecasting of Groundwater Fluctuations is a useful tool for managing groundwater resources in the mining area. Water resources management requires identifying potential periods for groundwater drainage to prevent groundwater from entering the mine pit and imposing high costs. In this research, Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) and Holt-Winters Exponential Smoothing (HWES) data-driven models were used for short-term modeling of the groundwater fluctuations in a piezometer around the Gohar Zamin Iron Ore Mine. For this purpose, 250 non-seasonal groundwater fluctuations data in the period 22-Nov-2018 to 29-Jul-2019, 200 data for modeling, and 50 data for prediction were used. To take advantage of all the features of the two developed models, the predictions are combined with different methods and specific weights. The results show better accuracy for the ARIMA method between the two short-term forecasts, while the HWES method requires less time for modeling. Also, among all the predictions made, the highest accuracy for the combined least-squares method is for forecasting the groundwater fluctuations in the short-term. All the forecasts show a decrease in the groundwater fluctuations, indicating pumping wells around the Gohar Zamin Iron Ore Mine area.


2008 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. S43-S50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malcolm Ross ◽  
Robert P. Nolan ◽  
Gordon L. Nord

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