Semi-Continuous Froth Discharge to Reduce Entrainment of Fine Particles in Flotation Cells Subject to Low-Mineralized Froths

An operational strategy is proposed to improve the metallurgical performance of flotation cells subject to low-mineralized froths. This strategy consists of using a semi-continuous discharge into the concentrate, in which the froth is operated under loading and unloading periods. A transient model is developed to evaluate the proposed approach. The model is calibrated using experimental data from two industrial flotation banks. The metallurgical performances of the last cells of these banks are then simulated, considering the semi-continuous froth discharge. The results show that the semi-continuous mode significantly reduces gangue entrainment, improving the concentrate grade while maintaining approximately the same recovery. The semi-continuous strategy demonstrates good potential to enhance the metallurgical indexes under low-mineralized froths, as those in the last cells of rougher flotation banks.

Impeller Radial Velocity and Air Flow Rate Influence on Copper Rougher Flotation Recovery

A rougher flotation study has been done to analyze the effects of copper feed mineralogy, air flow rate and impeller radial velocity on metallurgical performance. During the performance testing the trials were exposed to metallurgical examining and computerised mineral analysis to establish a size-by-size mineralogy. The mineralogical and metallurgical information was compared to the material balance for rougher flotation results. These samples showed that copper recovery optimization should focus on the losses of liberated Cu-minerals and how they are associated with fine particles. The result of variable impeller radial velocity for each flotation cell cascade on metallurgical performance has been explored on a known-sized and an unknown-sized base, to gauge the input from the fine particles. An industrial application is discussed in this paper, and it validates that divergence of the impeller radial velocity and air flow has positive influence on the recovery.