Slime Recovery By Gravity Concentration - A Viable Alternative?

The economics of recovering slimes by gravity concentration, except in a few highly specialized cases, was hampered by the lack of suit- able high capacity equipment. However, in the last decade increasing cost of power and reagents, coupled with the development of high capacity units, has led to a reappraisal of the benefits of slime gravity concentration. This paper seeks to analyze the merits of gravity concentration, and the constraints placed upon it by the laws of motion. It traces the recent developments of unit processes, and their application to a wide range of minerals. The economics of gravity concentration are also discussed.