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By M. Lundström, J. Aromaa, S. Seisko

"Gold dissolution was investigated in ferric chloride media, promoted as one of the most promising alternatives for cyanide-free gold leaching. The characteristics of gold open circuit potential (OCP) and its relation to gold dissolution rate was investigated. Furthermore, the reaction mechanism of gold dissolution in ferric chloride leaching was discussed. The effect of solution variables, [Fe3+] = 0.02–1.0 M, [Cl–] = 2–5 M, T = 25–95 °C and pH = 0–1.0, on OCP and dissolution rate were studied electrochemically using rotating disk electrode (RDE) and linear polarization resistance (LPR) method with ?cyc = 1000 RPM. The investigated gold OCPs in ferric chloride solutions were found to vary between 597 and 688 mV vs. saturated calomel electrode (SCE) and gold dissolution rates between 1.2·10–5–5.0·10–4 mol s–1 m–2. Increase in temperature (25–55 °C) and ferric concentration (0.02–1.0 M) changed OCP into more positive values, while increase in chloride concentration (2–5 M) decreased it. The logarithm of gold dissolution rate was shown to increase linearly with increasing OCP at the temperature range 25–95 °C, ferric concentration range 0.02–0.5 M and chloride concentration range 2–4 M. A notable increase in the gold dissolution reaction rate was evident at T > 55 °C. INTRODUCTION Currently cyanide leaching is the predominant method used in gold production from primary raw materials (Marsden and House, 2006). However, since the Baia Mare disaster in Romania in 2000, the use of cyanide has been the subject of international concern due to the toxic nature of the chemical posing a significant health threat if exposed to the ecological entities (Hilson and Monhenius, 2006; UNEP/OCHA, 2000). Therefore, several countries e.g., Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Turkey, many states of the USA and provinces of Argentina, have started to ban or limit cyanidation via legislation (Laitos, 2012). Thus, alternative solutions, such as thiourea, thiosulphate, oil-coal agglomerates as well as halides have been investigated in order to replace cyanide as lixiviant (Adams, 2016; Aromaa et al., 2014; Aylmore, 2005; Hilson and Monhemius, 2006; Lampinen et al., 2015). Ferric and cupric chloride leaching have been reported to have advantage over cyanidation being capable to dissolve refractory gold minerals, without pre-treatment such as pressure oxidation or roasting (Angelidis et al., 1993; Lundström et al., 2014; Marsden and House, 2006; van Meersbergen et al., 1993). According to Aylmore (2005), 4% of publications for alternative lixiviants to cyanide in gold leaching were within category oxidative chloride processes including aqua regia and acid ferric chloride leaching. Further, some patents have been granted for ferric chloride leaching of gold (Abe and Hosaka, 2010; Lundström et al., 2016)"

Jan 1, 2018

By E. N. Levchenko, K. V. Bulatov, G. I. Gazaleeva

"The article highlights the new procedure of choosing special methods of disintegration for very complicated rare ores. Especially, there is a complex approach to criteria of comparing different types of crashing machines. Criteria are as follows: degree of crashing, degree of grinding, degree of slime creation and the new creations criteria for selection. The procedure is tested on tantalium and zelestinium ore. A new methods was shown the preference impact crashing machine MD-7 for zelestinium ore. In product of crashing 0,050 mm size are 9.4 %, 0,005 mm size – 2.5 %.This is gut result, and show the best indexes of slime creation. The check of the proposed new methods was done when comparing the crushing of tantalium ores of the Otboynoe deposit in cone inertial and centrifugal impact crushers and roller press. A research was conducted different crashing machines under laboratory and semi-industrial conditions. Different operation modes of crushers were also checked. The comparison of the crushing selectivity criterion and degree of crashing showed that the centrifugal impact crusher (CC) and roller press (RP) has the lower indexes than the cone inertial crusher (CIC). Degrees of crashing for different crashing machines are:centrifugal impact crusher – 10.1;roller press – 10.8;cone inertial crusher – 14.2. The crusher CC the selection criterion is 0,632 units, RP – 0.730, where as for the crusher CIC – 0.848 units. The best crushing mode for the crusher CIC-300? is as follows: turning angle of debalance is 0°, peripheral speed of a cone rotation – 1420 r.p.m, specific energy consumption- 4.99 kW*t/t. Crusher CIC-300? is the best for tantalium ores of the Otboynoe deposit. The new methodic are verification.INTRODUCTION Rare metal concentration circuits are complex, energy-intensive, and costly. The reasons for this include the multimetal nature of the rare metal ores, their volatile material composition and low grade. That is why careful selection of ore preparation circuits is of great importance for minimizing the energy inputs and maximizing the liberation of the valuable minerals. Recent research (Khopunov, 2011, Gazaleeva, 2015) has demonstrated that the most efficient comminution processes available to the mineral processing industry are selective disintegration, crushing and grinding, allowing to liberate the mineral particles along the cleavage in the comminution process. These methods are indispensable for the processing of finely disseminated refractory ores prone to slime formation. Many rare metal ores found in Russia are of this type."

Jan 1, 2018

By Z. H. Liu

We experimented with slurry which from one of coal preparation plant in Guizhou province and made researches on double hump gradation, one of critical factor of gradation technology, which can influence pulping character in the process of making coal water mixture (CWM). The purpose for it is to find the best particle gradation which can meet the requirements in concentration, viscosity, and stability for CWM. The final result is that the concentration, viscosity, stability of CWM can meet the requirement for industrial use while the rate of fine particle in the slurry is 70%~75% and the maximum concentration of 62%.

Jan 1, 2014

By Ralph J. Holmes, Victor Sharp, Steven J. Spencer, Kevin J. Davey, Jonathan J. Campbell, Peter L. Phillips, David G. Barker

"Improved measurement tools for monitoring and control of AG/SAG mill performance have a high level of interest in industry. Historically, acoustic emission monitoring has been widely used on SAG/AG/ball mills and hydrocyclones to provide new information on the conditions inside these devices affecting their performance. The current work was focused on a new technique using surface vibration monitoring of a number of pilot-scale and production-scale AG/SAG mills to yield insights into the events occurring in the mills. The development of relationships between signal analysis outputs and mill operating conditions can be used for soft-sensor measurement of mill process variables. The technique used an array of accelerometers mounted on the mill lifter bolts linked to a fast data acquisition system which monitored the surface waves generated during operation. Details of the system are presented. Mill operating variables were adjusted systematically to provide a wide range of operating conditions for surface vibration signal collection. The experimental approach is discussed.The signals acquired during the experiments were analysed using a range of techniques. The results show that strong relationships exist between measured vibration power (both total power and within certain frequency bands) and mill load level/power and mill speed. A new method for extraction of power spectral density and band power information on features of interest in a mill rotation cycle is also presented.These results show that single sensor analysis information from the surface vibration system can be used as soft sensor inputs for monitoring process variables such as mill load that until now, have not been reliably measured. System outputs also show considerable promise in the area of condition monitoring. An example of the signal analysis output is presented showing elevated vibration levels in an area with higher resultant wear. Eventually, it is considered that outputs from this system for process variable and wear condition monitoring will be key new inputs to an online AG/SAG mill monitoring and control system."

Jan 1, 2003

Taknar polymetal (Cu-Zn-Au-Ag-Pb) deposit and concentration flotation plant are located in the northeast of Iran. The flotation feed contains Chalcopyrite, sphalerite and pyrite with 4, 4 and 8 percent respectively. Cu and Zn contents are 1.26 and 3.5 present. Pyrite decreases the quality of base metal concentrates and increases the amount of sulfur compounds produced in the base metal extraction processes. Therefore, depression of pyrite is essential in the concentration of base metal sulfides by flotation. For flotation tests, 4 mixed collector systems, MIBC (20g/t), lime and tow depression systems (sodium cyanide (60g/t)-zinc sulphate and dextrin (300g/t)-zinc sulphate) were used as collector, frother, pH regulator and pyrite-sphalerite depressants in the chalcopyrite flotation stage, respectively, and SIPX, MIBC, lime and copper sulphate (as activator) were used in sphalerite flotation from first stage tailings. The results have shown that, sodium cyanide is a suitable depressant for pyrite and sphalerite in the first stage of flotation. Compared to dextrin as depressant, chalcopyrite recovery was decreased approximately 1.83%. In addition, when sodium cyanide was used as pyrite depressant, copper sulphate consumption raised approximately 90 g/t for activation of sphalerite. From Environment and HSE points of view, dextrin is natural, biodegradable, and non-toxic while cyanide is very high toxic. Keywords: sequential flotation, Cu-Zn massive sulphide, pyrite depressant, dextrin, cyanide

Sep 1, 2012

By M. Pelser, Lorenzen L.

"The presence of calcium and magnesium in the hydrometallurgical processing of base metals, results in a number of process difficulties. These problems range from the contamination of the final product (where the final product is a precipitate) to high energy consumptions and large bleed streams during electrowinning. Calcium poses an additional problem in sulphate solutions owing to the low solubility of its sulphate salts. This can easily lead to a process stream that is supersaturated with calcium sulphate, resulting in unwanted solids formation within the process equipment.A review of literature has proven that there is no conventional method for the control of calcium and or magnesium, although a number of potential processes have been identified. The technologies investigated included precipitation, ion exchange and solvent extraction, for which at least one method was found under each. To make the reader aware of these processes a short description was provided of each within the text.Of these processes, fluoride precipitation was selected for experimental investigation based on the low solubility of calcium and magnesium compared to the base metals. This process involves the addition of a soluble fluoride to precipitate CaF2 and MgF2. The experiments were designed to investigate the equilibrium of the system at varying parameters of which the level of fluoride addition, the ratio of calcium to magnesium, and the identity of the soluble fluoride was reported. In all of the instances the process showed high selectivity towards calcium and magnesium over the base metals. The experiments proofed the process to have a higher affinity towards the removal of magnesium at compositions where the molar ratio of calcium to magnesium was higher than 1:3. It is often the case that the calcium to magnesium ratio is in the region of 1: 10. From this it follows that the fluoride addition has to be stoichiometric or greater for calcium and magnesium combined, if the calcium is to be precipitated. This was demonstrated as well. On the identity of the soluble fluoride hydrogen fluoride was compared to ammonium fluoride, of which the latter was found to be preferred."

Jan 1, 2003

By M. Pelser, C Aldrich

"The presence of calcium and magnesium in the hydrometallurgical processing of base metals, results in a number of process difficulties. These problems range from the contamination of the final product (where the final product is a precipitate) to high energy consumptions and large bleed streams during electrowinning. Calcium poses an additional problem in sulphate solutions owing to the low solubility of its sulphate salts. This can easily lead to a process stream that is supersaturated with calcium sulphate, resulting in unwanted solids formation within the process equipment.Several processes are reviewed for the control of calcium and magnesium. Of these, fluoride precipitation was selected for experimental investigation. This method involves the addition of a soluble fluoride to precipitate CaF2 and MgF2. The experiments showed high selectivity for calcium and magnesium over the base metals. The experiments also showed magnesium precipitation to dominate for calcium to magnesium molar ratios greater than 1:3.To avoid the domination of magnesium precipitation, a flow sheet is proposed whereby only a portion of the base metal stream is subjected to fluoride precipitation. For the precipitation, a 10% excess of ammonium fluoride is used to remove the maximum amount of calcium and magnesium. After precipitation and solid-liquid separation the split-stream is returned to reduce the overall calcium and magnesium concentration of the base metal stream."

Jan 1, 2003

By Caibin Wu, Ali Lei, Ningning Liao, Jingsheng Ye

"The particle size distribution characteristics of ground product can influence the quality of the classification overflow and the next beneficiation indexes in an ore concentrator. Usually, the size distribution of ground product is considered to be determined by that of new ball mill feed. However, based on large amounts of data from industrial grinding circuit surveys, this paper has clearly shown that the size distribution of ground product should be determined by the size characteristics from classification underflow unless the circulating load was small, because the new feed is an important component and occupy a dominant position of mixed ore from belt feed and classification underflow. On the other hand, the correlation coefficient of the size distribution between ground product and classification underflow can be more than 0.99 when the relevance principle and its method are used. Meanwhile, their P80 value also keeps a synchronous correlation. The greater the capacity of classification underflow is, the higher the correlation of size distribution between the ground product and the mixed feed is. Furthermore, the correlation coefficient of the size distribution between ground product and classification overflow which is from primary or secondary can be 0.96. It is another discovery that the correlation coefficient is related to the type of classifier. The coefficient of size distribution of overflow and underflow from hydrocyclone is superior to that of spiral classifier, which can explain the reason why the hydrocyclone is widely used to replace the spiral classifier in concentrator.INTRODUCTION It is well knows that ball mill circuits closed with cyclones or spiral classifier such as a primary grinding circuit, a secondary grinding circuit and SAB mill have become an industry standard. Which grinding process employed will be determined by the P80 value of ground products. When the primary closed circuit ball mill or SAB that it is different throughout between the two processes was employed, a grinding fineness with -200mesh under 68% will be available. However, the secondary grinding circuit with the fineness of -200mesh above 80% can be conducted. Of course, the grinding fineness is determined by the grain size characteristics of the mineral."

Jan 1, 2018

By Xiong Dahe

In recent years many creative technologies are applied to SLon vertical ring and pulsating high gradient magnetic separators. SLon-2500 and SLon-3000 vertical ring and pulsating high gradient magnetic separators are created towards larger scale. Through optimizing the magnetic system and lowering the electric current density, their energy consumption is obviously dropped. New magnetic matrixes are developed to raise the beneficial efficiency of valuable minerals. Special SLon vertical ring and pulsating high gradient magnetic separators are developed which can treat coarser particles of 0-5 mm. Through these technology creations, the mineral processing efficiency of SLon magnetic separators is further raised and their processing cost dropped. Therefore, they have been found wider applications. SLon-2500 applied in Essar Steel of India. In 2007, Essar Steel did a test on its Kirandul hematite ore with SLon magnetic separator and got very good results. The feed grade is 59.77%Fe, after SLon one roughing and one scavenging, the total iron concentrate grade is 65.00%Fe and iron recovery 93.86%. In 2008-2010, the company bought 10 SLon-2500 magnetic separators to treat such iron ores. In 2010 the first SLon-3000 was applied to processing ilmenite. The magnetite-ilmenite deposit is located in Pan Zhi Hua, Si Chuan Province of China. The ore processing flow sheet is: Drum low intensity magnetic separator is used to take out magnetite, and then the SLon-3000 is used to recover ilmenite for roughing. The mags of the SLon-3000 are further cleaned by flotation. The SLon-3000 average operational results are: feed grade 9.52%TiO2, mags grade 17.43%TiO2, mags mass ratio 41.01%, TiO2 recovery 75.09%, non-mags grade 4.02% TiO2, non-mags mass ratio 58.99%. SLon magnetic separators Applied to treat 0-5mm limonite: The feed of SLon magnetic separator is usually 0-2 mm which needs to be ground by ball mill. As many Chinese iron ores are poor grades, if we can throw part of tails before grinding, the grinding cost will be greatly reduced. In 2010, a SLon-1500 and a SLon-2000 were specially built to treat 0-5 mm limonite. The feed grade is 26.51%Fe, mags grade 53.20%Fe, iron recovery 64.26, and tails grade 13.66% Fe. SLon-2500 applied to purify quartz. In 2009, a SLon-2500 magnetic separator was applied to purify quartz in Shan Xi province. Its feed is 0-1mm quartz which contains 0.15%-0.25%Fe2O3, the designed non-mags grade need to be less 0.08% Fe2O3. The production results of SLon-2500 non-mags are 0.05-0.06% Fe2O3, much better than the designed data. SLon applied in Si Jia Ying Iron Mine to recover hematite. Si Jia Ying is a big oxidized iron mine located in He Bei Province of China. In 2005-2010, a plant annually treating 10 million tons of oxidized iron ore was built in which 39 SLon magnetic separators are applied. The total flow sheet results are: Feed grade 30.44%Fe, iron concentrate grade 66%Fe, iron recovery 80%Fe, tails grade 9.65Fe%. SLon applied to recover specularite. Li Lou Iron Mine in An Hui Province of China built a plant annually processing 5 million tons of iron ore in 2010-2011. 25 SLon-2000 magnetic separators are applied to recover specularite. The total flow sheet results are: Feed grade 31.65%Fe, iron concentrate grade 65%Fe, iron recovery 80%Fe, tails grade 10.37%Fe. SLon applied in Da Hong Shan Iron Mine. Da Hong Shan Iron Mine is located in Yun Nan province of China. It treats 4.5 million tons of oxidized iron ore annually. 15 SLon-2000 magnetic separators are applied to recover hematite. The total flow sheet results are: Feed grade 35.61%Fe, iron concentrate grade 64.95%Fe, iron recovery 74.08%Fe, tails grade 15.55%. Keywords: SLon magnetic separator, iron ore, ilmenite, quartz, beneficiation

Sep 1, 2012

By S. H. He

This paper focuses on the influence of pulp oxygen content on the separation of pentlandite and pyrrhotite contained in two different process streams in the Clarabelle Mill, operated by VALE INCO. The two process streams are (i) the scavenger cleaner feed, the product of regrinding the thickened, scavenged concentrate and the B cleaned tail produced from treating the non-magnetic fraction of the milled run of mine ore, and (ii) the magnetic concentrate which is the magnetic fraction of the milled run of mine ore. In the Clarabelle Mill, sulphite (SO32-) and TETA (triethylenete-tramine) are together used to selectively depress pyrrhotite from pentlandite. These depressants pre-ferentially decompose collector and/or sulphur enriched species at the pyrrhotite surface, an appar-ently essential mechanism in pyrrhotite depression from the scavenger cleaner feed stream. Selectivity in depression may originate from differences in the electrochemical rest potential of pyrrhotite and pentlandite. As both minerals are susceptible to oxidation, aeration in conditioning and flotation plays a key role in selective flotation. Important differences in the flotation behavior of pentlandite and pyrrhotite from the magnetic concentrate and the scavenger cleaner streams are highlighted in

Jan 1, 2014

By John Ralston

"Interfacial chemistry plays a pivotal role in bubble-particle capture, for it controls whether or not attachment occurs. Surface heterogeneity, degree of surface hydrophobicity, bubble nucleation and related phenomena influence the stability of the aqueous wetting film between a particle and an approaching bubble. The latter must be unstable if capture is to occur. Various techniques that may be used to quantify this interfacial, chemistry-dominated behaviour, are described.The efficient capture of specific particles by rising bubbles and the delicate control of interfacial chemistry that leads to selective capture are central issues in froth flotation. For efficient capture to occur between a particle and a bubble, they must undergo a close encounter, a collision process dominated by hydrodynamics. Should this encounter bring the particle and bubble within the range of attractive forces, the intervening liquid film between the bubble and the particle will drain, leading to a critical thickness at which rupture occurs. The liquid-vapour interface then retreats over the solid particle surface until a stable wetting perimeter is established. The particle and bubble are then joined after this attachment process. The particle may only be dislodged from this state if it is supplied with sufficient kinetic energy to exceed the detachment energy in this detachment process. These various events are now well documented and may be followed using high-speed videomicroscopy (Schulze, 1984; Nguyen et al., 2001).The process of collision can now be described quantitatively for single bubbles colliding with bubbles under various flow regimes (Dai et al., 1998) and appropriate scale up is possible for multiple bubble particle collisions occurring under turbulent conditions (Pyke et al., 2002). In this paper we will be concerned with the role of interfacial chemistry and how this influences the attachment process."

Jan 1, 2003

By K. E. Waters, J. E. Nesset, F. Rosenblum, R. Langlois, J. A. Finch

"Some sulphide mineral mixtures when exposed to air and a warm and humid environment can exhibit a self-generating temperature rise, referred to as self-heating or spontaneous heating. The observed self-heating derives from the oxidation reactions of the active sulphides. In previous publications by the authors, it was proposed that the self-heating of sulphides proceed in three distinct stages; namely, Stage A, Stage B and Stage C. In Stage A (<100OC) the sulphides, in the presence of moisture are oxidized, generating heat through a series of sequential reactions and forming elemental sulphur as one of the products. In Stage B (>100OC) the elemental sulphur produced in Stage A is further oxidized to generate additional heat and SO2. Stage C (>~380OC), sometimes referred to as thermal runaway or roasting, is not addressed in this paper. This communication focuses on the type and role of elemental sulphur found in Stages A and B, and the sequence of reactions that is occurring in Stage A. The sequence is divided into two phases, the first based on galvanic interaction between the sulphide minerals that generates an acidic environment but little heat, and the second involving the production of H2S which rapidly oxidizes to produce heat and elemental sulphur. To date, data suggest that the primary oxidation product formed in Stage A is the stable orthorhombic a-S8 form of elemental sulphur. Above 96OC the a-S8 transforms to a monoclinic ß-S8 structure which is less stable and will readily oxidize to generate heat and SO2. Above 159OC a proportion of the ß-S8 sulphur will transition to a polymeric Sµ form of sulphur which can readily volatilize. INTRODUCTION Some particulate and granular materials, when exposed to appropriate atmospheric and physical conditions, can exhibit a self-induced temperature rise resulting from accumulated heat due to internal exothermic oxidation reactions. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as self-heating or spontaneous heating. Under favorable physical and environmental conditions, these reactions can elevate the temperature of a given material from ambient to the point of auto-ignition. Self-heating behaviour should not be equated to pyrophoric behaviour which describes a group of materials (e.g. certain finely powdered metals) that will ignite spontaneously in air below 55OC. There are numerous materials such as coals, hay, forestry wood products, food products to name a few that can exhibit self-heating behaviour. This publication continues the focus of the authors on the self-heating of sulphide mineral mixtures. Many of the metals of commercial use found in nature are in the form of these sulphides which must be mined, crushed, ground and concentrated prior to smelting or hydrometallurgical processing in order to produce primary metal. The issues of sulphide self-heating therefore pertain to the mining and processing of metals."

Jan 1, 2018

By M. Wierink

The lifecycle of a resource, specifically a metal, is often depicted as circle from primary production from mining to minerals processing and via manufacturing and use to disposal and recycling. When a material is recycled, it is considered as saved energy compared to producing the material from primary source. This is, however, a simplified representation. At each step of the life cycle, there are changes in the quality of the material due to different materials chemical and physical interaction, phase transformations due to diffusion, radiation etc. Due to these physical and chemical phenomena there are losses of material, which as determined by thermodynamics are not recoverable within the life cycle. This can be considered as an increase embodied energy per mass unit of substance and loss exergy from the material cycle. With low cyclic loss, the material will remain in the recycling loop for a long time, while with high cyclic loss it will disappear fast. Where you put the material determines how fast it disappears from the resource cycle. In this research paper the phenomena of quality degradation of material and idea of increase of embodied energy and exergy loss within a resource cycles is portrayed. The cyclic nature of material states and transitions and energy consequences of material quality degradation as well as the parameters affecting the length of the time scales of the material cycles are described. Currently the cyclic embedded energy and the history of material is not taken under consideration in generic life cycle assessment. This easily results into a conclusion that lifetime of product is optimized only in terms of how much energy an appliance uses during its lifetime, while ignoring the loss of embedded energy due to the effects caused by the environs the material is subjected to during the cycle. Better description of the time properties of material give us a possibility to design toward optimum lifetime of products in terms of resource efficiency. Keywords: product lifetime, material lifetime, recycling, cyclic resource efficiency, material state, material quality, exergy, embodied energy

Sep 1, 2012

By Walter W. Focke, Zola Kwela, Willem van der Merwe, Arao Manhique

"The advantages of the de Wet zirconium process for the manufacture of AZST from zircon sand include: Fewer processing steps; removal of radioactivity by leaching rather than by precipitation; alkali reagent recovery in the form of a sodium silicate solution that is essentially free of radioactivity; fewer waste streams and less waste to discard.Here we report on our efforts at maximizing the alkali recovery in the sodium silicate product stream: Milled zircon, d50 ˜ 9 µm, was fused with caustic soda pearls in open reaction vessels at temperatures between 650°C and 850°C. Fusion times of 1, 2, 4, 24 and 336 hours (with intermittent milling) were investigated.For prolonged fusion times the fusion products approached equilibrium compositions. However, the phases Na2ZrSiO5 and Na4Zr2Si3O12 observed at 850°C did not form at 650°C. Since they do not hydrolyse in water they limit the recovery of alkali. For 2-hour fusions a broad spectrum of non-equilibrium reaction-products, that are rich in sodium silicates, is formed. Optimum process conditions, with respect to NaOH recovery, correspond to a 2:1 stoichiometry and fusing for 2-hour at 850°C. At these conditions the alkali recovery is ca. 78% and the zirconia yield is ca. 57%."

Jan 1, 2003

By Z. Kwela, A. Manhique, W. W. Focke, W. van der Merwe

"The main features of the de Wet improved alkali fusion process for the manufacture of AZST are: Fewer process are steps necessary; radioactivity is removed by leaching rather than by precipitation; fewer waste streams are generated; there is less waste to discard and alkali reagent is recovered in the form of a sodium silicate solution that is essentially free of radioactivity.Here we report on our efforts maximize the alkali recovery in the sodium silicate product stream: Milled zircon, d50 ˜ 9 µm, was fused with caustic soda pearls in open reaction vessels at temperatures between 650°C and 850°C. Fusion times of 1, 2, 4, 24 and 336 hours (with intermittent milling) were investigated. The fusion products were characterized by infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and by wet chemical analysis.For prolonged fusion times the fusion products approached equilibrium compositions. However, the phases Na2ZrSiO5 and Na4Zr2Si3O12 observed at 850°C did not form at 650°C. Since these compounds do not hydrolyze in water they limit the recovery of alkali in the sodium silicate product stream. For 2-hour fusions a broad spectrum of non-equilibrium reaction-products, that are rich in sodium silicates, is formed."

Jan 1, 2003

By V. Dementiev

Pyrite cinders is a complex raw material, in which the valuable metals are: Au(2.04 g/t), Ag(35.0 g/t), Cu(0.38%), Zn(1.1%) and Fe(56.0%). In this case high costs for mining and ore processing are not required. The hydrometallurgical treatment of pyrite cinders using thiourea, sulfite and cyanide solutions are examined in this paper. It was found that thiourea leaching is ineffective due to high consumption of thiourea and sulfuric acid. The cyanidation on pyrite cinders was conducted. Various options of the preparation of the products for the subsequent cyanidation have been examined. The tests on cyanidation process optimization were conducted. The effectiveness of these cementation methods by metallic iron or extraction for copper recovery from water phase has been shown. Zinc precipitation can be found in the form of carbonate. In order to recover noble metals from cyanide solutions, the cementation onto zinc dust was tested. The developed technology provides for recovery at 49-56%Au, 20-25%Ag, 22.5%Cu and 50%Zn during NaCN (1.4 kg/t) and CaO (6 kg/t) consumption. The results of pilot plant testing are the basis for technical regulations in order to design a pyrite cinders treatment plant. The technology has been examined in pilot-plant conditions. In this case the recovery of 54.5%Au, 45.3%Ag, 30%Cu and 49.9%Zn was achieved to provide saleable products. Keywords: pyrite cinders, thiourea leaching

Sep 1, 2012

By Bo Feng

The development of surface charge of serpentine mineral and implications for sulphide ?otation have been studied through flotation tests, sedimentation tests, zeta potential measurements and optical microscope photos. The results show that the serpentine mineral was positively charged at an extensive pH range, with an isoelectric point (IEP) of 11.9. The magnitude and sign of the pyrite particles were pH dependent and were negative for pH values above 2. At pH value 9, where ?otation of nickel sul?de ores is routinely performed, serpentine and pyrite particles attract through an electrostatic mechanism. Slime coatings of serpentine adhere to the surface of pyrite, reducing pyrite flotation recovery. The removal of magnesium ions from the serpentine surface by acid leaching results in a decrease of serpentine IEP and eliminates the adverse effect of serpentine on pyrite flotation. Therefore, it has been clearly established that the surface charge value developed in the serpentine/aqueous electrical interface is a function of the serpentine surface incongruently dissolution. As a result of hydroxyl dissolution, the magnesium ions are left in serpentine surface, which is responsible for serpentine surface charge. The methods, which can remove magnesium ions from serpentine surface, can be used to eliminate the adverse effect of serpentine on pyrite flotation.

Sep 1, 2012

By M. J. Lottering

Gold deposits in South Africa are invariably associated with uranium bearing minerals. Although it is low grade uranium by international standards, averaging around 0.3 kg U3O8 per ton of ore, recovery of uranium as a by-product improves the overall economics of gold extraction. Moreover, the current high uranium prices as well as increased demand due to renewed interest in nuclear power provide significant incentives for dedicated uranium production. An understanding of the uranium leaching response to changes in operating conditions is an important first step to-wards optimisation of uranium recoveries. In South African acid leaching plants, uranium dissolutions higher than 90% are difficult to achieve, and the chemical origin of this limit is not clear. To study leaching behaviour, an important consideration is the mineralogical characteristics of the ores. Typically, a diagnostic leaching approach can be followed. In this paper, a mineralogy-leachability explanation is presented to rationalise the difficulty in exceeding 90% dissolution from low grade uranium ores on the basis of a simple diagnostic leaching method. It was found that brannerite was the main reason for the existence of a dissolution limit in Witwatersrand ore and that chemical liberation was more effective to increase end dissolution compared to physical liberation. The findings from these investigations will form guidelines for developing economically viable flow sheets for improved uranium recovery, at least in a South African (Witwatersrand) context.

Jan 1, 2014

By Hermann Wotruba, Lars Weitkämper

"Dry coal dressing was popular during the 1950’s and 60’s in many parts of the world. The devices mainly used were air jigs and air tables.The increase in ash and moisture content of run-of-mine coals due to the wide advanced mechanisation of mining methods during and after this period led to that pneumatic devices being unable to treat run-of mine coals with the desired efficiency. Since the 1960’s almost all new coal preparation plants have been based on wet processes that are highly efficient in terms of coal recovery and their ability to handle damp and sticky run-of-mine coals. (Frankland, 1995)However, water is becoming increasingly costly and the disposal of fine products, containing most of the water, is an environmental concern. There would be significant cost savings and a lower total energy consumption if coal could be cleaned dry. Efficient dry coal treatment would be an interesting solution in desert, arid or cold areas.In Germany one dry coal dressing plant is in operation. This is the last operating dry coal dressing plant existing in Europe. The actual technical standard of dry coal dressing has been analysed during test-work and sampling in this plant (Saar Region in Germany). The process and the advantages and disadvantages are presented. The plants problems are low efficiency in the fine fraction –6 mm and the coarse fraction +30 mm and a low overall throughput as well as the lack of an automatic process control system. The separation results in the medium size fractions between +6 and -30 mm are excellent"

Jan 1, 2003

By Hermann Wotruba, Lars Weitkämper

"Dry coal dressing was popular during the 1950.s and 60.s in many parts of the world. The devices mainly used were air jigs and air tables.The increase in ash and moisture content of run-of-mine coals due to the wide advanced mechanisation of mining mechanisation during and after this period led to that pneumatic devices being unable to treat run-of-mine coals with the desired efficiency. Since the 1960.s almost all new coal preparation plants have been based on wet processes that are highly efficient in terms of coal recovery and their ability to handle damp and sticky run-of-mine coals. (Frankland, 1995)However, water is becoming increasingly costly and the disposal of fine products, containing most of the water, is an environmental concern. There would be significant cost savings and a lower total energy consumption if coal could be cleaned dry. Efficient dry coal treatment would be an interesting solution in desert, arid or cold areas.In Germany one dry coal dressing plant is in operation. The process and the advantages and disadvantages are presented below.Further on new developments in the field of dry density separation of coal are reviewed and analysed. Test results of new dry coal separation methods e.g. new developed air jig and magnetic separator are reported."

Jan 1, 2003