MINERAL

PROCESSING
TECHNOLOGY
R.G.C Jaliya
Bsc.Eng(Hons),
AMIE(SL)

Content

Sampling Methods
Froth Flotation
Radio Isotopes
Iron Ore Processing

Sampling
Sampling Methods
Sampling Calculations Using Gys
Method

 A sample is a smaller (but

hopefully representative) collection
of units from a population used to
determine truths about that
population
Why need sample ?
Resources (time, money) and
workload
Gives results with known
accuracy that can be calculated
mathematically

 Sampling Methods
Cone and Quarter method

Sample Splitter

Rotary Riffle

Grab Sampling

 Sampling Size Calculation Using Gys Method

Basic Equation

Where
M= Minimum sample weight needed, grams
W= Weight of the entire lot being sampled, grams
C= Sampling constant for the material being sampled,
g/cm3

dmax=Dimensions of the largest pieces in the sample,

cm

s= value of the standard deviation that will be needed

to give the desired level of assurance (assay units,
such as % wt, ounces per ton, etc.)

 When W>>>M ; W-M = W

Hence equation can be simplified to

To calculate the wanted value for s, first select the
desired certainty range (for example, you might
want a copper assay to be accurate to within +/0.1% copper),
Then divide this value by the mean probable assay
value (so for a 5% copper sample, you get 0.1/5 =
0.02).
Then, select the number of standard deviations that
will be needed to give the desired certainty. For a
probability of 95%, this is 1.96 standard deviations,
so 1.96s=0.02, and so s=0.0102.

 Calculation of C
Where

f= Shape factor
g= Size distribution factor
l= Liberation factor
m= Composition factor

L= grain size, cm.

 Calculation of m
where:
r= specific gravity of the valuable component
t= specific gravity of the rest of the material
a= fractional average assay of the valuable substance
for example, an iron-bearing slag,
iron is present as Fe2O3,
use the fraction of the material that is Fe2O3, not the
fraction of iron (Fe),

would be expressed as a decimal fraction, not as a

percent

 Calculation with Incomplete Information

For a truly unknown sample, most of the parameters

that go into calculating C will be unknown, and may

even be impossible to guess with any accuracy. In
this case, make the following assumptions:
f=0.5 (normal blocky particles);
g=0.75 (narrow size distribution.) ,g=1
(monosized), g=0.25 (broad size distribution);
l = 1 (grains are as large as the particles)
The value of m will still need to be calculated, based
on your best estimate of the assay of the sample and
the densities of the components of interest. This
initial sample will be larger than necessary, but can
be analyzed and used to refine the calculations for
collection of any subsequent samples.

 Example Calculation:
Bulk Material Parameters:
Material of Interest: CuFeS2 in a silica
matrix, 1.5% Cu (4.3318% CuFeS2); Top
Size= 1.5 cm;
CuFeS2 grain size= 0.01 cm

Desired Sampling Accuracy: +/- 0.02% Cu,

certainty of 0.99 (2.576 standard deviations)
CuFeS2 specific gravity= 4.2; Overall specific
gravity: 2.8; Broad size distribution

Froth Flotation

Flotation Principles
Factor affecting to flotation
Reagents
Flotation circuit
Kinetics

 Froth flotation is a process for selectively

separating hydrophobic materials from
hydrophilic.
Materials with a special attraction for
water(spreads
across,
maximizing
contact)are known as hydrophilic.
Those that naturally repel water, causing
droplets to form, are known as hydrophobic.

 This utilizes the difference in surface properties

of the valuable minerals and the unwanted
gangue minerals.

 The process can only be applied to relatively

fine particles, because if they are too large,
Bond between
the particle and
the bubble

Particle weight

and the bubble will drop its load.

 The Principal

Where,
s/a , s/w ,and w/a ,are the surface energies
between solid and air, solid and water and
water and air, respectively.
is the contact angle between the mineral
surface and the bubble

 At the equilibrium
The force required to break the particle-bubble
interface is called the work of adhesion, W s/a ,
Work of adhesion is equal to the work required
to,
Separate the solid- air interface (s/a )

Produce separated air-water and solid-water

interfaces
Therefore:

 By Combining these two equations can derive,

Greater the contact angle the greater is the

work of adhesion between particle and bubble
Thus strong the system, against to
troublemaking forces

Industrial Froth Flotation

Machine

 Most minerals are not water-repellent in their natural

state and flotation reagents must be added to the pulp.
Therefore use followings reagents to enhance the
production,
1. Collectors(Particles): Adsorb on mineral surfaces,
converting them hydrophobic (or aerophilic) and
facilitating bubble attachment.
2. Frothers(Air Bubbles): Help to maintain a reasonably
stable froth.
3. Regulators (Pulp): Used to control the flotation process;
these either activate or decrease mineral attachment to
air bubbles and are also used to control the pH of the
system.
4. Acids/Base: Minerals develop a positive surface charge
under acidic conditions and a negative charge under
alkaline conditions

 Factors affect to the Froth Flotation

1. Chemical Factors

2.

1. Collectors
2. Frothers
3. Regulators
4. PH
Operational Factors
1. Feed rate
2. Mineralogy
3. Particle size
4. Pulp density
5. Temperature

 Equipment factors
Cell Design
Air flow
Cell Bank Configuration

 Classification of minerals
All minerals are classified into polar or non-polar
types according to their surface characteristics
Non-Polar type:
The surfaces of non-polar minerals are
characterized by relatively weak molecular
bonds.
The minerals are composed of covalent
molecules.
Molecules get attached by Van der Waals forces
Thus non-polar surfaces do not willingly attach
to the water dipoles, and in consequence are
hydrophobic.

 Polar Type:
Minerals with strong covalent or ionic surface
bonding are known as polar types.
Show high free energy values at the polar
surface.
The polar surfaces react strongly with water
molecules, and these minerals are naturally
hydrophilic.
The polar group of minerals have been
subdivided into various classes depending on the
magnitude of polarity.

Degree of Polarity Increase

 Collectors
Collectors are organic compounds which
convert selected minerals water-repellent by
adsorption of molecules or ions on to the
mineral surface.
Collector molecules may be
Ionizing collectors, which detach into ions in
water,
or
Non-ionizing collectors, which are practically
insoluble, and render the mineral waterrepellent by covering its surface with a thin
film.

Collector adsorption on mineral

surface

 Anionic Collectors
Most widely used collectors in mineral flotation
Classified into two types according to the
structure of the polar group
Oxyhydryl Collectors (organic acid or
soaps)
Used for the flotation of minerals of calcium,
barium, strontium, and magnesium, the
carbonates of nonferrous metals, and the soluble
salts of alkali metals and alkaline earth metals

Sulphydryl Collectors
Polar group contains bivalent sulphur (thio
compounds).
General formula is RS-- Na+ or K+ (R is the
Hydrocarbon Group)

Structure of sodium ethyl xanthate (

an Anionic Collector )

 Cationic Collectors
Water-repulsion is produced by the cation.

Most common type of Cationic

Cationic Collector
collectors are very sensitive

to the pH
of the medium, being most active in slightly
acid solutions and inactive in strongly alkaline.

 Frothers
Frothers are compounds that act to stabilize air
bubbles so that they will remain well-dispersed
in the slurry, and will form a stable froth layer
that can be removed before the bubbles burst.
The acids, amines, and alcohols are the most
soluble of the frothers. The alcohols (~OH) are
the most widely used, since they have practically
no collector properties

Action of the Frother

 Flotation Circuits
There are three main types of flotation Circuits
depend on,
Size of the Ore particles.
Degree of purification needed.

1. Simple Flotation Circuit

Rough
er

Scaveng
er

2. Rougher-scavenger-cleaner system

3. Rougher-scavenger-Recleaner system

R+S

Low grade
recovery
Simple
Low space
required
Low
installation cost
Gangue should
not floatable
Mineral should
have high
floatable
property

R + S +C

R + S + C + Rec

Recovery
grade high
Complex
High
High
Can use for
floatable
gangue

Very high
Very complex
Can use for
floatable
gangue
Hard maintain
and monitoring

Example
Problem: A copper ore initially contains

2.09% Cu. After carrying out a froth flotation

separation, the products are as shown in
Table 1. Using this data, calculate
(a) Ratio of concentration
(b) % Metal Recovery
(c) % Metal Loss
(d) % Weight Recovery, or % Yield
(e) Enrichment Ratio

(a) From Table 1, the Ratio of Concentration can be

calculated as
F/C = 100/10 = 10.
If only assays are available, the ratio of
concentration equals
(20 0.1)/(2.09 0.1) = 10
So, for each 10 tons of feed, the plant would
produce 1 ton of
concentrate.
(b) Using the example data from Table 1, the % Cu
recovery calculated from weights and assays is:
% Cu Recovery = [(1020)/(2.09100)]100 =
95.7%

This means that 95.7% of the copper present in the

ore was recovered in the concentrate, while
the rest was lost in the tailings.
(c) The % Cu Loss can be calculated by subtracting
the % Cu Recovery from 100%:
% Cu Loss = 100 95.7 = 4.3%
This means that 4.3% of the copper present in
the ore was lost in the tailings

(d) The % Weight Recovery is equal to the %

Weight of the concentrate in Table 1. It can also
be calculated from the assay values given in
the table, as follows:
% Weight Recovery = 100(2.09 - 0.1)/(20 0.1)
= 10%
(e) The Enrichment Ratio is calculated by
dividing the concentrate assay in Table 1 by the
feed
assay:
Enrichment Ratio = 20.0/2.09 = 9.57
This tells us that the concentrate has 9.57
times the copper concentration of the feed

 Flotation Kinetics
Most of the valuable mineral floats within a few
minutes, whereas it takes much longer for the
residual small quantity to float.

 The rate equation for flotation can be expressed

in a general way as follows:

Where:
v (weight/unit time) is the flotation rate,
W is the weight of floatable mineral
remaining in the pulp at time t,
K n is the rate constant,
n is the order of the reaction.

 The kinetics of flotation have been studied by

many workers, the majority classifying
flotation as a first order reaction (n = 1)
The first order rate equation is usually
expressed as

where
R is the cumulative recovery after time t;
k is the first order rate constant (time-l);
t is the cumulative flotation time.

 A modified first order rate equation

Where
RI is the maximum theoretical flotation
recovery
The flotation rate constant is dependent on the
particle size and the degree of liberation of the
mineral.

Variation of flotation rate constant of an

ore as a function of the particle size

Iron ore
Pre preparing of iron ore
Pelletizing
Iron production

Pelletizing
Binders
Binders accomplish two important
functions in palletisation, namely:
Makes the moist ore plastic; and
During drying and sintering, the binder
holds the particles in the pellets together

 Types of binders
Bentonite (0.25 to 2.5 per cent by

mass)
Cement (5 per cent by mass)
Lime (5 per cent by mass)
Cane molasses (3 per cent by
mass)
Calcium chloride
Silicate or fluorosilicate of sodium

Advantage of pellets
Good reducibility
Good bed permeability
High uniform porosity
faster reduction and meterlization
Less heat consumption

Uniform chemical composition

Easy handling and transportation

Iron production

Radioisotopes
A radionuclide or radioactive nuclide, also
referred to as a radioisotope or radioactive
isotope, is an atom with an unstable nucleus
characterized by excess energy available to be
imparted either to a newly created radiation
particle within the nucleus or via internal
conversion.
During this process, the radionuclide is said to
undergo radioactive decay, resulting in the
emission of gamma ray(s) and/or subatomic
particles such as alpha or beta particle

Damage
Radionuclides that find their way into the
environment may cause harmful effects as
radioactive contamination.
They can also cause damage if they are
excessively used during treatment or in other ways
exposed to living beings, by radiation poisoning.
Potential health damage from exposure to
radionuclides depends on a number of factors, and
"can damage the functions of healthy
tissue/organs.

 Radiation exposure can produce effects

ranging from skin redness and hair loss.
Prolonged exposure can lead to cells being
damaged and in turn lead to cancer. Signs of
cancerous cells might not show up until years,
or even decades, after exposure

Scientific Research
The FDA requires that all new
drugs be tested for safety and
effectiveness; more than 80% are
tested with radioactive materials

Radioactive materials are also used in

biomedical research, metabolic studies,
genetic engineering and environmental
protection studies

Scientific Research
Archaeologists use 14C to date
artifacts containing plant or
animal material

Criminal investigators
use radiation to
examine evidence

Museums rely on
radioactive materials to
verify authenticity of art
objects and paintings

Industrial Uses
Automobile industry makes use of
isotopes to test the quality of steel in
cars
Aircraft manufacturers use radiation to
check for flaws in jet engines

Mining & petroleum companies use

isotopes to locate and quantify geological
mineral deposits

Industrial Uses
Oil gas & mining companies use
isotopes to map geological contours
(using test wells) and mine bores
and to determine presence of
hydrocarbons
Pipeline companies utilize
radioactive isotopes to look
for defects in welds
Construction crews use radioactive
materials to gauge soil moisture
content and asphalt density

Agricultural Uses
Hardier and more disease resistant
crops (peanuts, tomatoes, onions, rice,
soybeans, barley) have been developed
using radioactive materials in
agricultural research
Nutritional value, baking and melting
qualities of some crops and cooking times
have been improved using isotopes

Radioactive materials pinpoint where

illnesses strike animals to breed diseaseresistant livestock

Agricultural Uses
Radioactive materials show how
plants absorb fertilizer; this helps
researchers figure where and how
much to apply to crops for
maximum yield
Isotopes help farmers and scientists
control pests; e.g., California has
used radiation sterilization since
the mid-70s to control Mediterranean
fruit fly infestations