Mineral processing Engineering

DEPARTMENT OF MINING
ENGINEERING
YEAR; 4TH SEMESTER II
By: negasi tadesse
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION TO MINERAL PROCESS
The Earth’s Crust is the topmost solid layer of the Earth which has a thickness of 30–
35 km in the continents and 5–6 km in the oceans (the Mantle and the Core being the
other two inner parts of the earth). According to F.W. Clarke, the abundance of
Chemical elements in the earth’s crust. Minerals do not occur singly in the earth’s
crust. They occur in association with several other minerals. The following important
terminology is used in describing the mineral deposits and related terms.
Rock-Is an aggregation of several minerals as occurred in the earth’s crust.
Ore -Is also an aggregation of several minerals from which one or more minerals can
be exploited/separated at profit. (is an aggregation of valuable and gangue minerals).
All Ores are Rocks, but all Rocks are not Ores
An Ore at one place may be a Rock at other place
Ore Minerals or Valuable Minerals are those minerals which contain an economically
exploitable quantity of some metal or non-metal.
Minerals are broadly classified into two types:
1. Metallic minerals.
2. Non-metallic minerals.
1. Metallic minerals: are the minerals from which a metal is extracted. A few metallic
minerals, their chemical formulae, metal extracted and the percent metal present in
the mineral are shown in the next slides. The minerals of Uranium and Thorium are
also called atomic minerals.
2. Non-metallic minerals :are the minerals used for industrial purposes for making
cement, refractories, glass and ceramics, insulators, fertilizers etc. These minerals are
also called industrial minerals. Metals are not extracted from these minerals. Some
metallic minerals are also used for industrial purposes like Bauxite, Chromite and
Zircon for the refractory industry, Pyrolusite for dry battery cells and Ilmenite for the
pigment industry, etc. The third type, coal, is considered a mineral and is sometimes
spoken of as mineral coal in trade, industry and legal affairs. But in a restricted
technical sense, coal is not a mineral. It is organic in composition and formed from
decaying vegetation and mineral matter. As it is a useful part of the earth’s crust and
requires treatment before use, it can be classed as third type of special significance.
Metallic minerals.
Mineral Chemical formula Metal extracted % metal
Hematite Fe2O3 Iron 69.94
Magnetite Fe3O4 Iron 72.36
Bauxite Al2O3.2H2O Aluminum 39.11
Braunite 3Mn2O3 MnSiO3 Manganese 63.60
Pyrolusite MnO2 Manganese 63.19
Chromite FeO Cr2O3 Chromium 46.46
Galena PbS Lead 86.60
Sphalerite ZnS Zinc 67.10
Non-metallic minerals.
Mineral Chemical formula
Calcite CaCO3
Corundum Al2O3
Diamond C
Dolomite CaMg (CO3)2
Graphite C
Gypsum CaSO4.2H2O
Kaolinite (China clay) H4 Al2Si2O9
Limestone CaCO3
Marble Chiefly CaCO3
Gangue Minerals - Are usually the non-metallic minerals associated with ore minerals
which are worthless as a source for that metal or otherwise. These are usually unwanted,
waste or useless minerals. These gangue minerals occasionally find use as source of by-
products. For example, pyrite present in Lead and Zinc ores is a gangue mineral but it is
separated as by-product for extraction of sulphur after the lead and zinc minerals are
separated.
Mineral Processing Terminology
Ore Deposits are the natural deposits of ore minerals.
Simple Ore is one from which a single metal can be extracted.
For example, Only Iron is extracted from Hematite ore, Aluminum is extracted from
Bauxite ore, Chromium is extracted from Chromite ore, etc.
Complex Ore is one from which two or more metals can be extracted. Lead, Zinc and
Copper metals are extracted from Lead-Zinc-Copper Ore
Metal Content of a mineral is generally expressed in percent of metal present in the
mineral.
It is calculated by taking the atomic weights of the elements present in the mineral.
Let us consider Hematite (Fe2O3)
 Atomic weight of Iron =55.85
 Atomic weight of Oxygen =16.00
 Molecular weight of Hematite =55.85 ×2 +16 ×3 =159.7
 Percent iron (%Fe) =(55. 85 × 2/159.7)X100= 69 .94
Assay Value or Tenor is the percent metal, percent valuable mineral, or ounces ,
precious metal per ton depending upon the ore involved.
Grade is a relative term used to represent the value of an ore.
High Grade Ore is an ore having a high assay value and
Low Grade Ore is an ore having a low assay value.
The Ore having an assay value between that of high and low value is called Medium
Grade Ore.
Rich Ore and Lean Ore-are the other terms of common usage where an ore with a high
assay value is rich ore and an ore with low assay value is lean ore.
Comminution – particle size reduction by crushing ( dry ) and grinding ( wet) .
Sizing – separation of materials ( by screening or classification) into products using their
differences in size.
Classification- sizing method that depends on the relationship between the size of mineral
particles and their settling velocity in water or air ).
Concentration - uses the physical and surface chemical properties.
Done using washers , sluice boxes, shaking tables, flotation cells, magnetic separators,
electrostatic separators etc.
Dewatering – for solid/liquid separation wet cakes are produced. Two steps are involved
1) Thickeners remove most of the water and produces thickened pulp
2) Filters makes damp cakes.
Auxiliary operations – storing conveying , sampling, weighing etc.
Circuit: The path that the ore that is being processed takes as it proceeds from one
processing point to another.
Flow Sheet - Drawing that indicates the path that the mineral takes within a process.
Several circuits are often contained within a flow sheet
Recovery Rate – The percentage of valuable metal/mineral by mass in the concentrate
from the feed.
GEOLOGY – MINING – PROCESSING
All 3 aspects must be favorable to make a deposit economically viable
Geology: Find it. Is it big enough to be economic? (conduct a geological survey and
estimate the ore reserves, their quality and tenor).
Mining: Dig it. Is it economically recoverable from the ground? (mine the ore and bring it
to the surface of the earth).
Processing: Extract it. Is it economically separable from the host rock? (beneficiate the ore
to higher tenor. Thus beneficiated ore, if it is metallic ore, is smelted and the metal is
extracted which is further utilized for the production of alloys).
Mineral processing- Is a process of mechanically separating the grains of ore minerals
from the gangue minerals, to produce a concentrate (enriched portion) containing most of
the ore minerals and a tailing (discard) containing the bulk of the gangue minerals.
Since, most ore minerals are usually finely disseminated and intimately associated with
gangue minerals, the various minerals must be broken apart (freed) or “liberated” before
they can be collected in separate products.
Therefore, the first part in any mineral process will involve the crushing and grinding
(which is also known by a common name called “comminution”) of the ore to a point
where each mineral grain is practically free.
INTRODUCTION TO MINERAL PROCESSING
 Definitions
 Objectives
 Scope of mineral processing
 Beneficiation Steps…………
The first process most ores undergo after they leave the mine is mineral dressing
(processing), also called ore preparation, milling, and ore dressing or ore beneficiation.
There are Three principal types of operations. To these may added a number of auxiliary
operations which are not directly involved in effecting either liberation or separation.
The major steps in Mineral Processing operations are as follows:-
1. Liberation,
2. Separation and
3. Disposition
Mineral processing is usually carried out at the mine site, the plant being referred to as a
mill or concentrator. The essential purpose is to reduce the bulk of the ore which must be
transported to and processed by the smelter, by using relatively cheap, low-energy physical
methods to separate the valuable minerals from the waste (gangue) minerals.
Apart from regulating the size of the ore, it is a process of physically separating the grains
of valuable minerals from the gangue minerals, to produce an enriched portion, or
concentrate, containing most of the valuable minerals, and a discard, or tailing, containing
predominantly the gangue minerals. The importance of mineral processing is today taken
for granted, but it is interesting to reflect that less than a century ago, ore concentration
was often a fairly crude operation, involving relatively simple gravity and hand-sorting
techniques performed by the mining engineers.
 DEFINITION
a). Mineral Processing can be defined as processing of raw minerals to yield marketable
products and waste by means of physical or mechanical methods in such a way that the
physical and chemical identity of the minerals are not destroyed .
It follows that mineral beneficiation is a process designed to meet the needs of the
consumer of minerals.
b). Sometime called Milling or Beneficiation and can be regarded as the mechanical
operations necessary to produce an enriched concentrate and the valueless
gangue/waste/by means that do not destroy the physical and chemical identity of minerals.

 OBJECTIVES.
There are two main objectives:-
 Technical and
 Economic.
To bring the marketable" product or concentrate" into technical condition required by the
customer, unwanted constituents in the original ore must be removed or reduced below some
specified percentage. The product may have to conform to requirements to particle size,
assay grade, moisture content. If more than one valuable mineral is present, the mineral
dressor may be obliged to separate them so that each can be marketed separately, or so that
the purchaser can handle them economically. Where same element occurs in to different
combinations requiring deferent forms of subsequent treatment, appropriate separation may
be economically justified.

 THE GOALS OF MINERAL PROCESSING are to:

 separate economic mineral particles from waste or gangue
 subject minerals to processes in order to concentrate them or to extract metals from them
 SCOPE OF MINERAL PROCESS
The crushing or mill receives their raw material from the working places, whence ore is
being Mined or quarried. Usually, the mill receives ore from the crusher during part of the
twenty four(six or eight ) hours, five or six days weekly
 THE REASONS FOR THE INCREASING IMPORTANCE OF MINERAL
PROCESSING are:
1. Reserves of good quality ore (high grade ore) are depleting day by day as much of such
ore is continuously mined and utilized for extraction of metal and hence it is unavoidable
to use low grade ores (which need beneficiation) for metal extraction to meet the demands.
2. In order to use un-mined reserves of a particular mine, switching over from Selective
mining to a cheaper mining method, Bulk mining, is found to be more economical wherein
beneficiation is a must.
 BENEFICIATION STEPS
Beneficiation: the enrichment of ores and separation of unwanted gangue minerals so
subsequent treatment to get the metals is more efficient
1.1Ore Handling:
Which may account for 30-60% of the total delivered price of raw materials, covers the
processes of transportation, storage, feeding, and washing of the ore or during, its various
stages of treatment in the mill.
Since, the physical state of ores in situ may range from friable, or even sandy material, to
monolithic deposits with the hardness of granite, the methods of mining and provisions for
the handling of freshly excavated material will vary extremely widely. Ore that has been
well broken can be transported by trucks, belts, or even by sluicing, but large lumps of
hard ore may need individual blasting.
The belt conveyor is the most widely used method of handling loose bulk materials. Belts
now in use are with capacities up to 20,000t/h and single flight lengths exceeding 15,000m
("Bulk Materials Handling", 2005), with feasible speeds of up to 10 m s-1.
The standard rubber conveyor belt has a foundation of sufficient strength to withstand the
driving tension and loading strains. This foundation, which may be of cotton, nylon, or
steel cord, is bound together with a rubber matrix and completely covered with a layer of
vulcanised rubber.
The carrying capacity of the belt is increased by passing it over troughing idlers. These
are support rollers set normal to the travel of the belt and inclined upward from the
centre so as to raise the edges and give it a trough-like profile.
Removal of harmful material to the mill
Ore entering the mill from the mine (run-of-mine ore) normally contains a small
proportion of material which is potentially harmful to the mill equipment and processes.
For instance, large pieces of iron and steel broken off from mine machinery can jam in
the crushers. Wood is a major problem in many mills as this is ground into a fine pulp
and causes choking or blocking of screens, etc.
Ore Storage
Storage has the advantage of allowing blending of different ores so as to provide a
consistent feed to the mill. Both tripper and shuttle conveyors can be used to blend the
material into the storage reservoir. If the units shuttle back and forth along the pile, the
materials are layered and mix when reclaimed. If the units form separate piles for each
quality.
Feeding: Feeders are necessary whenever it is desired to deliver a uniform stream of dry
or moist ore, since such ore will not flow evenly from a storage reservoir of any kind
through a gate, except when regulated by some type of mechanism. Feeding is essentially
a conveying operation in which the distance travelled is short and in which close
regulation of the rate of passage is required. Where succeeding operations are at the same
rate, it is unnecessary to interpose feeders. Where, however, principal operations are
interrupted by a storage step, it is necessary to provide a feeder. A typical feeder consists
of a small bin, which may be an integral part of a large bin, with a gate and a suitable
conveyor. Feeders of many types have been designed, notably apron, belt, chain, roller,
rotary, revolving disc, and vibrating feeders.
1.2 Metallurgical accounting: Metallurgical accounting is an essential feature of all
efficient metallurgical operations. Not only is it used to determine the distribution of the
various products of a concentrator, and the values contained in them, but it is also used to
make decisions about the operation since the values of recovery and grade obtained from
the accounting procedure are indications of process efficiency. To perform successful
metallurgical accounting it is necessary to collect reliable data from the process.
The essential requirements of a good accounting and control system are efficient and
representative sampling of the process streams, upon which accurate analyses of the
value components can be undertaken, and reliable and accurate measurement of the mass
flow rate of important flow streams. Computer control of mineral processing plants
requires continuous measurement of such parameters, and the development of real-time
on-line sensors, such as magnetic flowmeters, nuclear density gauges and chemical and
particle size analyser’s has made important contributions to the rapid developments in
this field since the early 1970s, as has the increasing availability and reliability of cheap
microprocessors.
Sampling and weighing the ore: Ideally, weighing and sampling should be carried out
before the material is subject to losses in the mill. For this to be absolutely the case, these
operations must be carried out on run-of-mine ore entering the primary crusher stage.
Weighing can be carried out satisfactorily, but accurate sampling is not possible on
account of the wide range of particle size and heterogeneity of the material being
handled. A Mineral Beneficiation plant costs thousands of dollars to build and operate.
The success of the plant relies on the assays of a few small samples. Representing large
ore bodies truly and accurately by a small sample that can be handled in a laboratory is a
difficult task.
The difficulties arise chiefly in collecting such small samples from the bulk of the material.
The method or operation of taking the small amount of material from the bulk is called
Sampling. It is the art of cutting a small portion of material from a large lot. The small
amount of material is called Sample and it should be representative of the bulk in all
respects (in its physical and chemical properties). More precisely, sampling can be defined
as the operation of removing a part, convenient in quantity for analysis, from a whole which
is much greater, in such a way that the proportion and distribution of the quality to be tested
are the same in both the sample and the whole. Sampling is a statistical technique based on
the theory of probability. The first and most obvious reason for sampling is to acquire
information about the ore entering the plant for treatment. The second is to inspect its
condition at selected points during its progress through the plant so that comparison can be
made between the optimum requirements for efficient treatment and those actually existing,
should these not coincide. The third is to disclose recovery and reduce losses. A sample can
be taken from any type of material dry, wet or pulp. But, in each case, the method of
sampling and the apparatus necessary for them are different. A sample is collected from
huge lot of dry material in stages. At first, a large quantity sample is collected from a lot,
known as primary sample or gross sample, by means of various types of sampling
equipment such as mechanical or hand-tool samplers using appropriate sampling methods
and techniques.
The two methods used to obtain a gross sample are Random sampling and Systematic
sampling. The various hand-tool samplers used are Drill, Shovel, Scoop, Auger, Pipe and
Slot samplers. The gross sample is reduced to a quantity that can be handled with ease by
alternate shoveling or fractional shoveling in stages depending upon the quantity of the
gross sample.
It is essential that the gross sample be thoroughly mixed before reduction in order to obtain
a representative sub-sample or laboratory sample. Such reduced samples are called
secondary sample and ternary sample depending upon the number of stages used. Figure
shows the stages of sampling. Reduction of this reduced sample to a quantity necessary for
analysis, known as final sample or test sample, is called sample preparation. It is the
process of reducing the quantity by splitting. Sample preparation is done by Coning and
quartering or by using paper cone splitter, riffle splitter, rotary cone splitter, rotary
table splitter or micro splitter. The sampler’s knowledge, experience, judgment and ability
are of greater value because instructions cannot cover every point or combination of
circumstances encountered on each preparation. When it is required to collect samples from
streams of solids and/or pulps, manual or mechanical sample cutters are employed to cut
and withdraw small quantities from a stream of traveling material at predetermined
frequencies and speeds to form a gross sample.
1.3 Particle size analysis: Size of the particle is an important consideration in Mineral
Processing because of the following main reasons:
• Energy consumed for reducing the size of the particles depends on size.
• Size of the particles determines the type of size reduction equipment, beneficiation
equipment and other equipment to be employed.
As the mineral particles are irregular in shape, it is difficult to define and determine their
size.