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By Vladimir E. Vigdergauz

"Bubble-mineral complexes could be formatted by an attaching of hydrophobic particles to the surface of air bubbles or by an evolution of bubbles from solution onto hydrophobic surfaces. Measurements of contact angles, detachment forces (DF), induction times (IT), evolution pressures (EP) and flotation recoveries (FR) for the studying of minerals wettability at various pH and electrochemical potentials were used. An analysis of the obtained IT results show that a process of bubble attachment to a mineral surface is a rather slow one and it will scarcely be enough for bubble-mineral complex formation under the conditions of real flotation.The ranges of adhesion potentials obtained by DF measurements, Figure 1, correlate with the data of floatability-potential for pyrite. The ranges of adhesion potentials obtained by DF measurements for galena (-1 ÷0.2V) and chalcocite (-0.5÷1.2V) correlate with the potential ranges of floatability for galena (<0.2V) and chalcocite (>-0.4V). An increase of the DF and the cathodic limit of the adhesion potential with increasing length of the hydrocarbon chain were observed. EP-pH curves for sulfides are a mirror-like to the DF-pH curves, Figure 2. Structure of solid-liquid and liquid-gas borders has a determinative importance for formation of bubble-mineral complexes and subsequently flotation results. Under vacuum on the mineral surface there are produced micro bubbles and preferably they will be appeared on the hydrophobic sites. Water structure breaks near a hydrophobic surface facilitate water mass destruction and formation of gaseous phase embryos under decompression in the impeller zone. It simultaneously reduces a probability of produced micro bubbles dissolution as a result of pressure increasing owing to constant fluctuation of liquid densities into impeller zone. Comparison of Taggart’s evaluation of the suction behind blades of the impeller of an agitation-froth machine and ABEP data on galena, Figure, shows that gas evolution will be observed in the range of 1300-2700 revolutions of impeller per minute for hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces successively."

Jan 1, 2003

By X. Tan

In this paper, the application of the metallurgical residue produced from oceanic cobalt-rich crusts leaching process is studied in the area of wastewater treatment. The modification of the sulfuric acid leached residue and the adsorption behavior behaviour of heavy metal ions such as (Pb(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Cd(II), Ni(II), Mn(II), Co(II), As(III)) in the waste-water on the surface of the residue are investigated. The rate of adsorption efficiency of heavy metal ions in the wastewater on the modified sulfuric acid leached residue is investigated. It is showed that when the initial pH value of wastewater containing heavy metal ions including Pb(II), Cu(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Mn(II), Zn(II), Cd(II) and As(III) range from 1.4 to 1.9, with the use of the modified leached residue, As(III) ion can be selectively separated from wastewater, and the separation efficiency can reach 90%~100%. The adsorption efficiency is affected by pH, reaction time, amount of adsorbent and the initial concentration of heavy metal ions in wastewater. The results showed that the optimum pH was natural pH value and the absorption equilibrium time was 2 hours. The adsorption efficiency of heavy metal ions increases with the addition of adsorbent and de- creases with the increase of the initial concentrations of heavy metal ions in wastewater. The heavy metal ions polluted wastewater, of which concentration is about 22.5~793.6 mg/L, can meet the national disposal standard for industrial wastewaters in China very well, after 2 hours treated by 3.75~7.50 g/L modified adsorbent at room temperature. Standard methods were used to investaged investigate the absorption behaviour between abosorbentabsorbent and metal ions in the wastewater. It is concluded that the adsorption behaviour of Co(II), Mn(II) and As(III) ion fits Freundlich iso-therm, while the adsorption behaviour of Pb(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Cd(II) and Ni(II) ions fits Langmuir isotherm, and the saturated adsorption amount of the modified adsorbent is about 54.0~336.7mg metal/g?adsorbentabsorbent. It is suggested that the modified sulfuric acid leached residue produced from oceanic cobalt-rich crusts is environmentally attractive and meaningful as absorbent used in heavy metal ions polluted wastewater.

Jan 1, 2014

Froth flotation is an industrial process commonly used for the separation of mineral particles. Bubbles sparged in a pulp collect and carry hydrophobic particles to the top layer of a flotation cell, the froth zone. There is a strong correlation between the stability of the froth phase and the flux of solids. However, flotation units placed in series operate, as a whole, in a non-steady state regime with the concentration of particle decreasing from one cell to the next resulting in a decrease in froth stability, which can compromise the recovery of valuables. Organic chemical reagents, frothers, are generally added to prevent fine bubbles from coalescing and to increase the stability of the froth phase. Frothers represent the second largest group of mining chemicals. It is crucial to understand the resulting properties of the frother on the froth phase in order to select the most suitable reagent for a particular operation. The bubble coalescence dynamic of three different surfactants, 1-pentanol, poly (propylene glycol), and tri (propylene glycol) methyl ether, were investigated in this study. In the first stage, the stabilisation mechanism of bubbles in a solution of surfactant was investigated using a specifically designed experimental setup. The coalescence behaviour of bubble pairs was recorded using high-speed video imaging in which information such as the coalescence time and the deformation of the resultant bubble upon coalescence could be extracted. The results were then compared between the different surfactants for several concentrations. It is shown in a study that the coalescence time increases with surfactant concentration until the Gibbs-Marangoni effect is suppressed by bulk diffusion. Conversely, the oscillation of the resultant bubble was found to be affected only at concentrations at which the film is saturated. The implications of the effects of surfactant type and concentration on the coalescence time and bubble oscillation in froth flotation are discussed. Keywords: froth flotation, frother, bubble coalescence

Sep 1, 2012

By J. Lampke

The superior characteristics of iron ore pellets compared with natural ore and sinter are well known. Due to the higher grade and bulk density they show improved transport and material handling properties. While charging blast furnaces with pellets an increased productivity is realized through pellet?s uniform structure and composition. The increased productivity is caused by a high permeable furnace burden with a decreased coke usage via fuel injection and oxygen enrichment. Therefore, a narrow pellet size distribution and a minimum content -6.3 mm are necessary (Meyer, 1980). The required pellet size distribution can be achieved on the one hand by screening the fired pellets after the induration furnace and recycle the undersized pellets. On the other hand it is possible to produce high quality iron ore pellets with a high degree of sphericity, the important narrow grain size distribution ranging between 9 to 16 mm with high green strength directly in the pelletizing device. To produce high quality green pellets, possibilities and knowledge about adjustments of the pelletizing device are necessary. The paper presents a classification of state of the art pelletizing systems in accordance with the advantages of the pelletizing disc and pelletizing drum in issues like adjustability, green pellet quality, the recycling rate and the space requirement. By a systematization of the influences on pelletizing the common reliance of objectives on influence like pelletizing moisture, disc inclination, rotational speed, mass flow and rim height are given. A variety of industry-proven examples are shown, too. Keywords: Pellet, iron ore, pelletizing, pelletizing disc

Sep 1, 2012

By S. Narra

The importance of bio-products production is enhanced with the abundance and renewability of ligno- cellulosic biomass in comparison to the depleting fossil fuels especially in producing environment friendly energy. Lignin is obtained as a sludge residue from the pulp and paper industries as well as from the bio- ethanol /bio-gas production plants. Lignin is a renewable fuel with a high heating value equivalent to anthracite coal, low ash content and hydrophobic properties. The extracted lignin in paper and pulp mills is usually burnt at the mill directly to cover the energy production costs of the mill. The efficient utilization of lignin can reduce the percentage of lignin sludge used for energy production in comparison to the present situation. Presently the lignin is burnt /incinerated as sludge with minimum of 30 to 50 % moisture content. This high moisture content reduces the energy efficiency and simultaneously utilizes more amount of lignin sludge in producing the required energy. This paper explains a possibility of integrating sludge-pelleting techniques in paper and pulp mills. The integrated sludge-pelleting techniques would lead to an optimal utilization of lignin for energy and would simultaneously save the lignin resource for material utilization. The sludge pelleting process solves also the problem of handling, storage and explosion risks of lignin when compared to the present situation.

Sep 1, 2012

By Q. R. Chen

Wet processes are commonly used in coal preparation field home and abroad. Dry coal cleaning technology is very necessary in China because more than 2/3 of coal resources deposited in arid areas, which are difficult to separate coal with wet processes. A particular interest of this article is the discussion of separation research development of dry coal cleaning in China, such as an air dense medium fluidized bed (ADMFB) beneficiation technology, a compound dry (pneumatic) separation technology and a triboelectrostatic separation technology. The fundament and importance of dry coal cleaning methods above were introduced. On the basis of analyzing parameters which influence the performance of separators, including that of structure, technologic and operating, the separation research status of dry coal cleaning methods, especially the ADMFB beneficiation technology, were discussed and reviewed. The recent developments, especially the fluidized bed beneficiation for <6mm fine coal with an external energy assisted, including a vibrated fluidized bed and a magnetically fluidized bed, and the triboelectrostatic separation for <1mm fine coal are also introduced. The study and application results in China show that dry coal cleaning technologies can efficiently beneficiate different coals with different sizes. The ADMFB can separate >6mm coarse coal with an E value of 0.05~0.08, the external energy assisted fluidized bed can separate <6mm fine coal with an E value of 0.07~0.09, the triboelectrostatic technology can efficiently separate <1mm fine coal, and the compound dry separation technology can efficiently separate >3mm coal with a easy washability. The dry coal cleaning provides an efficient and lower cost clean approach for coals distributed in arid areas.

Jan 1, 2014

By Barda K. Mishra, Surya P. Mehrotra

"INTRODUCTIONIn a jig, which is primarily a coarse mineral concentration device, the bed of mineral particles is pulsated with a stream of water resulting in the particles of different specific gravities. It operates in a cyclic manner – the jig cycle consists of four stages, namely, inlet, expansion, exhaust and compression. In the inlet stage the bed lifts up en masse. Near the end of the lift stroke the particles at the bottom of the bed start falling resulting in the loosing of the bed which, in turn, causes its expansion or dilation. During the third and fourth stages the particle resettle through the fluid, and the bed collapses back to its original volume. The pulsation and suction are repeated to bring about stratification with respect to specific gravity across the bed height. Various parameters affecting the stratification process include amplitude and frequency of pulsation, bed thickness, rate of hutch water flow, and feed characteristics. This paper first presents a review of various jigging theories and then describes a new approach to mathematical modeling of jigging employing the discrete element method.JIG MODEL BASED ON DISCRETE ELEMENT METHOD (DEM) APPROACHThe jig models based on DEM essentially involve tracking the position of each particle incrementally, applying Newton’s law of motion and a force displacement law at the contact. The model presented here is based on a three dimensional mathematical description of solid-solid and fluid-solid interactions. In this model, the force balance on a particle is extended to account for the effect of continuously varying fluid on the particle. The total force on each particle is made up of a known external body force, fluid particle interaction force and particle-particle and/or particle-wall interaction force. The fluid-particle interactive force is primarily made of drag and buoyancy. Di Felice’s correlation is used to evaluate the drag force. Solid-solid interaction is described by treating particles as discrete elements that are indestructible but interact with each other and any other elements present, such as walls, when they make physical contacts. A pair of spring and dashpot represents a contact The contact forces are computed from the amount and the rate of overlap of the particles at the contact. The motion of the particle is due to movement of the fluid, which transmits its energy through the particle-particle contacts. A computer program incorporating both the contact and the fluid model has been developed. It takes the operating parameters such as amplitude and frequency of the pulsating fluid, pertinent data concerning particle properties and the geometry of the jig bed as inputs."

Jan 1, 2003

By lves Matiolo, Jorge Rubio, Carlos Perez Guerrero, Denise G. Nunes, Fabiano Capponi

The problem (very old) of processing by flotation, the fine (“F”, 38-13 µm) and ultrafines (“UF”, < 13 µm) mineral particles continues to be a major technical challenge in the area of mineral processing. Many different processes have been proposed over the last three decades but, unfortunately, most of them have not found practical applications yet. This paper describes some advances in flotation research in fines (“F”, 38-13 µm) and ultrafines (“UF”, < 13 µm) mineral recovery by two different techniques. Extender flotation (EF) and flotation with bubbles with a wide size distribution-SB of copper sulphide ore fines (1 % Cu) were compared with a “standardised” (STD) mill laboratory procedure. Comparative evaluation was made through concentrate grade and recovery (size by size results included), “true” flotation recoveries and process kinetics. Copper porphyry samples, containing about 1/3 of the mass and about 37 % of the total copper content in the fines and ultrafines fractions were used. In the EF tests diesel-in-water emulsions were used as an extra reagent, added after the collector and frother addition. In SB tests, drawing air through an aspiration nozzle, directly in the pulp, generated bubbles sized about 50-200 µm. Both techniques yielded higher metallurgical efficiencies than the mill standard but better results were obtained with the extender flotation, with emulsified diesel oil (90 gt-1). Concentrate recoveries were of the order of 85-90 % (84 % in standard conditions), 14-17 % Cu grade (15 % Cu in the standard) and 3.5-4.5 min-1 for the Klimpel rate constant (3 min-1 in the standard). Size by size and true flotation results proved that metallurgical and kinetic gains, obtained with the two techniques, might be attributed to fines and ultrafines enhancement. Data obtained are discussed in terms of physical and physicochemical parameters related to aggregation and capture (of particles by bubbles) phenomena and the practical potential of these techniques are envisaged. The following figure shows size-by-size copper recoveries results, after classification of produced concentrates and tailings using micro-sieves. Results clearly show that flotation of the F and UF fractions is highly improved with injection of small bubbles (SB) and with the addition of an extender collector. It is believed that the techniques presented here will establish shortly a new basis for the flotation enhancement of the F and UF, aimed at solving a very old problem. This work is being continued, now at pilot plant scale, and results will be published en the near future.

Jan 1, 2003

By Zehong Wang

Selecting sodium polyacrylate (PAAS) as grinding aid, the effect of grinding aid on the grinding efficiency of bauxite taken from Shanxi province was studied and its mechanisms were analyzed by measuring the variation of adsorption characteristic, pulp viscosity, surface electric potential of the bauxite and the surface appearance of particles. The results showed that, compared with no grinding aids added the content of -0.074mm in the ground product was increased by 5.45 percentage points under the optimal grinding conditions adding PAAS as grinding aid when the amount of PAAS was 0.7%wt of bauxite. Because the physical adsorption and chemical adsorption were occurred on the bauxite surface, which could reduce the pulp viscosity, change the surface electric potential of the bauxite, enhance the surface appearance of particles and lower the surface hardness of the bauxite, the grinding efficiency of bauxite was increased by PAAS. Keywords: bauxite, grinding aids, grinding efficiency, mechanism

Sep 1, 2012

By S. Banisi, A. R. Ghasemi, M. Maleki-Moghaddam

Direct observation of the charge shape and its motion in industrial mills are not possible, it is then customary to use transparent end, small-scale mills (i.e., model mills) to determine the charge trajectory directly by visualization methods. Because of a short length of the model mills, the end-wall effects could introduce a significant bias on the observed charge trajectories and shape. The shorter the mill, the stronger the bias. This could be due to some material bridging between the end walls. In this research, the end-wall effects were investigated by gradually increasing the model mill length and analysing the charge trajectory and shape variation at a given operating conditions (i.e., ball filling, mill speed, liner type). The unbiased mill length was assumed to be beyond the mill length where no significant change observed in the charge trajectory and shape. For all tests, the torque of the charge was also measured by a torque sensor. The special design of the model mill with the diameter of 100 cm made possible to increase the mill length in steps of 3.6 cm up to 21.6 cm. Four types of liners, five steel ball fillings (10, 15, 20, 25, 30% v/v) and three mill speeds (55, 70, 85% of critical speed) were tested. The ball sizes ranged from 4 to 12 mm. The results indicated that when the mill length was below 10.8 cm the end walls prevented the charge from free falling. This resulted in lower impact point angles and lower power draws compared with the case of no end-wall effects. When the same experiments were performed using an iron ore instead of balls with the same size range, the impact of end-wall effects was more pronounced. For an increase of 30% in the speed (from 55 to 85%), the torque due the change in the charge shape decreased by 41% (from 3.7 to 2.2 kgf.m) when mill filling was 30%. At the same operating conditions when steel balls used the torque decreased only by 19% (from 9 to 7.2 kgf.m). This was expected due to irregular shapes of the ore particles which facilitated bridging. Three-dimensional DEM simulations also resulted in the similar conclusions.

Jan 1, 2014

By Raquel Franco de Souza Lima, Isao Matsuoka

"Microflotation studies and abstraction experiments were conducted with synthetic oxide spinels relating to chromite (MgCr2O4, FeCr2O4, FeFe2O4 and FeAl2O4), using sodium oleate as collector. An attempt was done to correlate this data with the speciation of oleate in the bulk solution and at the interface solid-water, to explain the floatability curves. The microflotation tests were conducted using a microflotation cell. The abstraction of sodium oleate was measured at 25°C, with one gram of synthetic spinel and the abstraction time was 30 minutes. After centrifuging, the residual oleate concentration in the supernatant was measured by using the spectrophotometric method described by Mizuniwa et al. (1977), that covers the range from 1.5 to 9 ppm. To cover the range from 0.2 to 1.5 ppm, the residual oleate concentration was measured using the spectrophotometric method described by Gregory (1966). The amount of oleate abstracted was calculated from the difference between initial and residual (equilibrium) concentrations.Figure 1 shows the floatability of FeCr2O4, FeAl2O4, FeFe2O4, MgCr2O4 as a function of pH and sodium oleate concentration of 1 x 10-5 M. The IEP of each sample is indicated in the figure by a vertical line in the horizontal axis. The chromium-bearing spinels FeCr2O4 and MgCr2O4 show the lowest isoelectric points (IEP), around pH 6, while in the case of FeFe2O4 and FeAl2O4, the isoelectric points lie at pH 6.5 and 7.3, respectively. It is seen that the flotation-pH curve for FeFe2O4 has a peak at the pH of the IEP, while flotation peak for FeCr2O4 appears at pH below the IEP and that of MgCr2O4 does at pH above the PZC. On the other hand, FeAl2O4 is floated at pH range between about 4 and 7,3 (IEP). This suggests that the pH value at which the maximum flotation occurs is dependent on the sort of spinel to be floated, though it appears in the vicinity of the respective IEP."

Jan 1, 2003

By André Mans, Frans B. Waanders

"Ferrosilicon (Fe-Si) is an important commercial material and it forms the basis of the powder used in dense medium separation (DMS) of various minerals in a minerals beneficiation process. Current losses of Ferrosilicon (Fe-Si), which is used in the dense medium separation (DMS) of iron ore at Kumba Resources, Sishen, South Africa occur due to adhesion to the separation products and also by being present in the effluent stream, due to abrasion. The losses contribute greatly to the running cost of the plant and the purpose of this project was to determine the characteristics of the unused Fe-Si and then to characterise the changes that occur during storage and the use thereof.A Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Mössbauer Spectroscopy (MS) were used to investigate the characteristics of the fresh and used Fe-Si. The SEM analyses of the Fe-Si yielded a composition of 15 wt.% Si and 85 wt.% Fe with minor impurities of Mn and Cr (<1 wt. %), resulting in an ordered phase with a calculated composition of Fe2Si. The average density of the Fe-Si was found to be 7.177 g.cm-3 whilst the size distribution was determined with the d50 of the particles being approximately 30 µm. A slurry, containing 10% solids was prepared, which had a density of about 1.1 g.cm-3 and this slurry was used to conduct the various experiments under laboratory conditions at the university. Samples were taken at regular intervals from a storage container containing a lime solution as well as from a closed circulation circuit system, kept at a constant temperature of about 60°C. Mössbauer Spectroscopy yielded, for the new fresh Fe-Si-samples, a two-sextet spectrum with hyperfine magnetic field strengths of 19.9T and 30.7T respectively, and the yellow-brown froth was found to be akaganeite or ß-FeOOH.It was found that the biggest loss of Fe-Si was due to the abrasion of the particles during the DMS process. A possible change in magnetic properties was also observed, leading to further losses that could occur during prolonged use of the medium. No clear changes to the Fe-Si occurred during correct storage methods, as was initially thought."

Jan 1, 2003

By M. Chettibi

The interaction and galena flotation with xanthenes and dexanthogen regularities have been de-fined. So, using thermodynamic method of analysis, the thermodynamic stability of [galena - xanthenes - water] system and the behavior of lead xanthenes surface state in solution were devised. Thus, results of cared out calculations and experimental investigation completely coincide with-out depending on witch product of sulfur oxidation is formed in the solution. In additional, was obtained quantitative physico-chemical models for the necessary xanthenes concentration of lead sul-fide complete flotation in the tuning fork of: at ?? values from 7.0 up to 9.0 (or at the formation of lead carbonate PbCO3 ) and at ?? values from 9.0 up to 12 (or at the formation of lead hydro carbonate Pb3(OH)2(CO3)2 Physico-chemical models derived can be used as the criteria for functional units of automation systems to control and regulate the flotation process in mineral processing plants.

Jan 1, 2014

By M. X. Jia

This paper discusses two mineralogy characteristics that may affect the flotation of sulfide ore. The first one, process mineralogy study on a Cu-Ni sulfide ore shows that valleriite and tochilinite are incline to form on chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite and serpentine surface, and the further guess is that the formation of valleriite and tochilinite may also causes the serpentine transform to talc, so the serpentine surface is a phase of talc or a transition phase from serpentine to talc and this enhances the flotability of the gangue minerals. The second discussion on the flotation behavior of the sulfide minerals from the point of view of the mineral semiconductor character.

Jan 1, 2014

The present study is devoted to improvement of the leaching efficiency during phosphorous removal from high phosphorous gravity-magnetic concentrate. Before leaching the concentrate has been subjected to roasting with the addition of either Ca(OH)2 or CaO. The oolitic iron ore is roasted at 900°C for one hour. This reflects in reaction between alkaline earth additive and quartz, aluminosilicates, phosphorus, and some other minor components of the gangue minerals. The application of leaching, physical separation, and wash out of salts has resulted in the decrease of phosphorus from 0.7 to 0.15 % and it is established that the major influencing factor is the concentration of acid and to a less extent duration of the leaching process. About two third of the phosphorus can be removed by roasting with 3 % CaO to hematite, coarse grinding to d50 0.3 mm, dry high intensity magnetic separation and leaching of the magnetic fraction with hydro-chloric or nitric acid.

Sep 1, 2012

By Elzbieta Mielczarski, Jerzy Mielczarski, Jan Drzymala, Yann Duvalm

Polyethylene glycol monoalkyl ethers (CnEm) render quartz hydrophobic while feldspar remains hydrophilic. As a result quartz can be separated from feldspar in small frothless flotation devices such as the Hallimond tube. The separation can be accomplished at room temperature at pH < 7 and C16E33 concentrations between 10-5 and 10-4 M for quartz particles smaller than 0.4 mm. No separation is observed when feldspar ore containing about 60 % of feldspar and 40% of quartz is subjected to flotation in a laboratory flotation machine. The reason for the lack of separation is a low hydrophobicity of quartz in the presence of polyethylene glycol monoalkyl ethers and high intensity of mixing in the flotation machine. The flotometric tests showed that the contact angle of quartz in monoalkyl ethers of polyethylene glycol solutions is less than about 18 degrees and depends on the structure and concentration of the ether and the pH of the system.

Jan 1, 2003

By M. Roy

Coke combustion during sintering process is significantly governed by coke breeze size distribution, which in turn affect sinter quality i.e. sinter granulometry, Tumbler index, Reduction Degradation Index and Reducibility Index of sinter. To know the effect of microfines of coke breeze on sintering process parameters, pot sintering tests were conducted and it was found that when microfines are eliminated and optimum coke size (1-3mm) is used yield of sinter increased by more than 7%. Similarly productivity increased by 9%, the strength of sinter i.e. ISO Tumbler Index increased by 2.3% and +10mm sinter size increased by 5.5%. Controlling of microfines during crushing and by improving crushing index will result in improved quality and productivity of sinter with lesser amount of coke breeze. This paper describes that how to optimize solid fuel i.e. coke breeze consumption in sintering process through granulometry control. Keywords: iron ore sintering, coke breeze granulometry, productivity of sinter, quality of sinter

Sep 1, 2012

By Q. Zhang

This paper, by studying the surface properties of pure dolomite minerals separated from representative marine sedimentary rare earth-bearing phosphate ores in Zhijin, Guizhou, aims to study the effect of different anions on the ? potential of dolomite. The research findings showed that the dolomite mineral had a point of zero charge (PZC) at pH 6.5, and the PZC shifted towards lower pH values with addition of anion SiO32- and PO43-. However, addition of anion CO32- and F- resulted in higher PZC values. Keywords: dolomite, ? potential, PZC, anion

Sep 1, 2012

By P. M. Solozhenkin, V. N. Kovalev

Russia is a global antimony market leader. The three major antimony production provinces are Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Krasnoyarsk Territory and Trans-Baikal Territory. Russia’s largest antimony resources are Zhipkozhinsky and Solonechensky deposits in Sakha Republic (Yakutia) and Olimpiadinskoe deposit in Krasnoyarsk Territory. This work demonstrates the efficiency of computer programs and chemical technology aimed at the study of the behavior of collectors used in the processes of flotation of antimony, arsenic and Au (I – III) minerals. The most promising collectors for the flotation of ores containing antimony and gold on the basis of P(V) and compounds with S, O and N atoms were chosen. The mechanisms of interaction with the mixtures of two or three components of collectors were studied. High recovery of antimony and gold was reached in the processing of Au-Sb ores of Sarulah and Sentachan deposits in Sakha (Yakutia). X-ray radiometric methods of separation of antimony ores of Trans-Baikal Territory deposits were proposed. In order to choose the most cost-effective solvents for hydrometallurgical processing of Sb, Au-containing concentrates the method based on clusters formation between transition solvents and antimony minerals was suggested. The nature of Au losses was theoretically revealed in the sulfide-alkaline process. On the base of computer simulation, the formation of various complexes of (KAu) types was developed, for example, hydrosulphidic gold, thiosulfates of gold - Na3AuS4O6, antimony and arsenic gold, trithiostibate (III) and trythioarsenate (III) KAu were produced. The practice of processing of goldantimony concentrates to produce high-quality antimony trioxide and antimony-gold containing alloy (AGCA) regarding the special conditions of the Far North region, were analyzed. The affinage of AGCA was recommended. Creative project development of antimony industry in Russia in order to produce antimony compounds and pigments, including pyriform compounds and flame retardants (antipyrenes) is discussed.

Jan 1, 2018

By Sergey Ulianov, Arkady Senchenko, Alexey Shvets, Arkady Bakotin

"This paper is devoted to ultrafine grinding of processing products. This process allows one to include into operation complex ores which earlier were considered as inefficient and economically inadvisable to treat. Fine dissemination of valuable component often does not allow its liberation via standard grinding in ball mills, and therefore requires modern methods of ultrafine grinding (UFG). An example of successful ultrafine grinding usage is its application for crude flotation concentrates regrinding before cleaner flotation stages. A problem often arises with a commercial copper concentrate production in the course of copper ore flotation. Crude flotation concentrate regrinding in a ball mill does not provide for good liberation of the material before cleaner stages. UFG application allows one to get commercial copper concentrate with copper grade of 20% and higher. Another example of ultrafine grinding application is its usage for highly refractory pyrite product received after gold-lead scavenger flotation of polymetallic ore. Earlier this product treatment was economically inefficient. At current application of ultrafine grinding down to 85% minus 20 µm and subsequent gravity processing it is possible to pass major part of gold (73.4%) into concentrate. The constraining factor for UFG application in processing may be the chemical activation of minerals. In the result of this, flotation selectivity may decrease. Therefore ultrafine grinding application extends the areas of efficient usage of metallurgical processes. New technologies allow increasing the level of valuable metals recovery."

Jan 1, 2014