Abstract
Various authors have discussed methods of optimising a bank of flotation cells. In this paper, JKSimFloat is used to investigate the effect of recovery profiling and mass pull profiling (i.e., mass distribution to cells in a bank) on the separation efficiency between floatable minerals and against entrained gangue.In the case of two floatable minerals, a balanced recovery profile was found to be optimal: supporting and extending previous analysis. In the case of separation of a floatable mineral from entrained gangue, the entrainment model that links water overflow rate to solids overflow rate was employed. When the value of b in the entrainment model is greater than one, a balanced mass pull profile was found to be optimum. The evidence for b>1 is briefly reviewed; no example has been found where b<1. Most of the profiles were controlled in the software by altering the bubble surface area flux distribution; a sensitivity analysis was performed using other variables.Recovery profiling was tested as part of a bank optimisation campaign at a talc operation in Timmins, Canada. Using air and frother as manipulated variables, it was found that as the rougher bank was moved toward a balanced profile the final plant product showed improvement in grade and yield.
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