Abstract
The Brucutu iron ore mine (Minas Gerais, Brazil) is Vale‘s largest iron producing operation achieving around 21 million tons per annum. Evaluation of flotation performance is of high importance as even small gains can lead to large monetary benefits. Cell-by-cell samples of the froth products, selected feed and pulp-products were analyzed for flow rate, particle size distribution and chemical composition. In addition, certain samples were analyzed on an assay-by-size basis and hydrodynamic measurements of certain flotation cells were also performed. This detailed experimental dataset was then used to calibrate a floatability component model of the process. Longer mainline residence time resulted in significant Fe2O3 losses while yielding little benefit in terms of SiO2 product grade. Scavenger 2 has twice the residence time of scavenger 1 while having to treat only 10% of the SiO2, resulting in high Fe2O3 recoveries to the froth and poor separation. In addition, it is shown that the Fe2O3 exhibits true flotation behavior resulting in increased Fe2O3 losses. Simulations using the floatability component model identified avenues of process improvement to address the identified behavior. The insight provided by the simulations into the dynamics of the flotation process is invaluable for process engineers.
Highlights
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Research into the chemistry of froth flotation has made large strides resulting in a plethora of collectors, depressants, frothers, etc. for the user to choose from
The aim of this paper is to use the data generated from a metallurgical survey conducted on the reverse flotation of iron ore in the “coarse” Brucutu circuit to calibrate the floatability component model
Summary
Froth flotation has undergone tremendous change as research tries to address the industrial challenges. The scale of flotation machines is ever changing from the 1 L batch flotation cell, that is the workhorse within many flotation laboratories, to large industrial mechanical cells, approaching volumes of 600 m3. Flotation technology is constantly evolving resulting in interesting new flotation machines. Research into the chemistry of froth flotation has made large strides resulting in a plethora of collectors, depressants, frothers, etc. Within a constantly changing framework, industrial flotation engineers and operators need to achieve increasing throughputs and better product qualities, while struggling with ore variability and equipment maintenance. It is clear from this that applying a rigorous characterization of flotation circuits and determining optimization opportunities based on circuit models is vital to the success of an industrial operation
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