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<p>A fundamental, property-based model for flotation has been incorporated into a flowsheet simulation package with multiphase particle tracking capability. This novel modelling framework allows the behaviour of flotation feeds with different liberation characteristics to be investigated. Previous works have suggested that high power microwave treatment of tertiary crusher product could cause grain boundary fractures that would produce flotation feeds with improved liberation characteristics that would improve the recovery of value minerals during flotation. By numerically manipulating the original Mineral Liberation Analyser data for a ball-milled porphyry copper ore, we generated flotation feeds with different liberation spectra and modelled the effect on copper recovery. In this way we could simulate the possible benefits that might be achieved as a result of microwave pre-treatment influencing the liberation spectra of flotation feeds. Simulation results for a single 85 m<sup>3</sup> rougher cell with a feed rate of 890 tph showed that below a particle size of approximately 75&#xa0;μm recovery was not affected by the degree of liberation. Below this size, the ratio of the attachment and detachment forces acting on the particle-bubble aggregate was found to be independent of the degree of liberation, and collision efficiency and frequency both decrease. Increases in recovery for feeds with enhanced liberation spectra were seen for particle sizes greater than 150&#xa0;μm. The practical implication of this is that any enhancement in liberation due to microwave-induced grain boundary fracture would improve flotation recovery only if the flotation feed were not too finely ground. Simulation of a rougher bank consisting of nine identical cells confirmed this result. It was found that a 2.5 percentage point improvement in final recovery could be achieved for a fully liberated ore with a P<sub>70</sub> grind size of 120&#xa0;μm, but that this value increased to 5.4 percentage points for a P<sub>70</sub> grind size of 180&#xa0;μm. The modelling framework used in this paper has allowed us to show that improved flotation recovery due to microwave induced grain boundary fracture could only be achieved through careful and ore-specific optimisation of the grind size, likely in a relatively narrow and coarse distribution.</p>

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Property Based Flotation Modelling to Investigate the Benefits of Microwave Pre-Treatment on Mineral Recovery

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年10月29日

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  • E. Charikinya,
  • S. M. Bradshaw

摘要

A fundamental, property-based model for flotation has been incorporated into a flowsheet simulation package with multiphase particle tracking capability. This novel modelling framework allows the behaviour of flotation feeds with different liberation characteristics to be investigated. Previous works have suggested that high power microwave treatment of tertiary crusher product could cause grain boundary fractures that would produce flotation feeds with improved liberation characteristics that would improve the recovery of value minerals during flotation. By numerically manipulating the original Mineral Liberation Analyser data for a ball-milled porphyry copper ore, we generated flotation feeds with different liberation spectra and modelled the effect on copper recovery. In this way we could simulate the possible benefits that might be achieved as a result of microwave pre-treatment influencing the liberation spectra of flotation feeds. Simulation results for a single 85 m3 rougher cell with a feed rate of 890 tph showed that below a particle size of approximately 75 μm recovery was not affected by the degree of liberation. Below this size, the ratio of the attachment and detachment forces acting on the particle-bubble aggregate was found to be independent of the degree of liberation, and collision efficiency and frequency both decrease. Increases in recovery for feeds with enhanced liberation spectra were seen for particle sizes greater than 150 μm. The practical implication of this is that any enhancement in liberation due to microwave-induced grain boundary fracture would improve flotation recovery only if the flotation feed were not too finely ground. Simulation of a rougher bank consisting of nine identical cells confirmed this result. It was found that a 2.5 percentage point improvement in final recovery could be achieved for a fully liberated ore with a P70 grind size of 120 μm, but that this value increased to 5.4 percentage points for a P70 grind size of 180 μm. The modelling framework used in this paper has allowed us to show that improved flotation recovery due to microwave induced grain boundary fracture could only be achieved through careful and ore-specific optimisation of the grind size, likely in a relatively narrow and coarse distribution.