ASSIGNMENT 1 MINERAL PROCESSING SEPARATION & STRATIFICATION Syarief - 1006704764

If the ore contains more than one valuable mineral, usually the undesirable minerals, are removed at the separation stage. Concentration involves the separation of valuable minerals from the other raw materials received from the grinding mill. In large-scale operations this is accomplished by taking advantage of the different properties of the minerals to be separated. These properties can be colour (optical sorting), density (gravity separation), magnetic or electric (magnetic and electrostatic separation), and physicochemical (flotation separation). The most important physical methods which are used to concentrate ores are: (1) Optical Separation. This process is used for the concentration of particles that have sufficiently different colors (the best contrast being black and white) to be detected by the naked eye. In addition, electro-optic detectors collect data on the responses of minerals when exposed to infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. The same principle, only using gamma radiation, is called radiometric separation.

Figure 1. Optical Sorting System (2) Gravity Separation. Gravity methods use the difference in the density of minerals as the concentrating agent. In heavy-media separation (also called sink-and-float separation), the medium used is a suspension in water of a finely ground heavy mineral (such as magnetite or arsenopyrite) or technical product (such as ferrosilicon). Such a suspension can simulate a fluid with a higher density than water. When ground ores are fed into the suspension, the gangue

particles, having a lower density, tend to float and are removed as tailings, whereas the particles of valuable minerals, having higher density, sink and are also removed. The magnetite or ferrosilicon can be removed from the tailings by magnetic separation and recycled. In the process called jigging, a water stream is pulsed, or moved by pistons upward and downward, through the material bed. Under the influence of this oscillating motion, the bed is separated into layers of different densities, the heaviest concentrate forming the lowest layer and the lightest product the highest. Important to this process is a thorough classification of the feed, since particles less than one millimetre in size cannot be separated by jigging. Finer-grained particles (from 1 millimetre to 50 micrometres) can be effectively separated in a flowing stream of water on horizontal or inclined planes. Most systems employ additional forcesfor example, centrifugal force on spirals or impact forces on shaking tables. Spirals consist of a vertical spiral channel with an oval cross section. As the pulp flows from the top to the bottom of the channel, heavier particles concentrate on the inner side of the stream, where they can be removed through special openings. Owing to their low energy costs and simplicity of operation, the use of spirals has increased rapidly. They are especially effective at concentrating heavy mineral sands and gold ores. Gravity concentration on inclined planes is carried out on shaking tables, which can be smoothed or grooved and which are vibrated back and forth at right angles to the flow of water. As the pulp flows down the incline, the ground material is stratified into heavy and light layers in the water; in addition, under the influence of the vibration, the particles are separated in the impact direction. Shaking tables are often used for concentrating finely grained ores of tin, tungsten, niobium, and tantalum.

Figure 2. Spiral Concentrators (3) Flotation Separation. Flotation is the most widely used method for the concentration of fine-grained minerals. It takes advantage of the different physicochemical surface properties of mineralsin particular, their wettability, which can be a natural property or one artificially changed by chemical reagents. By altering the hydrophobic (water-repelling) or hydrophilic (water2

attracting) conditions of their surfaces, mineral particles suspended in water can be induced to adhere to air bubbles passing through a flotation cell or to remain in the pulp. The air bubbles pass to the upper surface of the pulp and form a froth, which, together with the attached hydrophobic minerals, can be removed. The tailings, containing the hydrophilic minerals, can be removed from the bottom of the cell. Flotation makes possible the processing of complex intergrown ores containing copper, lead, zinc, and pyrite into separate concentrates and tailings an impossible task with gravity, magnetic, or electric separation methods. In the past, these metals were recoverable only with expensive metallurgical processes.

Figure 3. Flotation Separation Cells (4) Magnetic Separation. Magnetic separation takes advantage of differences in the magnetic properties of minerals. Minerals fall into one of three magnetic properties: ferromagnetic, paramagnetic and diamagnetic. Ferromagnetic minerals are themselves magnetic (i.e., magnetite and pyrrhotite) and can be easily separated from other minerals with a magnet since they will stick to the poles of the magnet. These minerals can be separated by wrapping the poles of a magnet in paper, passing the magnet over the mineral mixture. The ferromagnetic minerals will stick to the magnet and may be easily separated by removing the paper covering the magnet. Paramagnetic and diamagnetic minerals are not magnetic, but they differ in how they interact with a magnetic field. Paramagnetic minerals are weakly attracted into a magnetic field and diamagnetic minerals are weakly repelled by a magnetic field. Thus, if a mixture of paramagnetic and diamagnetic minerals is passed through a magnetic field,
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they will be pulled into the field (paramagnetic) or repelled from the field (diamagnetic) and may be separated. Furthermore, paramagnetic minerals with different degrees of paramagnetism can be separated from one another in the same way. The device used to separate minerals based on their magnetic properties is called a Frantz Isodynamic Magnetic Separator. The magnetic separator consists of a large electromagnet through which mineral mixtures can be passed on a metal trough which is divided near its exit end. Varying the strength of the magnetic field and/or slope of the separation trough is used to separate minerals.

Figure 4. Wet Drum Magnetic Separator (5) Electrostatic Separation is defined as "the selective sorting of solid species by means of utilizing forces acting on charged or polarized bodies in an electric field. Separation is effected by adjusting the electric and coacting forces, such as gravity or centrifugal force, and the different trajectories at some predetermined time. Separations made in air are called Electrostatic Separation. Separations made using a corona discharge device, are called High Tension Separations. Separations made in liquids are termed separation by Dielectrophesis, and if motion is due to polarization effects in nonuniform electric fields. Electrophoresis is when separations are made if motion is due to a free charge on the species in an electric field. There are no industrial applications of mineral concentrations by electrophoresis of dielectrophesis. Electrostatic separation is important in the production of minerals, also in the reclamation of other valuable materials, as well as the cleaning of some food products. When every effort is being made by Process Engineers to make use of
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all concentrating equipment available for the recovery of critical minerals and reclaimed materials, the subject of applied electrostatic separation is of interest. Refer to Fig.5, for a diagram of how standard electrostatic separators function.

Figure 5. Typical Electrostatic Separator Diagram A very simple demonstration of electrostatic separation can be made by taking a handful of salted peanuts, rubbing the skins off, then taking a comb, rubbing it on fur or the coat sleeve until a static charge has been collected on the comb, and passing it over the peanuts and skins. The skins are easily removed from the peanuts. Hulls may be removed from ground coffee in the same manner. Under the influence of an electrostatic charge there is a difference in the susceptibility and behavior of most materials, minerals, salts, and food products. This can be controlled to a great extent by potential, polarity, temperature, and conditioning of the surface of the particles. Oftentimes, by a combination of these factors, the desired separation is closely controlled. Based on what I have explained above, we can conclude that the stratification is one of the most important methods in density & gravity separation.

References:
1. E-book: Wills, B.A. Processing Technology 7th Edition. 2006. Queensland: Elsevier

Science & Technology Books

2. 3. 4. 5. http://mine-engineer.com/mining/minproc/elstat1.htm http://epsc.wustl.edu/geochronology/frantz.htm http://mine-engineer.com/mining/minproc/magnetic.htm http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/383742/mineralprocessing/81308/Crushing#toc81314

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