CONCENTRATOR AND PLANT

Shaylin Bhana
April 2018
CONTENTS

• Legislation and Process Overview

• Milling
• Floatation
• Filtration
• Vacuum Systems
• Mill Product Thickening
• Tailings/ Residue Handling

The De Beers Group of Companies 2

LEGISLATION AND LAYOUT
LEGISLATION

MHSA Reg. 8.8: General Machinery Regulations

8.8(1) – Prevent injuries due to persons, clothes etc. coming into contact with machinery
8.8(2) – Prevent injuries due to machine failure
8.8(3)(a) – Only authorised personnel to start, operate and maintain machine
8.8(3)(c) – Only authorised persons enter areas where machinery is operated
8.8(3)(d) – Machinery is only operated if all safety devices are installed and operational
8.8(3)(f) – Warning device with a minimum 10 second delay
8.8(3)(g) – Lockout procedure
8.8(3)(h) – Access scaffolding to SANS 1008 5-1
8.8(4)(a) – Physical barriers to prevent persons coming into contact with moving
machinery
8.8(4)(c) – Effective barriers at a safe distance from machinery prevent persons coming
into contact – with moving machinery
MHSA Reg. 8.9: Conveyor Belt Regulations
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PROCESS OVERVIEW
Flotatio
n
Separatio Converting
n of PGM Removal by
Mining concentra oxidation of
PGM Refining
Drill, te by sulphur and Dissolve
blasting aerating iron in furnace concentrate in
and slurry matte to SO2 HCl acid and Cl
hauling of with and slag gas. Separation
ore reagents respectively of PGMs

Crushin Smelting Magnetic

g and Furnaces Concentrati
Milling concentrate on
Reduction to remove Converter
of ore sulphur-rich matte is milled
size. matte with and separated
Water is gangue magnetically
added to impurities
produce The De Beers Group of Companies 5
slurry
MILLING
MILLING

Milling • Wet screening available

• Liberate PGM’s from ore • Dust suppression
Breakage Modes Dry Grinding
• Cascading: Slow speed. • Lower wear rate of mill liners and grinding
• Cataracting: Moderate speed. media
• Centrifuging: Fast speed. • Higher percentage of fines
Wet Grinding Mills SAG vs AG Mills
• Lower power consumption • SAG – Grinding media (steel balls, rods,
pebbles etc.)
• Higher capacity
• AG – Larger material used

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SAG MILLING

Tumbling Mills • Hammer mills

• Rod Mills - Able to produce wide range of sizes
- Coarser product - Output particle generally spherical
• Pebble Mills - Lower initial investment vs roller mills
- Product must not be adulterated by - Minimal Maintenance
irons • Roller mills
• Ballpeb Mills - Energy efficient
- Designed as a secondary mill to - Uniform particle size distribution
produce final fine product. - Little noise and dust generation
- Thinner shell, smaller grinding media • High Pressure Grinding Rolls (HPGR)
• Ball Mills • ISA mill
- Metalliferous ores and abrasive - Extremely fine milling
minerals - Stationary shell
• Preliminator Mills - Rotating shaft and discs
- Ball mill providing coarse grinding - Fine ceramic grinding media
• Compeb Mills The De Beers Group of Companies 8

- Preliminator + Ballpeb in Long shell

WATERVAL UG2 MILLS
UG 2 Mill Characteristics and Components
• 2 x Wet ball mills
Feed Rate 600 – 750 tph
Density 2.3 – 2.4 SG
78 – 80% Solids

Product Size 38 – 40% - 75µm (primary)

72 – 75% - 75µm (secondary)

Grinding Media 76mm mild steel balls (primary)

30mm mild steel balls (secondary)

Speed ± 12rpm
Main Motors 2 x 5200kW
Barring Motor 132kW
Gearbox R = 5.65 (995 – 175 rpm)
Pinion to girth R = 14.58 (175 – 12 rpm)
gear
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LUBRICATION AND HYDRAULICS

Motor Lubrication Gearbox Girth Gear Pinion and trunnion

• 426l tank • 1890l tank •180 kg drum • 4600l tank
• OHC 46 • OGI 320 •Grease spray • OGI 220
•18s Pulsating System • HP 80 Bar
•6 nozzles east and • LP 40 Bar
west side

Monitoring
• Temperature
• Pressure
• Flow Rate
• Cooling Water (flow and temp)
• Filter Health

2 pumps, 1 stand-by

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FLOATATION
FLOATATION

• Process of separating hydrophobic from

hydrophilic materials

• PGM materials are separated from waste

during operation

• Floatation process relies on the following

factors
• Airflow: Low pressure, high volume
• Density: Correlated to floatability of
PGM’s
• Reagents: Correct proportions
• Feed Rate: High – Low Yield/Efficiency
• Froth Level

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REAGENTS AND OPERATION

Reagents Floatation Zones

• Chemicals added to slurry to improve • Zone 1: Mixing and Aeration
properties and efficiency Zone
• Frother - Slurry fed close to impeller
- Sasfroth blades. Ejector principle allows
- Improves bubble stability slurry to be thrown upward
and outward
• Activator
- Improves reaction of PGM’s
• Zone 2: Separation Zone
- Added before mill
- Quiet action where currents
- Copper sulphate
are eliminated. PGM laden air
• Collector bubbles separate from gangue
- Improves hydrophyilic properties of materials
PGM’s
- SIBX (Sodium Isobutyl Xanthate) • Zone 3: Concentration Zone
• Depressant - Enriched materials separated
- Depresses gangue (Norilose 7062) The De Beers Group of Companies
and allowed to flow into
13
COMPONENTS

• Drive (V-Belts)
• 75kW, 185 kW, 225 kW

• Air Supply Through Hollow Shaft

• Launder

• Dart Valve Actuator

• Agitator

• Dart Valves on inlet

• Clean/reclean/tailings

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FLOATATION

Dart Valves
• Two Dart Valves per floatation cell
• Individually actuated valves used for level control

Outlet Dart Valve Inlet Dart Valve

• 40 – 50% HH • 5 - 15% LL
Control ie. Fully Control ie. Fully
open; inlet valve open; outlet
closed valve closed
completely completely

• Opens to release • Opens to

slurry from increase flow
floatation cell into floatation
cell

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FLOATATION LAYOUT

Final
Tails

Main stream under flow

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FILTRATION
FILTRATION

Waterval Smelter
Larox Filters
• Outotec Larox PF M60
• Smelting process requires dry ore
• Primary drier of concentrate before
entering the flash drier

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FILTER LAYOUT

• Hose manifold
- Feed from feed tank (concentrators)
- Low pressure air

• Concentrate strainers
• Drain pipe assembly

• Cloth
• High Pressure air diaphragm
• Base plate
• Plastic Screen

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FILTRATION PROCESS
• Slurry enters filter via piping system and is
deposited onto cloth above base plates and panels
(220s)
• Pipe flushing & hose washing (45s)
• Air at 10 Bar enters diaphragm pressing moisture
out of slurry (550s)
• The “solid” is then washed to further the filtration
process
• Solid is again pressed by air to further reduce the
moisture in the cake
• Air is released from the diaphragm
• Air passes through piping system over the cake to
remove any additional surface water, usually
develops on edges (100s)
• Plates separate and cake is discharged via filter
cloth and scrapers (32s)
• Finally clothes are washed The De Beers Group of Companies 20

•
MAINTENANCE

Each filter is stopped for maintenance once per week (8 hours/ week)
• Filter washed
• Manifold inspected and cleaned
• Panels are checked for blinding and cleaned
• Cloth Rinsed
• Inspection of plates, cloths lubrication

Current issues
• Blocked Strainers (treating low grade concentrate from tailings)
• Instrumentation issues resulting in poor dryness
• Bent base plate (treating concentrate with low solids)
- Grass from concentrate blocking strainers preventing solids

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VACUUM SYSTEMS
VACUUM SYSTEMS

• Liquid Ring vacuum pump • Reciprocating Vacuum Pump

- Vapour friendly - High pressure
- No lubricating liquid in chamber - Vapour and liquid friendly
- Minimal temperature change - Storage accumulator required
- High power consumption - Low volume

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VACUUM SYSTEMS: APPLICATION

Rotary Vacuum Drum filter Advantages

• Vacuum pump provides negative pressure • Low Operating Cost – Continuous
• Filtrate pumped away operations
• Cake remains on cloth • Drum speed can be varied
• Cake removed by washing knife scraper Disadvantages
• Due to structure, the pressure difference is
limited
• Many components
• The discharge cake contains residual
moisture
• High energy consumption by vacuum

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MILL PRODUCT THICKENING
THICKENERS

Clarification
• Removal of solids from relatively dilute
system
Thickening
• Increase of solids concentration
• Thickens tailings or concentrate to recover
process water
• Slurry enters thickener near centre
• Flocculent and HCl added to cause binding
and settling of solid particles
• Rake rotates in order to force solids to
centre
- Prevents build-up at bottom
• Solids at bottom are removed the bottom of
the thickener and pumped to FRD’s
• Clear water overflows into laundersTheand is Group of Companies
De Beers 26

pumped to return water dams

THICKENERS (VENETIA MINE)

• Thickeners 1&2
- Conventional
• Thickener 3
- Mechanism attached to rake
which acts as clarifier
- Removes solids from feed
stream
• Floculant Feeder
- Screw feeder from silo (25kg
To RWD bags)
- Hydrated in mixing tank for 1 hr
- Dosing tank for 1 hr

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THICKENER COMPONENTS
• Tank
- Provides residence time to produce settling
- Cylindrical conical base
• Feed Well
- Dampen turbulence of incoming feed support solid
settling
• Rakes
- Convey settled solids to discharge cone
• Launder
- Clarified effluent overflows into launders
• Distribution Box
- Distributes to feed wells
- Gate valves control feed to thickeners
• Standby diesel unit
• Underflow pumps
• Flushing Valves The De Beers Group of Companies 28
RESIDUE HANDLING
DAM CONSTRUCTION
• Starter wall – progressively increase height
- Coarse material close to wall
• Dam wall construction
Wall
- Downstream construct
• Increased stability ed on
• Large space considerations possibly
• Large material considerations unstable
material
- Centre line
- Upstream
• Smaller or starting operations

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DRAINAGE

• Internal drain
- Prevent seepage through wall
- Water in wall could cause failure
• Liquefaction
- Shock loading results in soil losing shear
strength
• Piezometer readings
• Piezocone used
• Freeboard
- Vertical distance between operating pool
level and level of lowest point along
outer wall crest
- Req. 1m + 1:50 year flood event level
• Pent stocks
- “Drain” to remove surface water
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VENETIA/VUP PLANS

• Waste rock used to create buttress around FRD

- Extending life of dam
- Increasing capacity and stability
- Improves flood damage risk
• Downstream Construction
- Availability of waste rock
- Increased stability

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TAILINGS FAILURES

• Potential Failures
- Foundation failure
- Overtopping
- Seismic events
- Erosion
- Liquefaction

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