Diagnosis and Optimization of Gold Ore Flotation Circuit via Linear Circuit Analysis and Mass Balance Simulation

Abstract

The aim of this study is to diagnose and optimize a closed multistage gold ore flotation circuit in an operational industrial plant. Linear circuit analysis (LCA), a partition-based model, and a mass balance model using flotation first-order kinetics are employed to diagnose the current process. The result shows that the current circuit operates with high recovery but the gold grade of the final concentrate is low owing to the low buoyancy ratio. Hence, several alternative circuits with different streamlines and cell arrangements are proposed and simulated using LCA and a mass balance model. The result suggests that if the current process is changed to an alternative circuit in which the floated product stream of the rougher bank is changed, then the gold grade of the concentrate can be improved by 128%. Finally, the current circuit is optimized by changing it to an alternative circuit. This study provides a methodology for adapting the simulation of optimization for the flotation circuit of an industrial plant via LCA and mass balance simulation.

Editorial for Special Issue “Sustainable Production of Metals for Low-Carbon Technologies”

“…Existing flotation plants need simple but effective tools for diagnosis and optimization as the mined sulphide ore becomes more complex and lean of valuable minerals. In this Special Issue, a study by Han et al [11] showed that linear circuit analysis (LCA) and mass balance (MB) simulation are simple yet powerful tools that can be used to diagnose and optimize the gold ore flotation circuit. From their simulation results, they showed that the current process flotation circuit can be changed to an alternative circuit to obtain the current recovery while improving the gold grade of the concentrate by 128%.…”

Technology for Processing Low-Sulfide Gold-Quartz Ore

“…Obviously, for the ore of the technological sample of the deposit, a combined enrichment scheme, including gravity processes for capturing free gold, will be more promising, and flotation to recover fine free gold and gold associated with sulfide minerals. In relation to the above problems, it was decided to stop prospecting experiments on the original ore and continue research on flotation on gravity tailings [31].…”