Investigation of Internal Classification in Coarse Particle Flotation of Chalcopyrite Using the CoarseAIR™

This work introduces the CoarseAIR (TM), a novel system utilizing a three-phase fluidized bed and a system of inclined channels to facilitate coarse particle flotation and internal size classification. Internal classification in the CoarseAIR (TM) was investigated in a series of continuous steady-state experiments at different inclined channel spacings. For each experimental series, a low-grade chalcopyrite ore was milled to a top size of 0.53 mm and methodically prepared to generate a consistent feed. The air rate to the system was adjusted to determine the impact of the gas flux on coarse particle flotation and overall system performance, with a focus on maximizing both copper recovery and coarse gangue rejection. A new feed preparation protocol led to low variability in the state of the feed, and in turn strong closure in the material balance. Hence, clear conclusions were drawn due to the high-quality datasets. Inclined channel spacings of z = 6 and z = 9 mm were used. The z = 9 mm spacing produced more favourable copper recovery and gangue rejection. Higher gas fluxes of 0.30 to 0.45 cm/s had a measurable, adverse effect on the recovery of the coarser hydrophobic particles, while the gas flux of 0.15 cm/s delivered the best performance. Here, the cumulative recovery was 90%, and mass rejection was 60% at 0.50 mm, while the +0.090 mm recovery was 83% with a gangue rejection of 85%. The system displayed robust performance across all conditions investigated.

Automated summary

This study introduces a novel system, CoarseAIR(TM), which utilizes a three-phase fluidized bed and a system of inclined channels to facilitate coarse particle flotation and internal size classification. The study investigated internal classification in the CoarseAIR(TM) system through a series of experiments and found that a spacing of 9 mm between the inclined channels resulted in better copper recovery and gangue rejection. Higher gas fluxes had a negative effect on the recovery of coarser hydrophobic particles, while a gas flux of 0.15 cm/s achieved the best performance.