Breaking ground in froth flotation
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Direct measurement of concentrate grade is a key factor for optimum flotation cell performance
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Application: Grade control of final and flash flotation concentrate
Year: 2009
Site: Northam Platinum UG2 concentrator
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Case Study:
Minerals processing, froth flotation |
| Final concentrate grade measurement at the Northam Platinum UG2 Concentrator
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Illustration 1: Northam external sparger column cell
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The Blue Cube MQi Inline Mineral Quantifier for Froth Flotation Slurry is already widely used in platinum concentrators.
The metallurgical team at Northam Platinum recently installed and tested a Blue Cube MQi on their final concentrate line to enable optimum operation of the final cleaner flotation columns.
Metallurgical manager Danie Minnaar's question “Can something good come from Stellenbosch?” was answered when Technical superintendent Daan Smit presented the test results as shown in Figure 1, below. After calibration, the unit was tested with independent samples. Four sets of ten samples were taken after adjustments to the external sparger column cells. The MQi showed excellent consistency and accuracy when compared to traditional laboratory analysis.
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From the above results it is evident that the Blue Cube MQi instrumentation is eminently suitable for process monitoring and control. The output is generated in real time, and the result of any process adjustment is visible instantaneously.
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Following the installation of the Blue Cube unit in the final concentrate line of the UG2 concentrator, the net results were as follows:
PGM recovery was maximised while maintaining Cr2O3 in concentrate within specification.
Cr2O3 in final concentrate was controlled in real time, preventing Cr2O3 associated penalties.
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