Gekko Systems

Operations & Installations

Gravity Devices – The InLine Pressure Jig
Rockwell Diamonds - March 2010
TEMCO – Tasmania, Australia
Pirquitas assembly for Argentina
The IPJ
 Material Flow through the IPJ

ƒ Feed enters the IPJ in the centre on top of the IPJ

ƒ The material enters the distribution chamber and is
distributed evenly through the IPJ
ƒ As the material move further away from the feed point, the
water velocity slows down to give fine heavy particles the
chance to get down the hutch
ƒ The pulsating action moves the heavy particles down to and
eventually through the screen deck into the concentrate
hatch
ƒ The lighter particles gets pulsed on the top layer and moves
from the centre to the outside discharge rim around the IPJ,
and then discharged in the tailings launder
InLine Pressure Jig
Cut-through
 Why is the IPJ Different?
ƒ Thick Bed Separation
ƒ Circular Configuration
ƒ Low Velocity Cross Flow
ƒ Changing separation environment
ƒ Reduces fines flow over to tails
ƒ Saw Tooth Stroke
ƒ High energy transfer to separation zone
ƒ Moveable Sieve
ƒ Particles accelerated from same starting point
ƒ Low energy
ƒ Low Interstitial Velocity
Low Velocity Cross Flow Thick Bed Separation

Thick Bed
 Saw Tooth Pulse
IPJ PULSE CHART AND CYCLES PER MIN
CYCLES STK LENGTH TOTAL STK LNTH TOTAL LNTH TRAV UP VELOC UP TIME DN VELOC DN TIME X
cyc/min mm (d1) mm m/min m/s % m/s %
100 10 20 2 0.05 75.0% 0.15 25.0%

IPJ STROKE STROKE VELOCITY

25 0.15
0.13
20
0.11

v e lo c it y ( m )
le n g t h ( m m )

0.09
d1 15
0.07
10 0.05
0.03
5 0.01
t1 t2 -0.01
0 0.5 1 1.5
cm 0
0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02 time (sec)
time (min) dow n stk up stk
Typical ‘Cross Flow Jigs’ Sinusoidal Stroke

‘Inefficient time’

Low velocity
 Ragging
Old 2.65 S.G. Ragging New 3.2 S.G. Ragging
Consistent cover / no
hang up in Bed

Blown/Pegged Beds
 Water Balance
Positive Water Flow Through Bed
Hutch (dilution) Water Flow To Tail =
Hutch Water Addition – Water Flow From Con Line

Feed Up-Flow
m3/hr 120
m3/hr 18

Hutch Tails
m3/hr 138
m3/hr 50

Concentrate
m3/hr 32
Tails Flush ports (Diamond IPJ’s)

Diamond Jigs - Extra wash water in tails for

flushing adds to the water balance
 Installing the IPJ – Piping
IPJ Feed
tph 10 Orifice on discharge
m3/hr 24 50ø NB
lines – provides
%solids w/w 33
Velocity m/s 3.3
internal pressure to
Critical V m/s 1.8 assist in slurry
transport

Hutch Tail
tph 9.4
m3/hr 20
m3/hr 28.3
Velocity m/s 2.8
50ø NB %solids w/w 33.2

10° slope Velocity m/s 3.3

Critical V m/s 1.8
50ø NB Concentrate
tph 0.6 50ø NB
m3/hr 15.4
10° slope
%solids w/w 3.8
Velocity m/s 2.4 Concentrate
Critical V m/s 1.5 Discharge Tails Discharge
Orifice Type Installations

Bibiani - Ghana

Con Mine - Canada

Installing the IPJ – Direct Coupled Pumps

Ensure that
there is
suitable head/
feed to provide
pressure for
the concentrate
and tails
transport
 Installing the IPJ – Rougher/Scavenger/Cleaner
ALL IPJ discharge piping should be free draining with a minimum 10° slope

Feed
Feed

Hutch Hutch
Jig Tailings

Jig Tailings

Jig Tailings

Combined Jig Con

Final Jig Con

Rougher/Scavenger Rougher/Cleaner
Decreased Grade Increased Grade
Increased Recovery Decreased Recovery
 Golden Rules

ƒ Operate above minimum pressure

ƒ Maintain minimum allowable flow
rate
ƒ Ensure air is released from top of
IPJ at all times
ƒ Never leave ragging “dry” if steel is
present as it will cement
ƒ Maintain minimum hutch water flow
to ensure positive water flow
through bed
 Advantages

ƒ Recovery – step changes

ƒ Simplicity – low foot print/high availability
ƒ Low operating cost
ƒ Security – enclosed and lockable
ƒ Mass Flow to Concentrate – variable
ƒ Feed Size – 0-25mm offers flexibility
 How to operate the IPJ

ƒ The IPJ produces a continuous concentrate

ƒ The ‘yield’ recovered to sink controls the
concentrate characteristics
ƒ The desired yield to sink is determined using the
recovery / yield curve
Typical Free Gold – Grade Recovery Curve
 Metal Recovery
Gold, Copper, Silver, Slags

Pre-concentration

Base metal sulphides, diamonds,

Cleaning
Coal
 Typical Diamond Size/Yield Recovery Data

size 15 20 25 30
2mm 90-94 94-97 95-98 97-99
3mm 93-97 93-97 95-98 97-99
4mm 95-97 95-98 97-99 98-100
6mm 96-100 96-100 97-100 98-100
8mm 98-100 98-100 97-100 98-100
12mm 99-100 99-100 99-100 99-100

Based on actual tracer recovery testwork

Angolan Diamond Balance Results
 Aim of Operation

The aim is to alter the jigs parameters to produce

the yield required while obtaining the desired
recovery.
IPJ Controls – Manual Stand-alone System

ƒ Instrumentation for local display

at machine
ƒ Local control panel for control of
jig pulse characteristics and air
bleed valve
IPJ Controls – Automatic Stand-Alone Systems

ƒ Bus –shelter type control

system
ƒ Fully integrated PLC control
with instrumentation
ƒ Colour touchscreen interface
ƒ Process control of all inlet
and outlet streams
IPJ Controls – Automatic Distributed SCADA Systems

ƒ Fully integrated controls

between IPJ and
ancillary equipment
ƒ Modular MCC containing
all electrical switchgear
and PLC
ƒ SCADA interface –
distributed or
standalone according to
plant requirements
 IPJ Parameters

7 main parameters to control the concentrate

characteristics.

ƒ Pulse Rate
ƒ Stroke Length
ƒ Down Stroke Speed
ƒ Hutch Water Addition
ƒ Ragging S.G.
ƒ Air Release
ƒ Screen Size
 Pulse Rate – GD6 Controller
ƒ External/ Internal Switch – toggles between the internal GD6
Potentiometer and the external PID controller
ƒ Pot – Increases the pulse rate using potentiometer
ƒ Power on – indicates power to the unit
ƒ Delay – the down stroke time
ƒ Solenoid on – indicates when the solenoid activates

Analogue Pulse Input

Input
PROX SWITCH

Analogue
Output Pulse Output
PID
SOLENOID
PV CV

SP
GD6 Controller inside the IPJ Control Panel
 Pulse Rate
‘Local’ Controller (Manual IPJ’s)
ƒ PV – Process Variable = No. of cycles that the IPJ is
doing at that moment
ƒ SP – Set Point = No of cycles set in the controller
ƒ  - The controls used to alter the set point
ƒ Enter – used to lock in new readings to the set point
ƒ A/M – automatic/manual toggle (must be in automatic)

SCADA Distributed control

ƒ Same principle with advanced diagnostics
ƒ Control modes set automatically during
startup/shutdown of unit
ƒ ‘User friendly’ interface, increased flexibility
ƒ Historical data - trending
ƒ Integration into surrounding plant
 Pulse Rate

Proximity Switch
ƒ The proximity switch detects
when the ram should start
another cycle
ƒ The ram will then extend for
the time dictated by the
PID/GD6 controller
ƒ After this time the ram will
free fall until the proximity
switch detects the block (light
at rear flashes) and starts the
cycle again

The proximity switch has to be in the correct position to

ensure that the ram does not bottom out or has short stroke
Pulse Shape – Pulse Rate Adjustment
 Rules of Thumb

ƒ Increase pulse rate = increase conc. yield

ƒ Decrease pulse rate = decrease conc. yield

Stroke Length

Hydraulic Pump
ƒ The VSD drive controls the
speed of the motor. The motor
can run from 20-100Hz
ƒ The motor runs a small gear
pump that pumps oil into the
ram
ƒ The faster the pump runs the
more oil the ram receives over
a given time and the longer
the ram extends
 Stroke Length
Variable Speed Drive - Potentiometer
ƒ The VSD is located within the control box and is controlled
using the potentiometer on the front of the control box
ƒ The potentiometer reading is from 1-10 and is scaled
between 20-100Hz
ƒ 10 = 100Hz
ƒ 0 = 20 Hz (minimum frequency)

Variable Speed Drive - Networked

ƒ On automated units speed references for the hydraulic pump
are set from the control system
ƒ Operator sets the pump frequency as a percentage of
maximum speed
ƒ 100% = 100Hz
ƒ 0% = 20 Hz (minimum frequency)
 Pulse Shape – Stroke Length Adjustments
*fix graph
 Rules of Thumb

ƒ Increase stroke Length = increase conc. yield

ƒ Decrease stroke Length = decrease conc. yield

Down Stroke

D/S Control Valve

ƒ The down stroke control is
located on the hydraulic
block on the leg of the jig
ƒ The control valve reading is
scaled from 1-10
ƒ 10 = fast down stroke (no
restriction)
ƒ 0 = slow down stroke
(closed)
 Pulse Shape – Down Stroke Adjustments
*Fix Graph
 Rules of Thumb

ƒ Increase down stroke speed = increase conc.

yield

ƒ Decrease down stroke speed = decrease conc.

yield
 Hutch Water

Manual Systems
ƒ A ball valve used to control the water addition to
the hutch
ƒ The magnetic flow meter indicates the flow of water
in m3/hr

Automatic Systems
ƒ An actuated butterfly valve controls flow
according the flowmeter input
ƒ Hutch water can be set to control from
actual flow, or calculated ‘upflow’ through
jig

Hutch water addition to the IPJ1500/IPJ2400 has to be

~15/25 m3/hr greater that the water in the concentrate stream
 Automated Flow Balance

ƒ With flowmeters on all main streams it is possible to calculate all

flows in, out and through the jig.
ƒ By controlling hutch flow, it is possible to calculate the jig up-flow
and optimise the overall yield and recovery of finer fractions
 Air Release
Air Release Valve
ƒ The butterfly/pinch valve is opened and
closed periodically to prevent a build up
of air within the top of the jig
ƒ The air is controlled by using a timer
located on the control box
ƒ The valve should be opened for short
intervals and then as many times as is
required to exhaust the air e.g. 3
seconds open, 45 seconds closed
ƒ If the valve is left open for long periods
the IPJ can experience a pressure drop
which can cause the unit to bog
 Air Release

Air Release Timer

ƒ For manual stand-alone systems, the timer is located on
the control cabinet
ƒ For automated systems, air release times are set
through the control system
ƒ The timer has a dual scale and is normally set during
commissioning
ƒ The on time and off time are changed by altering the two
dials
ƒ The timer controls the state of a 5/3 solenoid valve
within the control cabinet which controls the state of the
valve ( a 3/2 model is used for pinch valves)
ƒ The timer should be optimised to ensure that water
escapes from the air release valve after every cycle
 Internal Pressure
ƒ The internal pressure of the unit is monitored by the
pressure gauge connected to the concentrate spool
ƒ The operating pressure of the IPJ can vary between
20-180Kpa
ƒ The unit contains a bursting disc to protect the metal
work which will release at a nominal pressure of
210Kpa

Automatic Pressure Control

ƒ The IPJ control system integrates the pressure signal into its operations
ƒ On high pressure alarms, valves on jig outlets are opened and the operator is
alerted
ƒ Automated variable orifices on tailings and concentrate lines are tied to the internal
pressure and may be used to optimise the jig performance
 Effect of Feed Rates

ƒ Mass pull to concentrate is fixed on no change to

pulse rate, stroke length or downstroke
ƒ Hence a change of feed mass equates to increase
in tails mass only
ƒ Higher mass feed rate reduces % yield
ƒ Increased valuables input however increase the
concentrate grade in the smaller yield
ƒ Lower recovery is expected particularly in the
finer fractions for this condition
 Screen Size

ƒ The screen size is changed

depending on the application. It is
usually dependant on the yields to
sink required
ƒ Gold applications usually use a 2-
4mm screen within mill circuits.
Normally looking for higher grade
concentrates
ƒ The coarse feed applications (e.g.
diamonds, tin, manganese) require
screens that are coarser than the
feed to provide a pure jigging
environment
ƒ They have closer S.G differentials
and therefore require a very loose
bed
 Other Important Tips

Other parameters that can be altered include:

ƒ IPJ feed density (diamonds, coal, Iron ore etc.)
ƒ Feed rate (tph)
ƒ Size distribution of the feed (pre-screening)
ƒ All of these parameters may require optimization and can
be discussed with Gekko personnel
• The unit may bog at some stage – put in a large sized dump
valve
 To achieve a Higher Grade conc

ƒ Add higher SG ragging

ƒ Increasing ragging depth
ƒ Increase hatch water flow
ƒ Decrease down stroke
ƒ Decrease stroke length
ƒ Decrease pulse frequency
ƒ Increase feed rate
 To achieve higher Recovery

ƒ Lower the Ragging SG

ƒ Lower the ragging depth
ƒ Increase stroke frequency
ƒ Increase stroke length
ƒ Increase down stroke speed
ƒ Decrease the hutch water flow
ƒ Increase screen size
ƒ Decrease feed rate
QUESTIONS?