Size reduction and size control (crushing, milling and screening, liberation)

Size distributions ( screen analysis, screen fractions, cumulative retained and passing,
Equations that represent size distribution)

Physical separation ( grade recovery effect, some of the properties that are exploited to
separate particles)

Flotation ( Flotation reagents, machines and flotation circuits)

Solutions to the particulates question are in Red

1. Flotation can be used when

(a) When the ore is hydrophobic

(b) When a good collector is available
(c) When the difference in surface properties can be exploited
(d) When water is readily available

Best Answer is c, though A says ore being hydrophobic, valuable mineral has to be hydrophobic
while gangue is not.

2. Which statement is definitely wrong?

(a) A high recovery also results in a high grade concentrate
(b) A weak collector is good for selectivity
(c) Increasing air flowrate can increase the rate of flotation
(d) frother can affect concentrate grade

Answer is definitely A, the more you attempt to recover the more rubbish ends up in the
concentrate and hence grade gets lower with high recovery

A Student is to perform his experiment in a 2 litre flotation cell. He puts 500g of ore sample into the
cell and adds water to make a slurry. He then adds 0.02g of collector and conditions the cell for 2
minutes. Lastly, he adds two drops of frother and starts floating. Now, answer the next four
questions based on this experiment.

3. The collector dosage is

(a) 40g collector per ton of ore

(b) 2g collector per ton of ore
(c) 10g collector per ton of ore
(d) 0.04g per ton of ore

Note 0.02 is used for 500g then 0.04g will be needed for 1kg and for 1 ton multiply by a thousand
therefore correct Answer is A, 40g/t

4. The purpose of conditioning is to

(a) Allow time for the collector to react with the mineral surface
(b) Ensure that the ore is well mixed with the water
 (c) Good flotation practice is to wait before starting to float
(d) To warm up the flotation cell

A is the best answer

5. If the grade of the ore is 2 % Cu, then we can say this about the sample

(a) It contains 10g of copper metal

(b) It is a low grade sample
(c) A high recovery will be expected
(d) It contains 20g of copper

B is not true for copper and from the grade you can’t tell whether something will float easily and
give you a good recovery, so C is also wrong. If you have 2% of copper in 500g then the copper
content = 2/100 x 500 = 10g Answer is A

6. If the total mass of concentrate floated is 40g then we can say: (i.e doesn’t tell you how much Cu
in the concentrate)

(a) The grade of the concentrate is 25% Copper

(b) The concentration ratio is 12.5
(c) The enrichment ratio is 12.5
(d) The recovery is 80%

Answer is B, (Enrichment ratio = Concentrate grade/feed grade c/f, while Ratio of concentration =
weight of Feed/weight of concentrate) The rest of the answers don’t make sense. Cant calculate any
of the rest

7. The atomic masses for Cu,Fe and S are 64, 56 and 32 respectively. The chemical formula for
Chalcopyrite is CuFeS2 and Chalcocyte is Cu2S; which statement below is always true

(a) Chalcocite concetrate will always have a higher grade than Chalcopyrite
(b) The highest possible grade of chalcocite concentrate is 80%
(c) Chalcoite can be recovered best by leaching
(d) Chalcocite is expected to float more easily than chalcopyrite

Correct answer is B, pure Cu2S will have a grade 64*2/(64*2+32)*100=80%

8. Which statement is definitely wrong:

(a) SEX would be preferred for a mineral that floats easily

(b) PAX has 5 carbons in its organic chain
(c) Xanithates are cationic collectors
(d) Cyanide can be used as a depressant

All statements are correct except C, because Xanthates like most collector are Anionic, negatively
charged. A because SEX is weaker than PAX. B PAX has 5 while SEX has 2)

9. Sample A has a work index of 12 and sample B a work index of 11, the crusher product of sample
B will always be finer than A. True or false
True only if you use the same energy for both, but if use more energy for A it will obviously be finer.
so answer is False

10. 100% liberation should always be the target when milling. True or false

100% is usually impossible and grinding can became uneconomically too expensive if you decided to
grind to the smallest grain size. This would affect flotation behaviour because of too much fines in
the system which will cause visicosity and entrainment problems. So Answer is False

11. Below is a representation of classification in a hydrocyclone

Overflow

Feed

Underflow

The Feed is described by the equation P(d) = 𝑃(𝑑) = 1 − 𝑒 −𝑑/250 Complete the table below

R() represents the partition coefficient of the cyclone

Size (m) % Cum Discrete % Mass R() % mass U/F % mass O/F
500 -500 +400 6.7 0.0
400 -400 +300 9.4 0.5
300 -300 +200 11.9 3.0
200 -200 +100 8.8 13.3
100 -100 +0 3.3 29.7
0
(a)(2marks) (b)(2 marks) (c)(2 marks)

( d ) What is the d50 size of the cyclone (2) ?

( e ) If the Mass flow rate to overflow is 25tph, what is the Feed flowrate (2)?

Note P(d) refers to cumulative size distribution while p(d) to the discrete size distribution. So apply
the equation and multiply by 100 to get the % Cumulative.

% Cum =P(d)*100 % % mass % mass

Size (m) 𝑃(𝑑) = 1 − 𝑒 −𝑑/250 Discrete Mass R() U/F O/F
 500 86.5 -500 +400 6.7 1.00 6.7 0.0
400 79.8 -400 +300 9.9 0.95 9.4 0.5
300 69.9 -300 +200 14.8 0.80 11.9 3.0
200 55.1 -200 +100 22.1 0.40 8.8 13.3
100 33.0 -100 +0 33.0 0.10 3.3 29.7
0 0.0 6.7 0.00
(b)(2 (c)(2
(a)(2marks) marks) marks) 40.08 46.39

Note: it only adds up to 86.5% because 13.5% is +500. The % mass splits into U/F and O/F, so the
partition curve, if based on Recovery it will be as above but if based on O/F it will be 0, 0.05 , 0.2, 0.6,
0.9, 1. Note it works okay as long as you the under is 40.08 of the feed which is only includes 86.5%
of the material.

Otherwise if you changed to grams it doesn’t make it any easier and I regret having suggested a
change which just created too much confusion. Here is the solution if you worked from the right to
the left.

% Cum % Mass
Size (m) Discrete (g)Mass R() (g) U/F (g) O/F
500 100.0 -500 +400 7.7 6.7 1.00 6.7 0.0
400 92.3 -400 +300 11.4 9.9 0.95 9.4 0.5
300 80.8 -300 +200 17.1 14.8 0.80 11.9 3.0
200 63.7 -200 +100 25.5 22.1 0.40 8.8 13.3
100 38.2 -100 +0 38.2 33.0 0.10 3.3 29.7
0 0.0
(b)(2 (c)(2
(a)(2marks) marks) marks) 40.08 46.39

Just note conventionally you will be told what % is split to O/F and to the U/F, in this question you
were made to assume the splits by adding up the mass classes of both the O/F and U/F.

To get the d50 use the partition curve and this does not matter whether you used method a or b
above.

(d)
 Partion curve R()
100.0
90.0
80.0
70.0
60.0
50.0
40.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600

From graph d50 =220

(e) 46.35 represents 25 tonnes so feed =86.5/46.5 x 25 = 46.5 tones