Optimizing froth area of the flotation cell

Jason Heath - Technology Manager, Beneficiation

April 29, 2016
 Today’s Speaker
Jason Heath

• 13 years of experience in mining industry

in Australia and East Asia in gold and
base metal flotation operations
• Production, project and technical sales
roles
• Particular focus on flotation for the last 7
years
• Hobbies outside of work include cycling,
martial arts and raising kids

2 4/29/2016 Webinar | Optimizing froth area of the flotation cell, Jason Heath
© Outotec – All rights reserved
 What does this training offer me?

Are you on top of your Froth Carry Rate?

Do you know that froth crowding can be

modified to optimize froth recovery?

Are you aware that collecting froth is like

collecting money?

If you answered “NO” to any of these questions, you NEED to watch this…

A better understanding of froth crowding and launders can

improve your situation

3 4/29/2016 Webinar | Optimizing froth area of the flotation cell, Jason Heath
© Outotec – All rights reserved
 Common Froth Challenges

• Variation in ore mineralogy and/or

grade affecting froth behavior

• Froth recovery in the first cell with

slurry containing a high proportion
of fast floating minerals

• Froth recovery when targeting

leanly liberated sulphide minerals
in a scavenging duty

• Sticky or tenacious froths

4 4/29/2016 Webinar | Optimizing froth area of the flotation cell, Jason Heath
© Outotec – All rights reserved
 Revision: Requirements of a Flotation Cell

• Mix the slurry and keep solids in suspension (no sand at the bottom).

• Disperse air into slurry.

• Create circumstances for the engagement and attachment of

particles and bubbles.

• Create circumstances to separate the bubble-particle agglomerates

from the rest of the slurry.

• Create an environment for a stable froth to form with the upper most
layer separated from the tank.

5 4/29/2016 Webinar | Optimizing froth area of the flotation cell, Jason Heath
© Outotec – All rights reserved
 What is Froth?

• Three phase mixture of solid, water, and gas

• Properties vary considerably depending on: type of solids, solids
particle size, chemicals (reagents) in water and on solids, etc.
• Ideally, target minerals are concentrated to the top of the froth for
removal

Top of froth

Froth layer

Slurry

6 4/29/2016 Webinar | Optimizing froth area of the flotation cell, Jason Heath
© Outotec – All rights reserved
 Concept of Froth Carry Rate
• As froth is mostly made up of air by volume, there is a physical limit
to how much material it can support.
• This gives rise to the concept of Froth Carry Rate (FCR).
• FCR is the dry mass of concentrate removed from the flotation cell,
per metre squared of froth area, per hour (t/m2.hr or tph/m2)
Froth Carry Rate (FCR) with increasing concentrate
production
2,5
Froth Carry Rate (tph/m 2)

2,0

1,5 Cleaning

Roughing
1,0

0,5 Scavenging

0,0
0,0 2,0 4,0 6,0 8,0 10,0 12,0
Concentrate (tph)

7 4/29/2016 Webinar | Optimizing froth area of the flotation cell, Jason Heath
© Outotec – All rights reserved
 Froth Carry Rate Guidelines

• Based on anecdotal operating plant performance and surveys, design

guidelines are established for FCR for different flotation duties:

Duty Rougher Scavenger Cleaner

Froth Carry Rate
0.8 – 1.5 0.3 – 0.8 1.0 – 2.0
(tph/m2)

• These design guidelines are used in plant design to correctly select

the flotation cell sizes required, and the degree of froth crowding.

• They can also be used to evaluate if your existing flotation cell froth
area is over or under loaded!

8 4/29/2016 Webinar | Optimizing froth area of the flotation cell, Jason Heath
© Outotec – All rights reserved
 Typical Rougher Flotation Response
100

90

80

70 Slow Floating Component

i.e. Low Froth Area
Mass Recovery (%)

60 Required

50

40

30 Fast Floating Component

i.e. High Froth Area
20 Required

10

0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Time (s), or Progression Through Flotation Circuit

9 4/29/2016 Webinar | Optimizing froth area of the flotation cell, Jason Heath
© Outotec – All rights reserved
 Types of Flotation Cell Launders

• A range of flotation cell launder types exist and these have varying
froth surface areas. Consider the following same size flotation cells:

External Internal Double Internal Centre

• For ore with fast and slow floating components, which launder would
you want in the front and which towards the back of the circuit?

10 4/29/2016 Webinar | Optimizing froth area of the flotation cell, Jason Heath
© Outotec – All rights reserved
 FCR Implications

• FCR too low:

• low froth solid loading
• weak/brittle froth which readily collapses
• poor transport of particles to launder lip
• probability of particle drop back increased

• FCR too high:

• high froth solid loading
• may have froth collapse due to the weight
of particles on froth, or uncontrollable froth
• poor transport of particles to lip, or
• low froth residence time, low froth drainage
=> gangue entrainment

11 4/29/2016 Webinar | Optimizing froth area of the flotation cell, Jason Heath
© Outotec – All rights reserved
 Measuring FCR in a plant
• The FCR in your plant can be measured with timed lip surveys.
• measure the con produced from a portion of the cell lip, in a given (measured)
time period,
• divide con produced by the cell froth surface area,
• normalise for the entire lip length, and on an hourly basis.
• inner and outer lip samples should be collected and handled separately.
• E.g: 1 kg con taken in 7.5 s, using a sampler width = 0.3 m.
• 1.0 kg in 7.5 s = 0.48 t/h (per 0.3 m of lip)
• = 9.6 t/h for entire lip (assume outer lip length = 6.0 m)
• = 0.80 tph/m2 (assume outer froth area = 12 m2)

• This is for the outer area, and would need to be repeated for the inner area.

12 4/29/2016 Webinar | Optimizing froth area of the flotation cell, Jason Heath
© Outotec – All rights reserved
 Manipulating FCR

• Booster cone adjustment

• Subtle adjustment up/down

• Air flow rate set point

• Quantity of air added to the cell

• Reagent dosage set points

• Controlled collection of target
minerals.

13 4/29/2016 Webinar | Optimizing froth area of the flotation cell, Jason Heath
© Outotec – All rights reserved
 Adjusting FCR

• Optimising reagents:
• Correct addition of reagents
- i.e. using reagent tundish and addition pipes

• Staged addition of reagents

- Especially for large cells

14 4/29/2016 Webinar | Optimizing froth area of the flotation cell, Jason Heath
© Outotec – All rights reserved
 Cell Crowding Adjustment

• Cell crowding can be physically modified.

• Addition of radial crowders, or even installation of new crowding

15 4/29/2016 Webinar | Optimizing froth area of the flotation cell, Jason Heath
© Outotec – All rights reserved
 Reducing FCR
• Staged Reagent Dosing
• Starvation collector dose strategy down flotation circuit => limits mass pull
• Split Feeding
• A portion of the fresh feed is diverted directly to second cell:

16 4/29/2016 Webinar | Optimizing froth area of the flotation cell, Jason Heath
© Outotec – All rights reserved
 Case Study: Australian Au Concentrator
• Gold flotation circuit (pyrite)
• Rougher-Scavenger
configuration, using OK cells
• OK cells have quite large froth
surface area
• => Low FCR in Scavs
• Outotec solution was to retrofit
curved crowders to the OK cells.

• After the crowders were

installed, client reported recovery
increase of 4% (absolute basis)
for the Rougher-Scavenger
circuit. Overall plant recovery
increased as well.
17 4/29/2016 Webinar | Optimizing froth area of the flotation cell, Jason Heath
© Outotec – All rights reserved
 Case Study: Australian Cu Concentrator
• Primarily a chalcopyrite flotation
circuit.
• Rougher-Scavenger configuration,
using large Tank Cells.
• Prevailing feed grade much lower
than when plant originally constructed
• => Less mass recovered in the Scavs Before
• => Low FCR in Scavs
• Outotec solution was to retrofit radial
crowders to the cells.

• Client reported that the froth stability

and cell performance improved with
the crowders installed.
After

18 4/29/2016 Webinar | Optimizing froth area of the flotation cell, Jason Heath
© Outotec – All rights reserved
 Further reading

• Bourke, P., 2005, Selecting Flotation Cells: How Many and What Size?, in
AusIMM Bulletin May/June, pp 47-48.
• Murphy, B. & Heath, JL., 2013, Selection of Mechanical Flotation
Equipment, in Proceedings Metcon 2013, Davao, Philippines.
• Achaye, I. Wiese, J. & McFadzean, B., 2015, Effect of particle size on froth
stability, in Proceedings Flotation ‘15, Cape Town, South Africa.

19 4/29/2016 Webinar | Optimizing froth area of the flotation cell, Jason Heath
© Outotec – All rights reserved
 Summary
• Importance of Flotation Cell froth
crowding and launder design

• Different crowding options and launder

designs available

• Implications on Froth Carry Rate and

importance to flotation cell performance

• Options to modify the Froth Carry Rate

in practice, including physical changes

20 4/29/2016 Webinar | Optimizing froth area of the flotation cell, Jason Heath
© Outotec – All rights reserved
 Webinar’s to come
If you enjoyed today’s talk there are more detailed sessions
planned on each of the topics touched on here today

June Best maintenance practices to give best metallurgical

3 performance in flotation – flotation maintenance practices

July Boosting flotation productivity with modern technology –

8 modernization and upgrade opportunities

August Stabilization versus optimization – insights to flotation process

5 control

Recording available online www.outotec.com/webinars:

Finding and eliminating bottlenecks in flotation plants

21 4/29/2016 Webinar | Optimizing froth area of the flotation cell, Jason Heath
© Outotec – All rights reserved
 Contact us

Presenter
Jason Heath
Technology Manager, Beneficiation - SEAP
Perth, Australia
[email protected]

General flotation enquiries [email protected]

Local office contact details www.outotec.com/Contacts

Follow us:
/outotec
/company/outotec
www.outotec.com

22 4/29/2016 Webinar | Optimizing froth area of the flotation cell, Jason Heath
© Outotec – All rights reserved