LAPSE:2023.35304
Published Article
LAPSE:2023.35304
An Innovative Sensor-Based Approach for Evaluating Performance of Flotation Circuit at the Expansion of Toromocho Copper Mine
Wei Zhang, Zhiyong Tan, Tengfei Li, Xiaoqiang Guan, Shiqing Zhou, Haibin Li, Chao Wang
April 28, 2023
Chinalco’s Toromocho mine, located in the Morococha district of Peru, treated 117,200 mtpd ores during last 10 years. It is currently undergoing expansion, treating approximately 52,740 mtpd of chalcopyrite ore since 2021. As with the commissioning of most large plants, the metallurgical performance levels produced after stability was achieved were below the design criteria; more specifically, the Cu overall recoveries were 80−82% compared with the design value of 85%, and the final concentrate Cu grades were 20−23% compared with the design value of 24% over the past 2 years. It is clear that the copper losses in the fine size fraction (<10 µm) were due to unoptimized hydrodynamics. To overcome this obstacle and improve overall performance, an innovative approach for flotation circuit evaluation was designed and set up, to improve understanding of the nature of the mineral losses, benchmark the cell hydrodynamics as a platform to improve flotation cell operation, and link the circuit setup and operation to gas dispersion characteristics. These needs were fulfilled by the developments in gas dispersion sensor technology and process measurement methodology of CRIST. Effectively utilizing the sensor technology, it was observed that the deficient recovery of the Toromocho expansion plant was due to poor recovery of <10 μm Cu, as a result of a lack of small bubbles (<1 mm) compared to the pilot circuit. The resulting data highlight the potential for recovery improvement (increased kinetics) via bubble size reduction and increased air rate.
Keywords
bubble size, cell characterization, hydrodynamics, Optimization
Subject
Suggested Citation
Zhang W, Tan Z, Li T, Guan X, Zhou S, Li H, Wang C. An Innovative Sensor-Based Approach for Evaluating Performance of Flotation Circuit at the Expansion of Toromocho Copper Mine. (2023). LAPSE:2023.35304
Author Affiliations
Zhang W: Chinalco Research Institute of Science and Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing 102209, China; Kunming Metallurgical Research Institute Co., Ltd. Beijing Branch, Beijing 102209, China [ORCID]
Tan Z: Chinalco Intelligent Tongchuang Technology (Yunnan) Co., Ltd., Kunming 650101, China
Li T: Chinalco Research Institute of Science and Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing 102209, China; Kunming Metallurgical Research Institute Co., Ltd. Beijing Branch, Beijing 102209, China [ORCID]
Guan X: Chinalco Intelligent Tongchuang Technology (Yunnan) Co., Ltd., Kunming 650101, China
Zhou S: Yunnan Copper Industry Co., Ltd., Kunming 650051, China
Li H: Chinalco Intelligent Tongchuang Technology (Yunnan) Co., Ltd., Kunming 650101, China
Wang C: Chinalco Research Institute of Science and Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing 102209, China; Kunming Metallurgical Research Institute Co., Ltd. Beijing Branch, Beijing 102209, China
Journal Name
Processes
Volume
11
Issue
4
First Page
1230
Year
2023
Publication Date
2023-04-16
Published Version
ISSN
2227-9717
Version Comments
Original Submission
Other Meta
PII: pr11041230, Publication Type: Journal Article
Record Map
Published Article

LAPSE:2023.35304
This Record
External Link

doi:10.3390/pr11041230
Publisher Version
Download
Files
[Download 1v1.pdf] (2.3 MB)
Apr 28, 2023
Main Article
License
CC BY 4.0
Meta
Record Statistics
Record Views
109
Version History
[v1] (Original Submission)
Apr 28, 2023
 
Verified by curator on
Apr 28, 2023
This Version Number
v1
Citations
Most Recent
This Version
URL Here
https://psecommunity.org/LAPSE:2023.35304
 
Original Submitter
Auto Uploader for LAPSE
Links to Related Works
Directly Related to This Work
Publisher Version