Mining Institute, Far Eastern Branch of RAS (Khabarovsk, Russia):

Shepeta E. D., Senior Researcher, Candidate of Engineering Sciences, elenashepeta56@mail.ru
Samatova L. A., Head of Laboratory, Candidate of Engineering Sciences

MBE Coal and Minerals Technology Ltd (Moscow, Russia):

Lebedok A. V., Director of Mineral Processing, lebedokart@mail.ru

The article presents comparative test data for the processing of the mature tailings sand fraction for the tailings facility of the Primorskaya concentration plant using a Pneuflot® machine (type P-FV02 K) and a mechanical machine (by «Mekhanobr»). The characteristics of the initial test material are as follows: 23 % content of class –80+0 μm, WO₃ of 0.073 %, Cu of 0.048 %, Au of 0.38 g/t, Ag of 1.1 g/t. The main ore and rock minerals are represented by scheelite, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, quartz, calcite, and pyroxene. Prior to flotation, the tailings were crushed to the particle size of 58 % class –80+0 μm. In the Pneuflot® machine, the following recovery rates were achieved: 9.5 % of copper in the sulfide concentrate and 69 % of scheelite in the concentrated crude product with the mass fraction of WO₃ of 0.6 %. The flotation efficiency for scheelite grains with the particle size of –44+15 μm and –15+0 μm was 82–75 % of the class. During a comparative testing using a laboratory mechanical machine, a crude product with the mass fraction of WO₃ of 0.62 % was obtained with the recovery rate of 52.5 %. There is a possibility of improving scheelite recovery up to 59.7 % through a reduction of losses with sulfides with the additional introduction of two sulfide cleaner flotation cycles into the process flow. The recovery of fine scheelite particles is respectively 77–49 % of the class, which is significantly lower (especially for the particle size class of –15+0 μm) as compared to the Pneuflot® machine. Using mechanical machines with the volumes of 3.0 and 0.5, sulfide concentrate with the mass fraction of Cu 0.83 % with 45 % recovery was isolated from the 0.2 l mature tailings sample.

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