RPA «SOMEX» (Sychevo village, Kolomna city district, Moscow region, Russia):

Nikitin A. Yu., General Director, Candidate of Economic Sciences
Eliseeva R. A., Division Manager, engineering@somex.ru

NUST MISIS (Moscow, Russia):

Yushina T. I., Head of Chair, Candidate of Engineering Sciences, Associate Professor, yuti62@mail.ru

The article provides an analysis of design features of column flotation cells and describes the practice of their actual operation in mineral processing at various concentrating plants in Russia. At present, column flotation cells are most commonly used at concentrating plants of the Russian Federation for the processing of mining and chemical raw materials. Ores of non-ferrous and ferrous metals in Russia are generally processed using pneumatic-mechanical flotation cells. Given the more extensive processing of lower-grade and refractory ores, higher unit capacity equipment is required to maintain the same outputs of marketable products. Column flotation cells have a number of well-known advantages as compared to pneumatic-mechanical cells. There is a trend towards their increased use in cleaner flotation of ferruginous quartzites, porphyry-copper and copper-nickel ores. A comparative analysis of the design and technological features of four brands of column flotation cells of the same size (height of 8 m and diameter of 4.6 m) was carried out using the example of a concentrating plant processing apatite-nepheline ores of the Khibiny deposits. A column flotation cell manufactured by SOMEX Research and Production Association, based on the best design solutions of relevant foreign and domestic manufacturers, has been found to be one of the most advanced column flotation devices to date.

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