METHODOLOGY

In this experiment, andesite ore was crushed via a jaw crusher and a roll crusher and then grinded
in a ball mill to produce 3 kilos of -200 mesh particle sizes. To remove any air pockets in the packed ore,
the container was occasionally tapped while it was being filled. The density of the ore sample was
determined by packing some of the ore in a graduated cylinder until the volume was approximately 400
mL and then obtaining the mass of the ore using a top loading balance. The density was then calculated
by dividing the mass of the ore by its volume.

Figure 1. Diagram showing the clear

and sludge interface.

For the settling tests, 5 pieces of 1-L graduated cylinders were prepared. To ensure the reliability
of the results, all the cylinders used were of the same size. 1 L of pulp with different percentages of solid
by weight was prepared (5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 30%) for each cylinder. A small amount of distilled water
was first poured in the cylinders before adding pre-weighed amounts of solids. After pouring the solids,
distilled water was again added until the total volume reaches the 1-L mark. The pulp were mixed in all of
the graduated cylinders at almost the same time, ensuring that the suspensions were homogenous. After
mixing, the height of the clear liquid interface and the sludge interface (see Figure 1) were both noted
following a prescribed time interval: 5-min interval for the first 30 mins, 10-min interval of the next 60
mins, 15-min interval for the next 90 mins and a 1-hour interval for the next five hours. To easily note the
height of the interfaces, a strip of masking tape was laid along the length of the cylinder. Tick marks were
placed to represent every 1 mm of height. After 24 hours, the final height was taken.