Industrial Attachment Report For Tunira Angella

INDUSTRIAL ATTACHMENT REPORT
INDUSTRIAL ATTACHMENT REPORT FOR TUNIRA ANGELLA
REGISTRATION NUMBER: N01522921W
INSTITUTION: NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
HOST COMPANY: BIKITA MINERALS Pvt (Ltd)
PERION OF ENGAGEMENT: AUGUST 2018 – JUNE 2019
ACADEMIC SUPERVISOR: ENGINEER MUDONO
COMPANY SUPERVISOR: MR E. MUTANDIRO
THIS INTERNSHIP REPORT WAS SUBMITTED TO NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE BACHELOR OF
ENGINEERING HONOURS DEGREE IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
TUNIRA ANGELLA N01522921W 1

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report covers the attachment period from August 2018 to May 2019 at Bikita Minerals
Company. The scope of this report is to capture in writing, duties and responsibilities I took up
during my attachment period with the mining company as a student in the Metallurgical
Department. This report emphasises mostly on the processes performed in the concentration of
ore. Bikita minerals processing plants implement processes of comminution, various techniques
of ore dressing and ultimately grinding the final mineral products to final customer specified
sizes. The main processing plants are; Crushing plant, the tantalite plant, two Dense Medium
Separating plants, an Optical sorting plant, and a Dry grinding plant. Technical details on the
equipment specifications and plant operating parameters are also included. Apart from this,
information on the company background and organisational structure is included. As I gained
practical experience at Bikita minerals l also made beneficial recommendations on how best to
optimise processes and these suggestions are included in this technical report.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I sincerely give glory to the Lord for affording me the opportunity to take up this programme and
be able to train under Bikita Minerals PVT LTD. My gratitude goes to the company management
and the department of Chemical Engineering from National University of Science and
Technology for the monitoring and mentoring during my course of industrial training at Bikita
Minerals. I would like to extend my gratitude to my industrial supervisors Mr. Mutandiro and
Mr. Mufumi for all their supervision and mentorship.

Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................................2
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...............................................................................................................3
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................7
1.0 BACKGROUND...................................................................................................................7
1.1COMPANY PROFILE...........................................................................................................8
1.1.1Mission statement.............................................................................................................8
1.1.2Vision...............................................................................................................................8
1.1.3Core values.......................................................................................................................8
1.1.4Organizational structure...................................................................................................8
1.3 Overview of the departments.................................................................................................9
CHAPTER TWO: REDUCTION PLANT....................................................................................13
2.0 Background..............................................................................................................................13
2.1 Objectives of the reduction plant.........................................................................................13
2.2 Sectional SHE Aspects............................................................................................................14
2.3 Literature review..................................................................................................................14
2.4 Major equipment used for crushing.....................................................................................16
2.5 Screening..............................................................................................................................19
2.6 Process flow diagram for the reduction plant......................................................................22
2.6.1 Description of process flow.........................................................................................23
2.6.2 Control philosophy..................................................................................................25
2.2EXPERIENCE GAINED......................................................................................................26
2.3OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES.......................................................................................27
2.4RECOMMENDATIONS......................................................................................................27
CHAPTER 3: DMS PLANTS.......................................................................................................28
3.1 Background of the DMS plants............................................................................................28
3.2 Objectives of the DMS Plants..............................................................................................28
3.3 SHEQ ISSES........................................................................................................................29
3.4 Major equipment used at the DMS Plants...........................................................................32
3.5 PROCESS FLOW OF THE DMS PLANTS.......................................................................38
3.5.1 DMS1 process flow description....................................................................................39

3.5.2 DMS2 process flow description....................................................................................41

3.5.3 PROCESS MONITORING AND PRODUCT QUALITY CONTROL.......................42
3.5.4 AUTOMATION, INTERLOCKING and INSTRUMENTATION..............................44
3.6 EXPERIENCE GAINED.....................................................................................................46
3.7 OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES......................................................................................46
3.4 RECOMMENDATIONS.....................................................................................................48
CHAPTER FOUR: DENSE MEDIA SEPARATION THICKENER PLANT.............................49
4.0 INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................49
4.1MAJOR EQUIPMENT.........................................................................................................49
4.2Process flow diagram............................................................................................................51
4.2.2Process description.........................................................................................................51
4.4OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES.......................................................................................52
CHAPTER FIVE: DRY GRINDING PLANTS........................................................................53
5.0 Background..........................................................................................................................53
5.1.1Objectives of Section......................................................................................................53
5.2 SHEQ Issues.......................................................................................................................53
5.4Major Equipment..................................................................................................................55
5.4.1 Transportation within the DGP plant............................................................................65
5.5 Process flow diagram for Dry Grinding Plant 1..................................................................69
5.5.5 Process Description for DGP 1.....................................................................................70
5.5.3 Process Description for DGP 2.....................................................................................72
5.6 PLANT OPERATIONS.......................................................................................................72
5.7 EXPERIENCE GAINED.....................................................................................................73
5.8 OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES......................................................................................74
CHAPTER SIX: GAS PLANT......................................................................................................75
6.0INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................75
6.1.1Process flow diagram.....................................................................................................75
6.1.2Process description.........................................................................................................76
6.1MAJOR EQUIPMENT.........................................................................................................76

CHAPTER 7:TANTALITE PLANT.............................................................................................78
7.0 BACKGROUND.................................................................................................................78
7.1 Objective of Tantalite Plant.................................................................................................78
7.2 LITERATURE REVIEW....................................................................................................78
7.2 Major Equipment and Principles of Operation....................................................................79
7.3 Process flow diagram...........................................................................................................84
Chapter 8: Environmental Management at Bikita Minerals..........................................................88
CHAPTER EIGHT: HEALTH AND SAFETY............................................................................90
9.1 INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................90
9.1.1ACTIVITIES..................................................................................................................90
9.1.2ACCIDENTS RECORDED...........................................................................................90
9.1.3PROTECTIVE PLANT EQUIPMENT..........................................................................91
Chapter 10: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS......................................................92
10.0CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................92
10.1RECOMMENDATIONS..................................................................................................92
10.2 Projects undertaken............................................................................................................92
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................96
APPENDIX 1: BIKITA QUARRY PITS MAP............................................................................97
APPENDIX 2: LITHIUM BEARING ROCKS............................................................................98
Table of figures
Figure 1: Bikita minerals organizational structure..................................................................10

Figure 2:Pie chart showing uses of lithium.............................................................................13
Figure 3: Double toggle blake jaw crusher..............................................................................17
Figure 4: Cone Crusher............................................................................................................19
Figure 5: Reduction primary screen at Bikita Minerals...........................................................22
Figure 6: Process flow diagram for the reduction plant..........................................................24
Figure 7: separating cyclones (BIKITA)................................................................................33
Figure 8:labelled diagram of a cyclone(Source:B.A Wills 2005)..........................................34
Figure 9: Low head vibrating screen and motion head............................................................35
Figure 10: drum magnet at DMS2 (Bikita minerals )..............................................................36
Figure 11:labelled diagram of a drum magnet ( Source B.A Wills 2005).............................36

Figure 12: Spiral classifier at Bikita Minerals........................................................................37

Figure 13: Showing principle of operation of a spiral classifier( Source B Wills 2005)........38
Figure 14: DMS1 Process Flow Diagram................................................................................39
Figure 15:DMS 2 Process Flow Diagram................................................................................42
Figure 16: Thickener tank and principle of operation.............................................................50
Figure 17: DMS thickener process flow diagram....................................................................52
Figure 18:Internal structure of a Loesche Mill showing wheels , rotating table and
distribution pots (BM)...................................................................................................................56
Figure 19: Showing a labeled classifier...................................................................................58
Figure 20: Showing longitudinal view of a rotex screen.........................................................60
Figure 21: longitudinal view of a Loma Heater.......................................................................61
Figure 22:showing air ducting and venturi..............................................................................62
Figure 23: showing a counter current shell and tube heat exchanger (BM)............................65
Figure 24: DGP1 Process Flow Diagram (BM)......................................................................70
Figure 25: DGP Gas plant Process Flow Diagram..................................................................76
Figure 26: Vertical shaft impact crusher................................................................................80
Figure 27:Showing a scrubber(BM)........................................................................................81
Figure 28: Showing a spiral concentrator................................................................................82
Figure 29: Showing Principle of Operation of a Shaking Table.............................................83
Figure 30: Tantalite Plant process flow diagram.....................................................................85
Figure 31:showing principle of operation of a gravity thickener...........................................88
Figure 32: slimes of tailings discharged at the TSF (BM).......................................................90

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.0 BACKGROUND
Bikita minerals is the sole lithium mining company in Zimbabwe and the second largest in
Africa. Bikita Minerals mine is situated on its own two farms: Glen Clova and Glen Shee about
67 kilometers east of Masvingo town.(The claim map is on Appendix A). Bikita minerals is rich
in deposits of petalite and lepidolite. These minerals have a high lithium (average 2.47 %). The
company practices open cast mining at various sites which were identified during exploration
processes. These sites are named AL’ Hayat, Victor’s quarry and Bikita North, South and West
quarries. Ore is processed up to concentration of mineral to 4.7% Lithium on average and 25%
Ta. Petalite concentrate is exported to Germany and china for the production of Lithium
batteries, production of lubricant and ceramics amongst other uses. Tantalite is a high-purity
mineral which exists naturally in its oxide tantalite oxide Ta 2O5form. It used in the preparation of
tantalite x-ray phosphors for x-ray intensifier screens.
1.1COMPANY PROFILE
1.1.1Mission statement
 To ensure consistency in product delivery and to serve our market with a high level
of proficiency, integrity and diligence.
1.1.2Vision
 To be the preferred global supplier of lithium based products.
1.1.3Core values
 To consistently meet our customer’s expectations through our promise to understand
their needs.
 To serve customers diligently and with integrity.
 To achieve excellent product delivery records through our relentless efforts in
pursuit of our vision and mission.

 To motivate our staff so that they realise their full potential and achieve personal
growth, ultimately for the benefit of the customer.
1.1.4Organizational structure
The Organisational structure at Bikita Minerals incorporates mine managers, departmental
managers, supervisors and operators. To fully maximize operational efficiency the structure is
divided into functional departments as shown in the figure below;
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
MINE MANAGER
Mine Mine Productio HR Mine Exports Met services

Secretary Engineer n Manager Manager Captain Manager Manager
Finance, Artisans& Foreman, Wages, Miners, Dispatch Met lab and

Stores & all & Plant Salaries, Surveyors & Sales Quality control
Procurement Engineering operators Security & staff Lab staff
f
Staff Health staff f
f
f
f
TUNIRA ANGELLA N01522921W 9 f
f
Figure 1: Bikita minerals organizational structure
1.3 Overview of the departments

The departments at Bikita Minerals includes production, engineering, sales, clinic, metallurgical
services.
1.3.1 Production department

This department monitors all the plant processes and ensures that the desired products are being
produced. All the plant operators report to the shifts head who then reports to the production
foreman, to the production manager.
1.3.2 Engineering department

This department is responsible for new projects, maintenance and repairs in the plants. There are
civil artisans, electronic artisans, mechanical and boiler making artisans, fitter who work under
the supervision of Resident Engineer.
1.3.4 Sales department

It purchases all the necessary materials and equipment which are needed at the mine
1.3.5 Human Resource Department

This department looks after the welfare of workers. It also encompasses the security, health and
safety departments. A clinic located a few kilometres from the mine. Sick or injured employees
and people from the surrounding area are treated at this clinic.
1.3.6 Metallurgical Services department (quality control)

Metallurgical services comprises of metallurgical assay and metallurgical lab.Main objectives of
the metallurgical lab are process assurance, plant monitoring and process optimization , whilst
the met assay is for quality control . Sample of products from the D.M.S plant, Ta plant and DGP

are tested for the required specifications in the laboratory. This helps to conclude if the products
have the desired product specifications, there are no unwanted elements like iron. The
composition of minerals found at Bikita Minerals is shown on the table below.
parts of the operation of mining and milling

are performed at different rates, some
Mineral Chemical formula Colour Comments
Petalite LiAl(Si2O5)2 Colourless, white, gray, Contains 8-10% Li or
yellow, transparent to 3.8- 5.2% Li2O
translucent, vitreous to
pearly
Lepidolite(Lithium KLiAl(OH,F)2Al(SiO4)3 Rose-red, violet-gray, Contains 2-3.5% Li or

Mica) or K2Li4Al2F4Si8O22 lilac, pink and purple 3.28- 8% Li2O
yellow, grayish white
,and white ;transparent to
pearly
Spodumene LiAl(SiO3)2 Colourless, white, gray, Contains 4-8% Li or

Yellowish-green , 2.9- 7.6% Li2O
emerald green, pink,
violet, transparent to
dull

Pollucite (Cs,Na)2(Al2Si4O12) · Almost always colorless Contains about 20% Cs

or white, also light gray,
2H2O
light pink, light blue,
pale violet
Tantalite (Fe,Mn)(Ta,Nb)2O6 Varies between black and Contains 8-40% Ta2O5

red-brown colour and 20-30% Nb2O5
The Lithium Bearing Minerals are mined, sold and used directly as compounds due to their
stability and high strength, and although lithium markets vary by location, global end-use
markets are estimated as follows:
Lithium uses
10% 5% 5%
37%
5%
7%
11% 20%
ceramic & glass batteries

greases aluminium
pharmaceutical ,rubber & plastics other
continous casting air conditioning system
Figure 2:Pie chart showing uses of lithium
Lithium metal use in batteries expanded significantly in recent years because rechargeable
lithium batteries were being used increasingly in portable electronic devices and electrical
tools. Lithium compounds are first converted to lithium chloride (LiCl), then, an electric
current is passed through molten lithium chloride. The current separates the compound into
lithium and chlorine gas. The Metal lithium finds small use in alloying with metals of higher
melting points like Cr, Al, Mg, Cu, Pb and Zn. It imparts toughness and tensile strength to

the alloy. Lithium is also used as a scavenging material for metallic minerals and gases in
the metallurgy of several metals.
Pollucite as a mineral does not have any significant uses but the metal caesium itself is of
great importance. The metal caesium is extracted from pollucite mainly by three methods:
acid digestion, alkaline decomposition, and direct reduction. The metal finds many uses
including petroleum exploration, atomic clocks, electrical power and electronics,
centrifugation fluids, chemical and medical uses, nuclear and isotope applications, and other
uses. The largest current end-use of non-radioactive caesium is in caesium formate-based
drilling fluids for the extractive petroleum industry.
High-purity mineral tantalite oxide Ta2O5 is used in the preparation of tantalite x-ray
phosphors for x-ray intensifier screens. The natural tantalite ores, synthetic concentrates and
high grade tin slags are best beneficiated through flotation, leaching, magnetic separation,
electrostatic separation, classifications etc deploying the hydrometallurgy technology. They
are converted to tantalum potassium fluoride (K 2 TaF 7 ). Pure tantalum is then obtained
from this compound by passing an electric current through it (electrolysis). Tantalum is
mainly used as tantalum powder and wire for capacitors, PVD* sputtering targets for
semiconductors, component of super alloys for jet engines and industrial gas turbines,
metallurgical products for chemical and pharmaceutical processing equipment, oxides for
optical and specialty glass and carbides for cutting tools.
CHAPTER TWO: REDUCTION PLANT

2.0 Background
The reduction plant is the second stage of comminution after blasting in the quarry at Bikita
Minerals. Feed to the reduction plant is from various sources namely, hand sorted lepidolite,
glass making spodumene, feldspar, petalite and also run off mine ore from the various mining
pits. Reduction is mainly done so as to liberate minerals thus increasing the surface area of the
ore for downstream separation processes as well as to ease up material handling. This makes it
possible to remove gangue material and remain with the required product. Reduction plant
provides feed to the tantalite plant and the Dense Media Separator plants.
2.1 Objectives of the reduction plant

To crush the ore so as to;
 Liberate the ore from the gangue
 Attain specific required size range for downstream processes
 Ease material handling and transportation
2.2 Sectional SHE Aspects

These are the hazards and probable risks that are identified before work is done that may result in
injuries health issues or even death to anyone working on that particular area. The risk
assessment process is done by the employees accompanied by SHE Reps in every department,
thereby identifying potential hazards and risks that maybe encountered in a particular work area
and how to control, avoid or minimize the effects of the hazards.
2.2.1 Safety
Risk Effect Mitigation
Flying particles Damaged eyes Wear protective clothes
especially safety goggles
Fire outbreak at electric Body injuries on the Fire extinguishers are at
motor operating personnel the areas that are accessible
2.2.2 Health
Dust Pneumoniosis Wear a respiratory
protection e.g. disposable
dust masks and respirators

Noise Damaged eardrums Wear ear protection e.g.

ear plugs
2.2.3 Environment
Noise pollution Loss of hearing Lubrication of the
machines for example
2.3 Literature review
Crushing is a fundamental preliminary stage in the reduction of particle size to suit the
successive process of dense medium separation. This process is important as it liberates the
mineral which is in association with other gangue material and it is taken as the second stage of
comminution, blasting being the first. Comminution is done for easier material handling as well.
It is much easier to transport material of smaller particle sizes using a conveyor belt than
transporting boulders. Feed to the reduction plant can be obtained directly from victor’s quarry.
Sometimes hand sorted ore is fed to the crusher. Crushing can be achieved in different
mechanisms .For a particle to fracture, a stress high enough to exceed the fracture strength of the
particle is required. The manner in which the particle fractures depends on the hardness of the
particle, and on the manner in which the forcer is applied.
2.3.1 Theory of comminution

Comminution theory explains the relationship between energy input and product particle size
produced from a given feed. Minerals are crystalline materials and it is assumed that they are
brittle though in reality they exhibit elastic behavior. Minerals that have some elastic behavior
can store energy without breaking and release this energy when the stress is removed. When
fracture does occur some of the stored energy is transformed into free surface energy. Therefore,
most of the energy in a comminution machine is absorbed by the machine itself and only a small
portion is available to break the material. Energy consumed in size reduction is proportional to
crack tip length of particle produced in breakage Bond’s Law (1952).Crack tip length in a unit
volume of material is inversely proportional to the square root of the diameter. The energy input
is given as;
1 1
E=2 k ( − )
√ dp √ df

Where: k- is a constant
dp- is final particle size
df- is initial particle size
For practical purposes the size in microns in which 80% of the material passes is selected as the
criterion of the particle size. The energy is quoted as the work input.
Therefore, the above equation transforms to;
W =10W i ( √1P − √1F )

Where: W- is work input in kwh/t
Wi- is work index
P- is diameter in microns which 80% of the product passes.
F- is diameter in microns which 80% of feed passes
2.4 Major equipment used for crushing
The double toggle Blake jaw crusher

Figure 3: Double toggle blake jaw crusher
Working principle
The primary crusher that is used at Bikita Minerals is a 36 × 25 inch double toggle Blake jaw
crusher. The jaw crusher has a gape size of 100mm double-toggle blake crusher. The oscillating
movement of the swinging jaw is effected by vertical movement of the pitman. This moves up
and down under the influence of the eccentric. The back toggle plate causes the pitman to move
sideways as it is pushed upward. This motion is transferred to the front toggle plate and this in
turn causes the swing jaw to close on the fixed jaw. Similarly, downward movement of the
pitman allows the swing jaw to open. Large piece of rock falls into the mouth of the crusher. It is
nipped by the jaws, which are moving relative to each other at a rate depending on the size of the
machine and which usually varies inversely with the size. Basically, time must be given for the
rock broken at each "bite" to fall to a new position before being nipped again. The ore falls, the
swing jaw closes on it, quickly at first and then more slowly with increasing power towards the
end of the stroke. The fragments now fall to a new arrest point as the jaws move apart and are
then gripped and crushed again.
During each "bite" of the jaws the rock swells in volume due to the creation of voids between the
particles. Since the ore is also falling into a gradually reducing cross-sectional area of the
crushing chamber, choking of the crusher would soon occur if it were not for the increasing
amplitude of swing towards the discharge end of the crusher. This accelerates the material
through the crusher, allowing it to discharge at a rate sufficient to leave space for material
entering above.
Some important features of the double toggle Blake crusher are:
 Since the jaw is pivoted from above, it moves a minimum distance at the entry
point and a maximum distance at the delivery. This maximum distance is called the
throw of the crusher.
 The horizontal displacement of the swing jaw is greatest at the bottom of the
pitman cycle and diminishes steadily through the rising half of the cycle as the
angle between the pitman and the back toggle plate becomes less acute.

 The crushing force is least at the start of the cycle, when the angle between the
toggles is most acute, and is strongest at the top, when full power is delivered
over a reduced travel of the jaw. All jaw crushers are rated according to their
receiving areas, i.e. the width of the plates and the gape, which is the distance
between thejaws the jaws at the feed opening.
The 3ft Symons cone crusher

The 3Foot Symons crusher is the first secondary crusher at the reduction plant. It has standard
head and is identified by the diameter of the cone lining thus the name 3Foot. This secondary
crusher reduces to a size fraction of (-50mm) in a dry process. According to the test work
performed the Symons crusher is efficient since it showed that only 34% of the crusher output
was greater than the required 28mm size fraction. Both crushers, operate at an average capacity
of 70 tph.
The 35d Cone crusher

The cone crusher is slightly larger than the Symons crusher. This is an ideal situation as the cone
crusher crushes the undersize material from the primary screen which is greater than 28mm as
well as the Symons crusher output which is still greate r than 28mm.wet crushing is done as
water is added from a spray. Wet crushing has an advantage over dry crushing as it reduces dust
as well as energy consumption during the crushing process. The feed rate to the crusher should
be maintained such that the crusher is never full of material otherwise the ore will be crushed to
give very fine particles. A sensor is located just above the crusher opening so that it can detect
the level of ore inside the crusher.

Figure 4: Cone Crusher
Working Principle of the cone crusher

Crushing occurs when compressive forces are exerted on a material made up of molecules or
compounds with different bonding strength. The material to be crushed is held tight between
parallel or tangent solid surfaces and a force is applied to bring the surfaces together. These solid
surfaces are the of the feed as well as reducing wear of the crusher bowel linings as the inner
cone moves in circular motion. The liners of the cone crusher are made up of manganese which
is a strong material. The cone crusher is therefore suitable for crushing abrasive material. Liners
are put on crushers in order to prevent direct damage to the crusher. When the cone crusher is
operated, the powerful motor drives the shaft which will force the axle of crushing cone wings to
swing and the crushing wall will move against each other. The crusher bowl increases in cross
sectional are downwards allowing for increase in volume of material as they swell due to
crushing. This prevents chock-up of the cone crusher. The flare of the crushing bowl increases
the crusher capacity as well since fine material quickly exits at the discharge.
Gape sizes for each crusher with respect to ore being crushed
ROM ORE LEPIDOLITE SQI
Jaw crusher 100mm 100mm 100mm
Symons crusher 36mm 28mm 28mm
Cone crusher 18mm 16mm 16mm

Conveyor belts
Conveyor belts consists of an endless flexible material supported on rollers (idlers), and passing
over pulleys at each. Belts can be specified to withstand abrasive and corrosive materials. The
belts are made up of three parts which are the aluminum profile, drive unit and the extremity
unit. The Aluminium unit provides belt support. The belt support prevents the sagging of the
conveyor belt during the transportation of material. The drive unit comprise of the motor bracket,
counter bearing and the electrical drive. This unit enables the belt to run continuously. The
counter bearings assist in efficient rotation between parts of the system. The extremity unit is
made up of the pulley system which supports belt movement and clamping straps. The conveyor
belts are connected in series to the MCC (Motor Control Circuit) such that it’s an interlocked
system. The carrying capacity of the belt is increased by passing it over troughing idlers. These
are support rollers set normal to the travel of the belt and inclined upward from the centre so as
to raise the edges and give it a trough-like profile. There maybe three or five in a set and they
will be rubber coated under a loading point, so as to reduce the wear and damage from impact.
Spacing along the belt is at the maximum interval which avoids excessive sag. The return belt is
supported by horizontal straight idlers which overlap the belt by a few inches at each side. To
induce motion without slipping requires good contact between the belt and drive pulley.
2.5 Screening
In its simplest form, the screen is a surface having many apertures, or holes, usually
with uniform dimensions. Screening is a mechanical operation which separates particles
according to their sizes and their acceptance or rejection by openings of a screening face.
Particles bigger than the apertures of the screens are retained, and constitute the oversize. Those
that are smaller pass through the screening surface, forming the undersize. The efficiency of
screening is determined by the degree of perfection of separation of the material into size
fractions above or below the aperture size.
2.5.1 Why screening
1. Classifying - thus to separate particles by size in order to provide a downstream process

unit process with the particle size range suited to that certain unit. For example the

secondary screen when preparing feed (lepidolite) for the Tantalite plant the aperture size
should be 19mm and for the DMS is 28mm.
2. Need for scalping- to remove the coarsest size fraction in the feed material, so that they
can be crushed this is done by the scalping and primary screen.
3. Grading – to prepare a number of products within specified size ranges for example when
crushing SQI
4. Residue or trash removal- removal of residues which might be very fine particles hence
report to the undersize for example when crushing SQI batch crushing is normally
conducted.
2.5.2 Vibrating screens

The scalping, primary and secondary screens are vibratory screens. Vibrations are caused by
unbalanced weights in the driving electric motor. The screens are mounted on springs to enable
the up and down movements for greater efficiency. The vibratory screens are slightly inclined so
that feed to the screen moves downwards to the next conveyor belt easily as the screen vibrates.
A motor causes the rotation of a drive wheel and this rotation is translated to backwards and
forward motion due to the eccentric effect. The vibration speed of the screen is a major factor
which affects the efficiency of the screen.
The scalping screen

The scalping screen removes (-28mm) material from the coarse ore, increasing the efficiency and
the capacity of the Symons’s crusher. The screen is 1400mm wide and 4200mm long. It is fitted
with wire panels at an angle of 90̊.
The primary screen

Figure 5: Reduction primary screen at Bikita Minerals
The ore from the cut point for screening ore at the primary screen is 50mm. The oversize reports
to cvb8 for hand sorting and undersize to c10 .A 97% recovery of oversize material to the
oversize stream. However calculations show that its recovery of fines material to the fines stream
is relatively low (89%). This is probably because feed-rate to the screen is too large such that
each particle may not have a chance to be in contact with the screen apertures.
Secondary screen
The secondary screen prepares the feed for the Cone crusher and produces the correct size for the
DMS feed. The screen undersize (-28mm) is conveyed to the ore bin by C12 whilst the oversize
(+28mm) is ferried to the Cone crusher by C11 for crushing again. The secondary screen is also
mounted at an angle and fitted with wire panels.
2.5.3 Screen performance

Screening efficiency
The scalping screen has an efficiency of 96% primary as was calculated using the equation
c (f −u)(c−f )(1−u)
E=
f ¿¿
Where c is the fraction of +28mm material in the screen’s oversize stream
f is the fraction of + 28mm material in the screen’s feed stream
u is the fraction of +28mm material in the screen’s undersize stream.

A sample of feed to the screen, screen oversize and undersize were collected and sieved with a
28mm screen to obtain c, f, u.
2.5.4 Factors affecting screening efficiency
 Mode and rate of vibration of machine. High vibration reduces blinding and should be used
with higher feed rates.
 Moisture content of the feed. Presence of moisture can lead to agglomeration of particles,
hence undersize particles can report to the oversize.
 Size distribution and shape of feed- near mesh particles tend to blind the screen
 Angle at which screen is set- According to the Gaudian equation, a particle approach the
aperture perpendicular to the aperture, hence angles close to 90 degrees tend to increase
chance of passing.
 Percentage of open area. This is given as ;
Net areaof apertures

× 100
Whole areaof screening surface
Bad screening efficiency can be due to a number of things which include;
i. Too much material on the screen (overfeeding).
ii. Blinded screen mats.
iii. Uneven feed distribution.
iv. Screen mechanically defective.
These faults can and must be rectified to ensure maximum effectiveness of the screen. Crusher
efficiency can be judged by looking at a screen product.
2.6 Process flow diagram for the reduction plant

REDUCTION PLANT
Feed
bin
Apron Feeder
Jaw
Crusher
CVB 2
CVB 11 hand sorting pad
Primary
Stock screen
pile
CVB
Simon
Crusher
Cone crucher
Secondary
Screen 28mm
stockpile
Stockpile dms
feed
Figure 6: Process flow diagram for the reduction plant
2.6.1 Description of process flow

Primary crushing

After blasting at the quarry pits, ROM ore consisting of pollucite, feldspar, muscovite, lepidolite,
SQI and petalite mineral species is carried to a stockpile near the primary section by means of a
damper for further comminution. The primary crusher is a 36 by 25 inch jaw crusher which is in
an open circuit and crushes the ROM ore from ±150mm to less 100mm. Feed is then introduced
on the apron feeder using front end loaders. The jaw crusher is then fed with the apron feeder. As
feed is driven towards the crusher, water is sprayed on the stream body and the extractor fan is
switched on so as to reduce the levels of dust in the plant. The crusher discharge will fall on
conveyor belt number 2 before being passed to conveyor belt number 3. It is then introduced on a
scalping screen which was once a decoupling screen. The undersize stream of the screen which is
(<28mm) is conveyed to the ore bin by conveyor belt number 4, while the remaining stream
which is the oversize comprising of (>28mm) particles is then conveyed to a chute pad using
conveyor belt number 5. As a result of vibration and barring the feed is drawn from the chute pad
to conveyor belt number 6, then conveyor7.
Secondary crushing
Secondary crushing is in a closed circuit. From conveyor belt number 7 feed is then introduced
on the primary screen where, the undersize (<50mm) drops onto conveyor belt number 10
through a launder and the oversize material (>50mm) goes on to conveyor belt number 8 where
hand sorting of particular species is done before being passed on to conveyor belt number 9.
Hand sorting is performed as a result of different rocks containing different mineral
compositions. Rocks rich in pollucite, lepidolite and petalite are handpicked and stored in
hoppers temporarily until they are transported to their respective stockpiles for later processing
on their own.. Conveyor 9 then feeds the Symons crusher which will be discharging on conveyor
belt 10 at an average of (28mm) particle size. Therefore the primary screen undersize stream and
the Symons crusher discharge combine on conveyor 10 and is introduced on the secondary
screen with a 28mm aperture size. The oversize is conveyed back to the crushing circuit by
conveyor belt 11which passes under a magnet and feeds the Cone crusher hence the crusher’s
discharge joins the secondary screen feed on conveyor belt 10. The undersize stream of the
secondary screen is then conveyed to the ore bin by conveyor belt 12 where it combines with the
discharge of the scalping screen. From the ore bin, the throughput then forms a stockpile by

either conveyor belt number 13 or 14 depending on the ore being processed .Mostly, ROM ore
forms a stockpile from conveyor 13 and hand sorted ore forms a stockpile from conveyor 14.
2.6.2 Control philosophy

There is an instrumentation concept of system interlock which is technically defined as a logic
condition thus the plant startup and shut down. The plant is therefore started from the last
equipment to the first. The order of starting up the primary section is;
First start the siren on the startup of each equipment, so as to alarm everyone for safety
measures. Startup heavy duty jaw crusher, Conveyor 5, conveyor 4, Vibrating scalping screen
Conveyor 3, conveyor 2, Oil pump, apron feeder then lastly the extracting fan.
Secondary section startup
Oil pump for the cone crusher, cone crusher, Symons cone crusher, Conveyor 13, conveyor 12
Secondary screen, Conveyor 10, conveyor 11, vibro for C11,Conveyor 9, conveyor 8, Primary
screen, conveyor 7, Conveyor 6, vibro feeder
Area of concern Reason

Level sensors Level sensors are installed in the surge bin
in order to maximize the screening efficiency
so the feed rate on conveyor belt number 7
will either be increased or decreased.
A level sensor is also installed on the cone
crusher to avoid the crusher chock-up due to
overflow.

Conveyor belt interlock Conveyor belts are interlocked in such a

way that you start switching on from
conveyor belt number 13 or 14 to belt
number 1 in order to avoid chock-ups
Crushers are isolated because they are
regarded as heavy duty machines so they
require much energy before feed is introduced
so they are usually turned on before crushing
takes place
Use of trip wires This is done in order to avoid chock-ups

For safety reasons
Use of warning sirens To alert people when moving machinery
is being switched on
Use of emergency stops To avoid plant chock-ups
control philosophy measures at the reduction plant
2.2EXPERIENCE GAINED
 Determination of screening efficiency and crushing efficiency
 There are a number of conveyor belts in the plant and these are supposed to be at a
certain angle in order to convey the ore to the designated area. I learnt how to calculate
these angles and to calculate the speed of each belt.
 During my working period in the plant I was able to identify the different types of
lithium based rocks. Hand sorting experience
Mineral Reason for sorting

Feldspar Feldspar is a major contaminate to our final petalite mineral product,
the reason being it is a near density to petalite thu of it is
complicated to separate at the Dense medium circuit

Petalite A product type called Low Alkaline petalite, needs to have very low
alkaline content thus is produced form pure petalite
Spodumene The product has high lithium values and can be sold straight from
hand sorting
Lepidolite Has high tantalite values, thus pure lepidolite is hand sorted form
ROM ore, and processed through the Ta plant
2.3OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES
 A manual system is used to control the comminution process thereby making it hard
to control the system.
 Off tracking of belts which generates too much spillages.
 Energy waste by running of primary jaw crusher to feed -120mm Ex-reduction
material.
2.4RECOMMENDATIONS
 There is need of a 28 mm grizzly screen to be placed just before the jaw crusher -28 mm
particles can be separated and conveyed to DMS feed stockpile before it enters the
crusher. This would prevent the production of excessive fines, hence spillage and the
risky of choked crushing.
 The recently installed weightometer is on a very steep gradient which can affect the
gadget readings, consider a level area for efficiency.
 Use of electric crane to remove boulders from choked jaw crusher
 Installation of the weight meter for conveyor belt number 3 and conveyor belt number 4
so as to measure the throughput.
 Introduction of water spray on the scalping screen so as to reduce dust.
 Improvement of the drainage system around the plant to minimize downtime as a result
of excessive rain


CHAPTER 3: DMS PLANTS
3.1 Background of the DMS plants

After communition ore (-28mm) goes for separation at the DMS1 and DMS2 plants at Bikita
Minerals. Dense medium separation (DMS) also called heavy medium separation (HMS), sorts’
particles on the basis of their apparent density relative to that of a carrying medium. DMS1 plant
was the first one to be set up in 1983 to separate ore of size ranging from +2mm to -28mm. After
a series of test works, it was discovered that there are a lot of fines generated during the
comminution process and these fines have a high grade of lithium. Therefore it was necessary to
set up a new DMS plant (DMS2) which processes fines (2mm-6mm) since separation is based on
density differences not differences in particle size. Therefore the DMS2 plant was set up in 2017
and it receives its feed from ex dumps (-19mm) and from the undersize of the feed preparation
screen of DMS1.This chapter mainly focuses on the objectives, SHE aspects, process flow
description and the major equipment of the DMS1 and 2 plants.
3.2 Objectives of the DMS Plants

 To separate targeted minerals using differences in density.
 To pre-concentrate the mineral for downstream processes (milling)
 To produce a finished marketable product which falls in specification of the

customer(HAP,LAP,STD PET)

3.3 SHEQ ISSES

Safety
Working on heights (Spigot lining Falling from heights Raise the height of the hand
measurement) rails along the separating
cyclones.
Wear safety harness
Working at the water receiving ponds area Drowning Wear life jacket
(deep waters) Avoid using the path as a
walkway
Uneven surfaces and blockage of Tripping and falling Clear walk ways and
walkways(accumulation of large leading to body perimeter quickly as
rocks prior to the absence of a injury. possible.
screen at the tunnel conveyor)
Inadequate lighting Body injury and Work cautiously and
bumping concentrate on task at hand
3.2Health
Heavy material Lifting and Handling Back injuries. Follow correct working
(pushing the swinging conveyor belt) procedure.
Request for mechanical
assistance
Noise Hearing impairment Wear hearing protection (ear
(Failure to hear plug or muffs).
instructions) Monitor noise levels around
Eardrum damages the plant


Dense media separation (DMS) method separate particles based on the differences in their
specific gravity (SG) values and their relative movement within a natural or applied gravitational
force. In Dense Media separation lighter particles float and heavier particles sink. (Ish Grewal)
Dense medium separation is applicable to any ore in which, after a suitable degree of liberation
by crushing, there is enough difference in specific gravity between the particles to separate those
which will repay the cost of further treatment from those which will not. The process is most
widely applied when the density difference occurs at a coarse particle size, as separation
efficiency decreases with size due to the slower rate of settling of the particles. Particles should
preferably be larger than about 4 mm in diameter, in which case separation can be effective on a
difference in specific gravity of 0.1 or less (Wills 2005)
Dense media separators can be categorised into two groups (Wills & Napier-Munn, 2006),
gravitational (static) and centrifugal (dynamic). In gravitational units, the feed and medium are
introduced into the vessel and the mixture is gently agitated to maintain a fluidised bed. The less
dense minerals float to the top of the liquid level and are removed by overflow or a paddle, while
sink removal methods vary depending on the type of separating vessel. The most common
gravitational units include the Wemco Drum, Drewboy and Norwalt (Wills & Napier-Munn,
2006).
Centrifugal units utilise high speed and tangential pumping to create a vortex within the vessel.
Any mineral with a higher density than the medium will be subject to greater centrifugal forces
and be pulled to the outer edge of the vortex, while any lower density mineral will remain at the
centre of the vortex. The centre vortex generates a suction that extracts the less dense particles.
The different products are removed through separate discharge lines. There are many different
centrifugal vessels used in the mineral beneficiation industry; however, the two most common
vessels are the Dutch State Mines (DSM) cyclone and the Tri-Flo type multi-stage dense media
separator. The "Condor” multi-stage separator is based on the Tri-Flo design but with an involute
medium inlet.
DMS processes offer some advantages over the other beneficiation processes (England et al,
2002):

 DMS have the ability to make sharp separations at any required relative density. A high
degree of efficiency can be achieved even in the presence of high percentages of near
density material (minerals ±0.1 relative density units of the cut point).
 The separating density can be closely controlled i.e. within a relative density of 0,005 and
can be maintained under normal conditions for indefinite periods.
 The relative density and thereby the cut point, can be changed at will and fairly quickly to
meet varying requirements.
 A wide range of sizes (+0.1mm – 150mm) can be handled (each size range in different
units).
 Fluctuations in quality and quantity of feed can be handled with ease within the limits of
the product-handling capacity of units.
Media
Because of impracticalities and cost effectiveness, there are currently no heavy liquids that can
be used in a full scale production plant. Thus, an artificial heavy liquid is created by suspending
a fine high density powder in water. This mixture is called the heavy medium. To create a stable
and efficient suspension of heavy media that can be used in DMS, the solid particles must have
specific properties.
They must be:
 dense and finely ground to be able to mimic a fluidised bed when agitated
 resistant to corrosion and degradation to prevent increases in viscosity during operation
 easily recoverable from a washing circuit after exiting the vessel (Wills & Napier-Munn,
2006).
Currently, the most commonly used materials for creating dense medium slurries are ferrosilicon
and magnetite. Both materials can produce suspensions that can be efficiently used in DMS and
have the benefit of being easily recoverable by magnetic separation. Ferrosilicon has a higher
specific density (6.8 g/cm3) than magnetite (4.5 g/cm3) and can therefore produce a higher range

of relative medium densities. However, ferrosilicon is more expensive and finds use primarily
when the higher separation densities are required.
3.4 Major equipment used at the DMS Plants

Major equipment used at Bikita minerals include cyclones, screens, drum magnets spiral
classifier, and demagnetizing coil,
3.4.1 Cyclone
Figure 7: separating cyclones (BIKITA)
Figure 8:labelled diagram of a

cyclone(Source:B.A Wills 2005)

C420 cyclones are used at the DMS 1 at Bikita Minerals and they separate at a pressure of
80Kpa. The spigot size is 102mm for cyclone 1 and 90mm for cyclone 2 CL350 cyclones are
used at the DMS 2 and they separate at a pressure of 3.4 bars The spigot size is 124mm for
cyclone 1 and 125mm for cyclone 2.
Working principle
Feed is introduced under pressure through the tangential inlet generating a vortex with a low
pressure zone along the vertical axis. The particles in the feed are subjected to two opposing
forces i.e. outward centrifugal force and inward dragging force. The centrifugal force accelerates
the settling rate of the particles thereby separating according to size and density. Heavier and fast
settling particles move to the wall where velocity is lowest and migrate to the apex or spigot as
underflow.
The drag force pushes slower settling particles to the zone of low pressure along the vertical axis
where they are forced upwards through the vortex finder and report to the overflow. Because of
the very high centrifugal forces inside the separating cyclones vertical or horizontal installation
orientation has no effect on separation
Low head vibrating screens
Figure 9: Low head vibrating screen and motion head

These types of screens are called the low head vibrating screens. There is a motion head which
is mounted on top and joined to the body of the screen. The weights in the motion head are
eccentric resulting in vibrations when the head is in motion. Due to the law of transmissibility,
vibrations are transferred to the screen. There are springs joined to the screen which return an
equal but opposite force to the screen thereby enhancing vibration.
A drain and rinse screen is used at the DMS 1 and it is 1.3×5.1 mm single deck screen fitted with
0.8screen panels and the feed preparation screen has 2mm screen panels and the float and sink
screen is fitted with 0.8 mm screen panels. At DMS 2 there are 3 screens at DMS which are fines
feed preparation screen which is a 2.4× 1.8m single deck vibrating screen mounted with 0.8mm
screen panels. The drain and rinse 5.5 × 2.45 screens are fitted with 0.8mm screen panels. Lastly
there is desliming screen1.3×4.3m single deck vibrating screen which is fitted with 0.8mm
screen panels.
Drum magnets
Figure 10: drum magnet at DMS2 (Bikita minerals )

Figure 11:labelled diagram of a drum magnet ( Source B.A Wills 2005)
There is primary and secondary magnet at DMS 1 are drum magnets which have stationery
magnetic assembly inside this traps the magnetite. The secondary magnet has a capacity of
1400rpm and a size of 915×610 mm. The primary magnet is of a size 915×1220mm and has a
capacity of 1400rpm. It is driven by a 1.5 KW motor.
At DMS 2 there is only 1 drum magnet Its size is 1015×1220mm and 1500rpm capacity and is
coupled with a 2.2kw motor with an AC supply of 550V.
Working principle
Separation is by the "pick-up" principle. Magnetic particles are lifted by the magnets and pinned
to the drum and are conveyed out of the field, leaving the gangue. There is a water bathe
introduced to provide a current which keeps the pulp in suspension
Demagnetizing coil
Demagnetizing coil is the best when the magnetic material has low coercivity, the alternating
field is of high frequency, the fluid is of high viscosity, and the particles are irregularly shaped.
The magnetite from the secondary magnet is demagnetized so as to ensure non-flocculated,
uniform suspension

Spiral classifier
Figure 12: Spiral classifier at Bikita Minerals
Figure 13: Showing principle of operation of a spiral classifier( Source B Wills 2005)
Working principle

Spiral classifier uses a continuously revolving spiral to move the sands up the slope. They can be
operated at steeper slopes. Steeper slopes aid the drainage of the feed, giving a cleaner, drier
product. Agitation in the pool is less which is important in separations of very fine material.
The size at which the separation is made and the quality of the separation depend on a number
of factors. Increasing the feed rate increases the horizontal carrying velocity and thus increases
the size of particle leaving in the overflow. The feed should not be introduced directly into the
pool, as this causes agitation and releases coarse material from the hindered-settling zone, which
may report to the overflow.

3.5 PROCESS FLOW OF THE DMS PLANTS
Figure 14: DMS1 Process Flow Diagram

3.5.1 DMS1 process flow description

There are four vibro feeders which are used interchangeably to introduce feed into the system.
Ore from the Reduction stock pile is drawn by one of the vibro feeders to the feed preparation
screen by conveyor 1.The feed preparation screen, de-slimes the feed as very fine material retain
a lot of moisture which reduces the medium S.G. Currently the screen is fitted with 2mm screen
panels however, this is not always the case as the panels can be changed to suit the company’s
requirements and targets (recently 6mm panels were being used). The undersize stream (-2mm)
is washed down the screen deck and therefore pumped to the fines screen to constitute the DMS2
feed. The oversize stream is discharged to conveyor belt 2 via a launder. The DMS1 plant has a
maximum capacity of 85 tonnes/hour. Anything above that will lead into a choke up and
anything fundamentally low will result in inefficient separation (roping at the spigot discharge).
Controlling of the feed rate is done by making adjustments on the operational vibro feeder.
The oversize of the de-slimming screen is then conveyed by conveyor belt2 to the DMS1 wing
tank. At the wing tank (mixing box) the feed is then mixed with the media (Magnetite) which is
pumped from the dense media sump. The set point is not fixed, determination of the set point
depends on the type of ore being fed. If the ore type from the pits contains a lot of feldspar (the
near density of petalite) then the set point is lowered a bit to allow it to sink at the same time if
petalite seems to be appearing in the sinks stream the set point is raised for it to report to the
floats stream. The feed medium mostly ranges from 2.25 up to 2.48 kg/m 3 with the differentials
between the sinks and the floats ranging from 0.7 to 1.1. The medium and ore mixture is then fed
into the cyclones at a pressure of 80 Kpa enhanced by force of gravity. Separation occurs in the
cyclones such that minerals with S.G greater than set point are discharged from the cyclone from
the sink side as underflow and the lighter mineral, which is the required product (petalite), exits
the cyclone from the float side as overflow. The sinks are then conveyed to the sinks stock pile
by conveyor belt 8 or alternatively ferried by conveyor belt 9 into a recycle bin for further
processing after they are washed off media on a drain and rinse screen. The floats (usually
standard petalite) are drawn to a drain and rinse screen via a launder for media washing. The
product is then ferried by conveyor belt3 onto conveyor belt4 and finally to conveyor belt5
before forming a stockpile.

Media circuit for DMS 1

Coarse and fine magnetite from Dorowa is used in the DMS1 plant. The circulating media from
the dense sump is mixed with the feed at the wing tank (mixing box) at the 2 nd floor. Although
fine magnetite easily loses its quality due to corrosion by abrasion against the coarse feed
particles (28mm), it is easier to handle since it mixes faster with water to reach the required S.G
faster than coarse magnetite. The mixture is then drawn through two pipes which introduces the
ore media into the separating cyclones under the force of gravity. In the cyclones, media is then
partitioned into two categories that is the overflow and the underflow. The lighter media exits
with the overflow whilst heavier media exits with the underflow. The underflow is discharged to
the sinks screen and the overflow to the floats screen. These screens are fitted with 0.8mm
aperture size to allow media to pass through. On the drain side, that is the screens’ undersize just
before the water sprays, media is collected into the dense sump since it is still concentrated and
the density of the media is still high. The dense medium sump is also called the correct medium
sump since it contains the required density. Media which passes through the floats screen and the
sinks screen after the water sprays is collected into the dilute sump. These sumps are
continuously agitated to prevent the settling and solidifying of magnetite. The dilute media is
then pumped from the dilute sump to the primary magnet for recovery of magnetite. The wet
drum magnet then attracts the magnetite before it is scrapped off by a rubber scrapper and drawn
to the dense sump through a pipe via a demagnetizing coil. Test works proved that all the media
is not recovered from the primary wet drum effluent so then, the mixture is pumped to the dilute
cyclone for separation and thickening since the drum is more efficient when processing
concentrated magnetite. The underflow of the cyclone is discharged onto the secondary magnet
for further media recovery whilst the overflow is pumped to the classifier. The media recovered
by the secondary drum is passed through a demagnetizing coil before reporting to the dense
sump. Media density correction is achieved by adding or containing water either manually or
automatically

DMS 2 Circuit
Vibro feeder
DMS1 desliming screen underflow
Decoupling screen Media header box
media(FeSi )
Cyclone feed Ore +media
Feed prep 2 splitter
Water
Magnetic separator
Desliming screen Cyclone 1 Cyclone 2
Mixing box
Demagnetizing coil
Static screen
densifier Static screen
Sink screen
Float screen
Magnetic separator feed pump Dilute media tank Correct media tank
Figure 15:DMS 2 Process Flow Diagram
3.5.2 DMS2 process flow description

The feed is transported by a dump truck from the fines ex-dumps to the stock pad and the feed is
drawn by a vibro feeder onto the tunnel conveyor .The feed is discharged onto the 19mm screen.
The oversize is conveyed by the conveyor to the oversize stockpile. The undersize (-19mm) is
conveyed by fines feed conveyor belt to the feed preparation screen (0.8mm).The undersize is
washed down and pumped to the thickener. The oversize from the feed preparation screen is

conveyed by the transfer conveyor onto the desliming screen fitted with 0.8mm screen panels.
The desliming screen undersize is pumped to the thickener for water reclamation.
The oversize from the desliming screen is discharged into the mixing box where ore and media
(magnetite and ferrosilicon) are mixed. The set point is not fixed; it is determined by the type of
ore that is being fed into the plant. The feed medium usually ranges from 2.28 to 2.3 kg/m 3 and
the difference between the sinks and floats ranges from 0.5 to 0.7.The media and ore mixture is
fed to the cyclones at a pressure of 3.8 bars. The minerals with greater S.G than the set point are
discharged as underflow (sinks) and the less dense is discharged as overflow (floats) and it is
introduced to the drain and rinse double screen. Then they are conveyed by the conveyor belts to
form sink stockpile and float stockpile.
Media circuit for DMS 2

DMS 2 plant uses fine magnetite (Martin and Robson) and ferrosilicon is used. Media is
pumped to the header box from the correct media tank. The media is introduced to the mixing
box via the two pipes. From the mixing box the media is pumped to the cyclones.
The media from the float and sink screen drain side goes to the correct media tank since it has
the required density. The media from the rinse side of the screen goes to the dilute media sump.
The media from the dilute media sump is pumped to the magnetic separator for magnetite
recovery. The recovered magnetite passes through a demagnetizing coil so as to remove the
magnetic field and it goes to the correct media tank. The media is pumped from the correct
media tank to the densifier for thickening, the underflow goes back to the correct media tank and
the overflow goes to the dilute media sump.
3.5.3 PROCESS MONITORING AND PRODUCT QUALITY CONTROL

For the desired product to be produced constant checks should be made to make sure that all
parameters affecting the separation are on the right position. This is very crucial since any
deviation in the set parameters will result in low recovery coupled with low yield as well. Plant
operators, geology department, engineering department and Met Services department work in
combination to achieve this ultimate goal.
Physical Determination

This is usually done by the geology department or plant operators on the sinks material. A
sample is collected on the sinks material then petalite ore is hand sorted. The percentage loss of
petalite is determined; if there is loss measures are taken to minimize the losses.
Sample Collection
A collection sample bin is fitted underneath the conveyor belt 3 to cut floats sample it interval.
The composite sample for each shift is then collected for assaying at the Assay Lab. The assay
results conclude whether the product for each shift lies within the specifications required.
Media loss in Effluent
Tests are carried once every day to check on media loss in the effluent from the secondary drum
magnet.
Table 1: Showing Media loss in Effluent
DMS 1
Date Bucket Volume(l) Mass Of Media (g) Mass of Grits (g) % Media %Grits Media Loss (g/l)
12/3/2018 20 1 70 1% 99% 0.05
12/4/2018 20 2 28 7% 93% 0.1
12/5/2018 20 2 17 11% 89% 0.1
12/6/2018 20 2 15 12% 88% 0.1
12/10/2018 20 4 91 4% 96% 0.2
12/11/2018 20 3 72 4% 96% 0.15
12/12/2018 20 1 13 7% 93% 0.05
12/14/2018 20 2 49 4% 96% 0.1
12/17/2018 20 9 821 1% 99% 0.45
12/18/2018 20 3 75 4% 96% 0.15
1/7/2019 20 7 57 11% 89% 0.35
1/8/2019 20 3 16 16% 84% 0.15
1/9/2019 20 4 31 11% 89% 0.2
1/11/2019 20 10 39 20% 80% 0.5
1/14/2019 20 3 66 4% 96% 0.15
1/15/2019 20 2 44 4% 96% 0.1
1/16/2019 20 5 79 6% 94% 0.25
1/18/2019 20 7 187 4% 96% 0.35
Spigot measurement
Due to the friction of the material exiting the cyclone, the spigots wear which result in diameter
increase. The increase in diameter is undesirable because it disturbs the effectiveness of the

separation within the cyclone. It is therefore of necessity to constantly determine the spigots
diameter so that worn out spigots can be replaced. This checkup is done once every week.
Table 2: Showing spigots' diameter
DMS 1Cyclone Measurements

Spigot Measurements
Date of installation Date of Inspection
Cyclone I/Diameter horizontal (mm) I/Diameter Vertical (Y) (mm)
DMS1/1 95 95
29/11/2018 @95mm 11/29/2018
DMS1/2 95 95
DMS1/1 95 95
12/7/2018
DMS1/2 95 95
DMS1/1 97 96
12/13/2018
DMS1/2 99 100
DMS1/1 97 97
12/20/2018
DMS1/2 100 103
DMS1/1 95 95
10/1/2019 @95mm 1/10/2019
DMS1/2 95 95
DMS1/1 95 95
1/17/2019
DMS1/2 96 96
3.5.4 AUTOMATION, INTERLOCKING and INSTRUMENTATION
Conveyor interlocking and plant startup

In normal operation, the conveyor will operate in an interlocked mode. This ensures that, as the
conveyor is started, the single flights in a conveyor system will each start when the conveyor
ahead of it has reached a critical target speed. Belt slip, belt splice and belt rip detection as well
as running at the torque limit have an influence on the interlocking of the upstream conveyor.
When in interlocked mode, the whole conveyor system is controlled from a central control point
The conveyor interlock system is installed at DMS1 therefore when starting the plant the
following sequence is done and vice versa when shutting it down: Water pump- Demagnetizing
coil -Primary magnet- secondary magnet- Dilute Media Sump-Dilute cyclone - Double screens-
Conveyor belt 5- Conveyor belt 4- Conveyor belt 3- conveyor belt 8-Spiral classifier- Conveyor
belt 7- Dense media sump- Thickening sump - S.G correction- Conveyor belt2- Feed preparation

screen- Conveyor belt 1.Therefore switching off conveyor belt5 will ensure that all the preceding
conveyor belts stop.
At DMS 2 there is no conveyor interlock but the startup procedure is as follows: Float conveyor
belt- sinks conveyor belt – double screen (float and sink)- densifier feed pump – magnetic
separator –magnetic separator feed pump –desliming screen – media feed pump – cyclone feed
pump – check that the media is circulating through the media header box and mixing box. Start
the transfer conveyor – DMS feed preparation screen- desliming screen underflow pump- feed
preparation screen 2- opening the main water pump- opening the slurry valve from the DMS1
feed prep screen- scalping screen- fines feed conveyor- tunnel conveyor –fines feed vibratory
feeder –adjustment of the speed vibratory feeder to match rate set point
Instrumentation and Automation

Devices that automatically record and adjust process flow are installed at the DMS plants which
aid in effective separation and process optimization these instruments include CVB weight
meters, motorized valve, densometer (density gauge), and pressure gauges
Pressure gauges
At Bikita minerals pressure gauges are installed on DMS1 cyclone 1 and 2, these are used to
measure cyclone pressure. The gauges consist of a diaphragm, vacuum and a sensor. As the
stones mixed with media hit the diaphragm, it closes up the vacuum and reopens the sensor then
senses the contraction and expansion and changes that to an electric signal which ranges from 4-
200(mA). The electrical signal is then converted to pressure readings and recorded at the
Paperless Recoder (Graphical Recoder).pressure recorded ranges from 0-200(Kpa)
Density meter and motorized valve

These 2 components work hand in hand, densometer measures the density and relays the set
point to the motorized valve which then controls the density by controlling the amount of water
in the media. The densometer reads the density by emitting gamma rays through the media, on
the opposite side of the emitter is a sensor which reads the rays that would have not been
absorbed by the media. The sensor then sends a signal to the PID controller (Proportional gain
Integral Differential controller) which then sends the message to the actuator of the motorized
valve weather to open or close thereby maintaining the setpoint.

Motorized valves are particularly suitable for controlling the volume flow rate of liquid fluids.
The flat rotary slide disc design of ASCO’s motorised control valves works similar to that of a
single-lever water tap known from sanitary applications. But, instead of the manual lever, a
motor is used to provide continuous adjustment of the volume flow between the “fully closed”
and the “fully open” positions (0-100%). The throttling element itself consists of two ceramic
discs which are adjusted in opposite rotation to each other over an axis and an electric motor
with drive. A generally triangular-shaped aperture is maintained over the angle of rotation during
regulation, providing a virtually linear flow characteristic. The ceramic discs are wear resistant
and insensitive to contamination. A low-power electric DC motor is used so the valve is directly
controlled from the electronics. A built-in rotary potentiometer detects the feedback. The
motorised valve is equipped with an internal PID controller to control the valve‘s position which
is held on loss of power (fail-safe behavior).
Weight meters
These are used in measuring belt speed and weight and therefore are able to calculate feed rates
into the plants. They consist of load cells and a tachometer. Different loads on the belt give rise
to different resistances on the load cells which in turn give different voltage readings, the voltage
readings are the ones that are converted to weight readings. The tachometer generates electrical
signals by the movement of the conveyor belts and the electrical signals are converted to speed
readings, thus having speed and weight the weight meter can calculate feed rate.
3.6 EXPERIENCE GAINED

There are certain types of pumps used to pump fluids depending on the nature of the fluid in
the plant. I learnt that a Warman centrifugal pump is used to pump slurry and mono pumps
are used in the case of clear water. I gained more experience on how to carry out mass
balances in this section of the plant using a weight meter, density gauge and a motorized
valve. I also gained experience on determination of the separating density by use of tracer
testing and also heavy liquid separation at lab scale.

3.7 OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES

There were occasional choke ups in the cyclone separators due to large rocks (+28mm)
escaping through the feed preparation box screens. Insufficient water in the drum magnets
will result in loss of the media (magnetite) and it would report to conveyor 10 stock pad.
Trouble shooting
Problem Cause Mitigation
Cyclone choke-ups  High feed rate causes  Hosing via the
build up at the spigots inspection chamber
 Appearance of oversize
material in the cyclones
lead to the blockage of
the spigots.
Fluctuations in feed on the  Depletion of ore directly  Request for ore feeding
feed preparation screen oriented to the vibro by a front end loader
feeder
Screen blockage, no proper  Type of ore being treated  De-blind the screen to
draining  Contamination by fine maintain the aperture
particles size
Inadequate water supply on  Water valves not opened  Ensure water valves are
the screens and drum magnets  Water pressure too low open.
 Spray nozzles blocked  Verify water pressure
 Unblock spray nozzles
Effluent and thickener  Holes in screen panels  Check condition of screen

pipeline choke-up panels and rectify
Rejects reporting to the  Operating at a relatively  Lower the S.G set point
product stream (contaminants high S.G  Perform hand sorting
floating)  Automation system not
functional
Product being rejected (std  Operating at a low S.G  Raise the S.G set point
pet reporting to sinks)  Inadequate media in the  Charge media
plant to meet the set point

Dense meter malfunctioning  System loses memory due  Request for calibration
to power cut from the instruments
department
3.4 RECOMMENDATIONS
 A 4/3 inches centrifugal pump is needed to pump out slimes from the pond. The
current pump is a size 3/2 and takes the whole day to pump out slimes from these
ponds.
 The manually driven hoist crane on the thickener ponds need to be replaced with an
electric hoist to reduce the danger of someone falling into the ponds trying to hook
the pump to the crane. It will also help reduce the amount of time taken to mount the
pump on the right position.
 Consider casting concrete band wall for the ponds since this will minimize water
loss through percolation and seepage to the underground.
 Sampling methods and technique, fines grab least effective
 Installing an interlock system on pumps and conveyor belts

CHAPTER FOUR: DENSE MEDIA SEPARATION THICKENER PLANT
4.0 INTRODUCTION
The Dense Media Separation plant uses a lot of water hence recycling of the water is
required. In order to achieve this, the thickening process is being used. This is a method of
extracting water from high solids slurries. The thickening process depends on gravity acting
on the density difference between the solid particles and water, enabling the solid particles
to settle. As the solids concentration of the slurry increases, the settling rate progressively
slows and above a critical solids concentration known as the gel point (30% solids) Ig, the
slurry exhibits a network structure and forms a bed at the base of the vessel. The solid
particles (slimes) exits through the discharge hole at the bottom of the tank and then pumped
to the slimes dam.
4.1MAJOR EQUIPMENT
Thickener tank

Figure 16: Thickener tank and principle of operation
The tank has a volume of 70m3 and comprises of rakes which help pull the settled solids to
the center of the tank. As the rakes travel through the mud, this plays an additional
important role in disturbing the mud and releasing additional water retained by the settled
solids. The thickener operates continuously.
Flocculant tank
The flocculant is senfloc 2550 which is an anionic polyacrylamide and sometimes drillfloc
(Al2SO4) which is dissolved in water and this is carried out in a small tank which is

continuously stirred by a shaft connected to a motor. The flowrate of water into the tank
should be equal to the flowrate of the solution out of the tank, thereby maintaining the same
level of solution in the tank. The dosage of the flocculant is determined by the clearness of
the water that flows into the overflow reclaim sump.
Overflow reclaim sump

This is where the clean water is temporarily stored before it is pumped by the reclaim pumps
to the ponds. A level controller inside the sump automatically controls the operation of the
pumps.

4.2Process flow diagram
E-3
Tailings to thickener
Tailings to thigkener
E-4
E-1
borehole
E-8
E-5
Slimes dam E-2
E-7
E-6
Reclaim ponds
Equipment List
Displayed Text Description
E-1 thickener tank
E-2 overflow tank
E-3 flocculant tank
E-9
E-4 reclaim centrifugal pump 1
E-5 reclaim centrifugal pump 2
E-6 slimes centrifugal pump 2
E-7 slimes centrifugal pump 1 Water to plant
E-8 borehole mono pump
E-9 centrifugal water pump
Figure 17: DMS thickener process flow diagram
Figure 14: Thickener plant
4.2.2Process description
Tailings are pumped to the thickener tank which is 70m3 in size. A launder at the top of the
tank directs the tailings to the center where the flocculent is discharged. This flocculent is
prepared in a flocculent tank (continuously stirred tank) which is also mounted above the
thickener tank. The amount of flocculent used is determined by the amount of solids in the
tailings. The slimes settle at the bottom of the tank and then pumped by the two slimes
pumps to the slimes dam. The clean water discharges into the 10.53m 3 overflow tank .Two

reclaim centrifugal pumps of size 80/200 take the water to the ponds and a certain level
must be maintained for the DMS plant to get sufficient supply of water. A Marcy pulp
density gauge is used to determine the percentage solids in the pulp. At 30% and below the
pulp can be recycled and anything above this value is pumped to the slimes dam. The
amount of solids in the thickener is translated by a torque measurement which is taken from
a spring-loaded piece of electrical equipment. An arrow pointing to figures 0-4 indicates the
amount of solids and if it measures outside the set point a siren is triggered.
The amount of solids in the water from the DMS plant determines the amount of flocculant
to be used and also whether to recycle or dispose the water to the slimes dam. The flow rate
of water into the flocculant tank should be the same as that of water (flocculant laden)
leaving the flocculant tank.
4.4OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES
Sometimes the amount of solids is too high resulting in large amounts of flocculant being
used to clean the water. The clarity of the water is difficult to measure using eyesight .
There are also occasional choke ups due to buildup of slimes in the pipes.
4.5RECOMMENDATIONS
 To determine flocculant dosing rate for each feed source
 An automated control system is required to monitor the flow of slimes to the
slimes dam in order to minimize the chances of choke ups which occur unexpectedly

CHAPTER FIVE: DRY GRINDING PLANTS

5.0 Background
Bikita minerals runs two dry grinding plants, DGP1 and DGP 2. DGP1 which was set up in
1983 and DGP 2 which configured in the year 2002. These dry grinding plants receive
their feed from the DMS plant and grind the feed to different mesh sizes for packaging and
dispatch. Two grinding plants are used in order to increase production rate as well as to
prevent contamination of products as it takes a long time for the circuit to be completely
free of a previously grinded product. Product accumulates in filter bags in the bag filter
chamber and most contamination is thus expected in the bag filter chamber. As a result of
this phenomena DGP2 is mainly used for grinding Sqi and pollucite whilst DGP 1 is for
grinding petalite.
5.1.1Objectives of Section
 To grind product from both DMS 1 and 2 (-28 and -19mm) into the final product
which includes:
- Standard petalite 35# (Schott), 52#(Bott), 80#,200#
- Low alkaline petalite 35#(Schott),52#(Bott).,
- Vitroflux A180(standard petalite 80#),
- Glass grade petalite 52#, GINPO (low alkali petalite 80#).
 To produce a product which conforms with customer specifications that is Lithium
content and very low Iron content. For example 52 mesh products should have at
most 0.09% iron 2O in the range 7-7.65 % .
5.2 SHEQ Issues

Safety is of paramount importance in the DGP plants. The gas that is used in the DGP
plant contains carbon monoxide formed in incomplete combustion of charcoal. This
carbon monoxide is harmful when inhaled even in small concentrations as it combines
irreversibly with haemoglobin in blood resulting in inadequate oxygen transportation.
Carbon monoxide poisoning may result in death. There is a lot of noise at the DGP
plant( 90.7db). Too much noise can result in loss of hearing. Ear plugs are worn to prevent

this. Dust also result from very fine product at the vortex screen. Dust masks are used to
prevent inhalation of dust as this may result in respiratory diseases.
Safety
Flying particles of ore Eye injury Wear protective googles
Fire outbreak at electric Injuries on the personnel Fire extinguishers are at the
motor accessible areas
Health
Dust Pneumoniosis Wear a respirator /dust mask
Noise of the mill and screen Loss of hearing Wear ear plugs
Environment
Noise pollution Loss of hearing Lubrication of the machines
Grinding is the last stage of the comminution process. It is a complex process as it involves
close monitoring of plant settings in order to prevent overgrinding and under grinding.
Grinding.
Grinding is done in order to reduce the size of particles to powders. This is done so as to increase
mineral liberation for downstream separation processes like floatation or leaching. However, in
other process flows like in the Bikita minerals process flow which does not involve further
separation, grinding is the last stage of mineral processing before packaging of the concentrate.
Grinding is achieved through the introduction of compressive forces and abrasive forces on the
material to be grinded.
Grinding mechanisms
Grinding occurs due to a combination of compressive and abrasive forces on ore particles
(Wills, 2006). Compression occurs when a force is exerted normal to the surface of the ore

particle until the shape of the particle is distorted beyond its elastic limit Abrasive forces
are exerted parallel to the ore surface as shown below.
Compression Abrasion
5.4Major Equipment
Grinding Mill
The grinding mill that is being used in the Bikita minerals dry grinding plant is called a Loesche
Mill (LM 12.2D). It is a cylindrically shaped mill with internal lining walls made of cast steel.
The feed inlet has double flaps which open and close for the control of feed rate. There is a feed
distribution pot at the base of the mill and two wheels made of cast steel. These wheels are
mounted on a rotating table as shown below.
Figure 18:Internal structure of a Loesche Mill showing wheels , rotating table and distribution pots (BM)

As the feed enters the mill it gets onto the feed distribution pot on the rotating table. Due to the
centrifugal force created by rotation coarse particles are moved further to the edges of the table
where they are grinded by the wheels. Grinding is carried out primarily through the application
of compressive force. A small amount of shear force supports the displacement of crystalline
layers in the raw material. This effect occurs through conical rollers whose axes are inclined at
15° compared to the horizontal grinding track. This permits ideal fine grinding and at the same
time ensures minimum wear. To control the grind, the gap between the rotating table and the
roller is adjustable. Wheels can be lowered to produce fine product and raised to produce coarser
products. As they rotate they crush coarse material as shown above. The mill works with a hydro
pneumatic spring system in which the pressure that the tyres exert on the feed is caused by the
hydrodynamic pressure. When grinding oil displaced from the cylinders is fed into hydro-
accumulators filled with nitrogen, the load is balanced by interconnecting the hydraulic cylinders
hydraulically. Louvres release a hot air stream moving at a speed of 72m/s. This speed must be
kept above the terminal velocity of the product for it to rise (Sampaolo, 2016). Speeds below the
terminal velocity ( 64m/s) will result in mill choke up. Apart from transportation, the hot air
causes the feed to dry up.
Classifier.

Figure 19: Showing a labeled classifier
After grinding, the product is blown upwards by the hot gas flow into the Loesche air classifier.
This classifier consists of a housing with adjustable vanes and grit return cone, a rotor and a
drive with variable speed to adjust the size of grind which passes to the downstream processes.
The housing can resist pressure shock up to 3.5bars. Classifier chamber has blades which will be
rotating, which control the particle size of exiting product. The classifier produces only one
product stream (undersize) as the grind oversize material falls back into the grinding chamber
where there is further grinding until the product is fine enough to exit through the rotating
blades. Coarse (oversize) particles are recirculated back to the grinding process via the grit cone,
relative to the rotor speed which is set depending on the output size to be produced. A meter is
mounted to the classifier to determine the speed and a handle is provided in the control room to
make adjustments as a high speed leads to a fine product vice versa. . The classifier is usually run
at 150 Amps when processing 52 Mesh products.
The classifier acts as a resistor to pressure of hot air which will be bearing mill product and its
blades help particle back to the centre of the mill if they are too coarse for the set conditions.

Classifier speed is lowered and the gap between tyres and table increased produce coarse
product. Below is a table showing the required classifier speed for grinding different products.
52 mesh 16 rpm
80 mesh 60 rpm
200 mesh 90 rpm
35 mesh 15 rpm
25 mesh 1 rpm
Rotex Screen
The Rotex screen is used in screening the milling product. The screen is made up of a 1mm
screen cloth and a metal casing which prevents dust production during sieving. The screen is
connected to a motor and springs which cause vibrations. The screen motion during vibration is
more of circular at the screen feed inlet, elliptical in the middle and more of horizontal at the
discharge end. These types of movement are essential to maintain contact between the screen
cloth and the particles being screened. . As show below, material enters at top left where it is
distributed over the entire width of the screen surface and conveyed toward the discharge end.
Larger particles remain above the screen surface, while smaller particles pass through, as
determined by the screen openings used for each particular application The screen oversize is
discharged onto conveyor 3 and re-enters the mill together with new feed.

Figure 20: Showing longitudinal view of a rotex screen
Fig 8: Showing the longitudinal view of the rotex screen.
Bag Filter Chamber
The bag filter chamber has a hundred filter bags which are arranged in rows of ten bags as shown
in the picture below;

These bags are for trapping very fine powders. These powders are periodically discharged onto a
screw conveyor located at the base of the bag filter chamber. There is the use of compressed air
which is introduced into the pressure jets which with an electric pulses trembles off the product
from bag filter bags onto the screw conveyor belt. At the same time the dust produced by the
impact is sucked and discarded to the environment by the ducting. The pressure of the
compressed air varies from 0.5-1.5kPa. The bag filters cover a cross-sectional area of 369𝑚2 and
the volumetric flow rate of air is 33000𝑚3/h hence the filter velocity is 89.43m/h.
Loma Heater
Figure 21: longitudinal view of a Loma Heater
1-peforated jacket
2-protective jacket
3-spiral housing 4-burner muffle
5-burner with accessories to suit the fuel used
Air flows into the combustion chamber through the burner and is ignited. A flame is produced as
air flows into the combustion chamber through the openings in the perforated jacket. The high
velocity of air as it flows into the combustion chamber cools the protective jacket. The rated

quantity of heat produced ranges from 2300 to 7540Mj/h depending on requirement. The burner
muffle is made up of Wanki brick refractory material. This muffle prevents overheating of the
burner outer walls.
Air ducting
Ducts are arranged to convey the product and also to return clean air to the system. Air dumpers
are manually operated to control the ratios of exhaust air and fresh air and to balance the system
to give a small negative pressure at the Loma heater. There is negative pressure and positive
pressure created inside the fan. The activity induced by rotation creates a negative pressure on
the suction side as the air rushes to the eye of the impeller hence impacting a positive pressure to
the air stream on the other side of the impeller. The mill differential is the resistance to induced
air by a dynamic rotor which imparts energy into an air stream. It is also the pressure drop
between the pressure before the mill and pressure after the mill.
Fan suction side fan impeller
Venturi
d1 d2
Figure 22:showing air ducting and venturi
A venturi is incorporated in the return air duct prior to the fan to monitor the flow. The Bernoulli
equation can be used in this case as follows:

Since pipe is horizontal
1 1
P1 + ρ v 21=P2 + ρ v 22
2 2
Continuity equation
Q= A 1 v 1=A 2 v 2
Combining the two equations gives
Q=C d A2 ¿ ¿
C d - Coefficient of venturimeter and its value is always less than 1.
Decompression chamber
The decompression chamber is used in the DGP 2 plant instead of a cyclone. It uses the principle
of equation of continuity.
Q= A 1 v 1=A 2 v 2
The chamber has a large cross-sectional area hence when the air stream with the product flows in
from the ducting; its speed is reduced thereby allowing the product more time to settle.
Drum Magnets.
There are 6 drum magnets at the dry grinding plant. Magnet 1 is on top of drum 2 whilst drum 3
is on top of drum 4. The drum magnets trap iron from product. The source of this iron may be
material from the mill wheels.

Fig : Showing drum magnets which are enclosed within the metal case
Heat exchanger
The function of the heat exchanger is to cool oil that is used in lubricating the mill gear box. It is
a counter current shell and tube heat exchanger with capillary tubes inside. Oil from the gearbox
moves through the capillary tubes from the top of the heat exchanger going down and back to the
gearbox. Water enters from the bottom of the gear box going up and back to the bottom of the
exchanger. Most heat exchange between the water and the oil and the water occurs as the water
moves up as this is when water is at its lowest temperature and oil is at a very high temperature.
The heated water is pumped to a pond outside the plant for cooling and re-use. It is very
important to cool gear box oil because as the oil is used for lubricating the gear box, its
temperature rises resulting in a decrease in its viscosity. A decrease in oil viscosity results in
reduced efficiency in lubrication and this causes wear of components of the gearbox due to
abrasion.

Figure 23: showing a counter current shell and tube heat exchanger (BM)
Compressor
There are two compressors which are located near the water pump. Their function is to produce
high pressure of air for use at the bag filter chamber for product discharge. The output pressure is
7.2 bars for each compressor on average and the temperature of compressed air is raised to 80
degrees Celsius. There is the use of both compressors when both plants are running. As air is
compressed there is the condensation of water vapour to produce liquid water. This water is
discharged through a discharge pipe outlet.
Blower Fan
A positive displacement blower fan is used to provide the air flow needed to transport powders
up a duct during pneumatic transportation. A fan is made up of rotating impeller blades which
are housed within a metal casing. As the impeller blades turn within the casing, they generate
pressure and turns the direction of air-flow by 90 degrees.
Electric Motors.
Electric motors are used to drive pumps, mill rotating table magnets rotex screen and the fan.

They have different speeds. Motor speed is calculated by the formula below:
Speed of motor = ×Revolutions/minute.
The table below shows different motor revolutions/minute
Magnet No 2 Motor 1430 RPM
Magnet No3 motor 1380 RPM
Magnet No1 motor 1440RPM
Rotex Screen motor 1430RPM
5.4.1 Transportation within the DGP plant
Pneumatic conveying system
Materials conveyed with a blower system, direct method where material from the mill passes
directly thorough the blower to the cyclone, and bag filters.
The pneumatic conveying, which can be defined as the transportation of solids through a pipe
using a gas or air is used chamber at Bikita minerals for transportation of product from the mill
to the filter chamber. Transportation of particulate solids is broadly classified into two flow
regimes which are dilute phase and dense phase (Yang, 1998). Dilute phase transport in its most
recognisable form is characterised by gas velocities greater than 20 m/s, solids concentrations
less than 1% by volume and low pressure drops per unit length of transport line (typically less
than 5 mbar/m). Dilute phase pneumatic transport is limited to short route, continuous transport
of solids at rates of less than 10 tonnes/hour and is the only system capable of operation under
negative pressure. Under these dilute flow conditions the solid particles behave as individuals,
fully suspended in the gas, and fluid-particle forces dominate. At Bikita minerals the DGP1 plant
produces 6.6 tonnes/hour.

Dense phase flow is characterised by low gas velocities (1-5 m/s), high solids concentrations
which are greater than 30% by volume and high pressure drops per unit length of pipe (typically
greater than 20 mbar/m) (Bhatia, 2000). In dense phase transport particles are not fully
suspended and there is much interaction between the particles.
Pressure drop across a length of transport line has in general six components which are
1. Pressure drop due to gas acceleration
2. Pressure drop due to particle acceleration
3. Pressure drop due to gas-to-pipe friction
4. Pressure drop related to solid-to-pipe friction
5. Pressure drop due to the static head of the solids
6. Pressure drop due to the static head of the gas

Diagram showing the relationship between gas velocity and pressure gradient for vertical
pneumatic transportation
The diagram shows the pressure drop relationship for vertical transport for a solid concentration
G=G1 and a higher solids concentration G=G2. G=0 is when there are no solids in the gas being
transported vertically. At point C there is high gas velocity and thus high pressure drop due to
friction between the solid particles and the walls of the ducting.
As the gas velocity is decreased the frictional resistance decreases, but since the concentration of
the suspension increases the static head required to support these solids increases. If the gas
velocity is decreased below point D then the increase in static head outweighs the decrease in
frictional resistance and p / L rises again.
In the region DE the decreasing velocity causes a rapid increase in solids concentration and a
point is reached when the gas can no longer entrain all the solids. At this point a flowing, a
slugging fluidized bed is formed in the transport line. The phenomenon is known as "choking"
and is usually attended by large pressure fluctuations. The choking velocity, UCH is defined as the
lowest velocity at which this dilute phase transport line can be operated at the solids feed rate G 1.

At the higher solids feed rate, G2, the choking velocity is higher. The choking velocity marks the
boundary between dilute phase and dense phase vertical pneumatic transport. Note that choking
can be reached by decreasing the gas velocity at a constant solids flow rate, or by increasing the
solids flow rate at a constant gas velocity.
The superficial velocity of gas within a ducting is calculated as
Ufs = [volume flow of gas] / [cross sectional area of pipe] = Qf /A
The superficial velocity of solids being transported pneumatically within the ducting can be
calculated as
Ups = [volume flow of solids] / [cross sectional area of pipe] = Qp / A
Where subscript "s" denotes superficial and subscripts "f" and "p" refer to the fluid and particles
respectively. The fraction of pipe cross-sectional area available for the flow of gas is usually
assumed to be equal to the volume fraction occupied by gas, that is, the voidage or void fraction
. The fraction of pipe area available for the flow of solids is therefore (1 - ).
And so, actual gas velocity, Uf = Qf / A and actual particle velocity,
Up = Qp / [A (1 - )
The relative velocity between particle and fluid Urel is defined as:
Urel = Uf – Up
In vertical dilute phase flow this relative velocity is equal to the single particle terminal velocity
UT. The operating gas velocity should be greater that the terminal velocity
Mass flow rates of solids and gases can be obtained by using the continuity equations for the gas
and the solids,

The continuity equations for particles and gas are:
For the particles:
Mp = A Up (1 - ) p
For the gas:
Mf = A U f f
Combining these continuity equations gives an expression for the ratio of mass flow rates. This
ratio is known as the solids loading:
Solids Loading
This shows us that the average voidage at a particular position along the length of the pipe, is a
function of the solids loading and the magnitudes of the gas and solids velocities for given gas
and particle density.

5.5 Process flow diagram for Dry Grinding Plant 1.
Dry Grinding Plant

one
Feed bin
Water pond
Dryer
Loesche mill
oil
Gas burner
Heat exchanger water Gas from the gas palnt
Fan
Bag filter chamber
cyclone
Drum
1 3 5
magnets
Circular bin
2 4
Magnetics
Rotex screen
Feed hoppers
Final product
Bag
F.h F.h
Figure 24: DGP1 Process Flow Diagram (BM)
5.5.5 Process Description for DGP 1

Feed leaves the circular bin through conveyor three and enters the Loesche mill. Feed rate
is controlled by double flaps. As the feed gets into the mill it enters the distribution pot on
the rotating table. Feed is dried by hot air entering through louvers at the sides of the Mill.
Centrifugal forces cause the stone particles to move to the mill peripheries where they are
grinded by the rotating wheels. The Fan blows the mill product up to the classifier which
rotates at a set speed which determines the size fraction of particles which can leave the
mill. Oversize material cannot move past the classifier and as a result they return into the
mill for re-grinding until they reach the required particle size. Mill product is transported
pneumatically through a duct to the Cyclone using compressed air. The cyclone separates
-325micrometer product from coarser product. Coarser product exit the cyclone via the
cyclone discharge valve at the bottom to magnets number 3 and 4.-325 particle size
fraction particles exit the cyclone from the top and is fed into the filter bag chamber where
they are trapped by bag filters. Bag filters then release the 325microns product onto a
screw conveyor at the base of the chamber. The screw conveyor transports these particles
to drum magnet 5 which traps iron from the 325 product. Magnetics are then transported
under gravity to a bagging section where they are packaged into tonne bags as by-product.
The nonmagnetic -325 micron particles are fed to the Rotex screen. Cyclone undersize
stream particles have its iron removed and enters the Rotex screen where it is mixed with
the nonmagnetic -325 micron particles.
The Rotex Screen separates its feed into two products, undersize and oversize. Oversize
material is discharged onto conveyor 3 where it mixes with new feed for regrinding.
Screen undersize material is transported to the discharge hoppers for bagging.
5.5.2 Plant start-up procedure

1. A siren is rung before start-up of the plant.
2. The rotex screen is started from the control room followed by the drum magnets, cyclone
rotary valve, bag filter rotary valve, bag filter rotary seal,

3. Turn mill fan on manually ie. Press manual button on the mill fan damper controller
4. Turn on mill motor oil pump
5. Turn on mill motor
6. Increase air velocity through the mill fan by opening the fan damper. The damper valve is
opened so as to lift up any product in the mill by air produced by the compressors hence
dismissing pressure from the mill table and allowing easy start up.Whilst still on manual,
press the set point button to 87% and set the controller to automatic. The damper
controller will allow the set air velocity with a variation of ±4%. Mill fan damper range
87% to 100% depending on product campaign
7. Light the air heater
8. Purge with handgas by opening handigas valve. Switch on the purging fan and ignite
handigas by pressing a button for the direct current spark plug
9. Open the gas supply valve. An inspection window is provided to check flame. The
handigas flame is kept burning to ensure automatic ignitious of gas supply. Heat is
required to dry off moisture in feed and to help maintain the air velocity. Heated air is
light and will travel faster. Feed is introduced when a temperature of 30ºc to 80ºc is
achieved.
10. Set classifier speed automatically in the control room which determines the grind to be
produced. The following classifier speeds are a guideline. Final adjustments are derived
from pre-production run and are set for each production campaign at specific times and
bear relationship to wear parts of the mill.
 52 mesh – 25rpm
 200 mesh – 90rpm
After starting up the plant I would assist the plant supervisor in inspecting every equipment to
ensure that all equipment was functioning in an expected way. Conveyor three vibro feeder is
then started in order to start feeding the plant.

5.5.3 Process Description for DGP 2
Feed exits the circular bin through the vibro feeder of dgp 2 circular bin and is transported
to the mill using a conveyor belt. It enters the mill through the double flaps which alternate
in opening and closing in order to control feed rate to the mill. The two tyres grind feed.
The grinded product is picked up by the hot air being introduced into the mill through
louvers hence dried in the turbulence before being released through the classifier. The
classifier rotates at a speed which can be varied to ensure that correct size grading is
achieved. The product is pneumatically conveyed under suction from the classifier to a de
compression chamber. Coarse product settles to the bottom of the chamber whilst finer
particles are trapped by bag filters which release this product onto a screw conveyor. This
mill product gravitates to a rotex screen. Screen undersize enter the product discharge
hopper. The screen oversize enters the rejects tonne bag.
The difference between DGP1 and two is that there are no magnetic separators for the
removal of iron from product at DGP 2 .Recycling of oversize is not done continuously as
in the DGP 1 plant. In the DGP 2 plant there is the use of a decompression chamber
instead of a cyclone.
5.6 PLANT OPERATIONS
5.6.1 Grind and quality control
Samples are drawn at least hourly or as often as is necessary to determine and maintain particle
size distribution. A hundred grams of product is collected at the discharge hopper and sieved
through 300 micron and 75 micron sieves. For 52mesh product +300 micron particles should be
from 0.5-55 % + 75 microns should be from 50-69 %. Each tonne bag of product is sampled and
the samples are assayed to determine lithium content as well as iron content. Lithium oxide
content should be greater than 7.65 percent whilst the iron content should range from 0.07-0.09
%. Bags which do not meet these specifications are recycled for blending with new feed.

5.6.2Bagging
Open feed valve to buck bags bagging product hoppers. For close / open position of valve as
indicated by a directional arrow. Close discharge valve. An empty one ton bag weighs
approximately 2kgs. Switch on the power supply the 3 ton scale. Zero the scale after placing the
empty ton bag on the scale to calibrate the scale, and tare the scale to zero.Insert a bag on the
feed chute. Open valve to allow product to fill the bag to 1000kg. Close valve when target
weight is achieved. Sample cut should be done according to work instruction on sampling
method.
5.6.3 Plant shut down

 Switch off con. 3 – vibrator feeder and empty the feed hopper
 When the mill tyres start to run rough on the mill table, raise the tyres by turning the
switch to raise position. The tyres will be lifted off the mill table.
 Shut off gas flow
 Close the burner valve
 Close pilot handigas valve
 Switch off gas burner fan
 Open the mill reject door and ore will discharge onto the floor. Keep the door open. Pack
by shoveling the ore rejects into a bag for recycle.
 Set damper controller to manual and turn the damper down to zero or closed position
using a decremental key on damper controller.
 Allow other unis to run for 10 minutes and at this time bagging material should be stored
as non con forming because the grind has changed once the feed is exhausted in the mill
store product for recycle and label as for recycle
 Switch of the remaining units from the vibro feeder to the rotary screen
5.7 EXPERIENCE GAINED

There are a number of parameters which need to be precise and in range with the set points.
These include air ratio in the mill, amount of feed going into the mill and the hydraulic pressure.
Pneumatic conveying is used to carry the product from one point to another and for this to be

achieved the air stream should be lower than atmospheric pressure. Any leakages in the system
will affect the conveying system and results in tripping of the mill.
5.8 OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES
I. The rotex screen produces a lot of dust when 200mesh product is being
produced.
II. DGP 2 plant usually produces a lot of bags which have a high percentage of
iron as a result of the absence of drum magnets.
III. Sometimes there is in adequate gas from the gas plant for use at the DGP
plants such that moist product is produced from the grinding mill. This moist
product can result in poor screening at the rotex screen due to blinding of
apartures. It can also block filter bags in bag filter chamber. Apart from this, a
moist product is undesirable as it is results in alteration of packed product bag
weight as the water eventually evaporates. Removal of iron at the drum magnets
from a moist product is not efficient as a moist powder tends to agglomerate.
5.9 RECOMMENDATIONS
I. Pressure vessels containing gas should be tested to prevent the occurrence
of explosions within the plant.
II. The Rotex screen casing needs to have the upper openings closed in order
to reduce dust in the plant.
III. Drum magnets for trapping iron should be set up in DGP 2
IV. Gas detectors should be set up near the burner so that any leakage in gas
can be immediately identified.
V. I recommend that the gas plant should produce gas in excess when it is
working efficiently and this gas can be stored in pressure vessels. The pressure
vessels to be used should have passed the hydraulic pressure test to prevent the gas
explosion. This development will reduce costs since there will not be a need to
purchase gas when the gas plant is not working.

CHAPTER SIX: GAS PLANT

6.0INTRODUCTION
The gas plant was designed to produce carbon monoxide. This gas is burnt to produce heat
which is used to remove the moisture in the products produced in the D.G.P plant. The
whole system is heated hence drying up the materials in the whole circuit. Charcoal is used
as a fuel to produce the gas and is burnt with limited supply of oxygen to produce carbon
monoxide. The gas plant is therefore regarded as the most dangerous plant following the
production of soot which causes death, mental confusion and fainting if inhaled. Below is a
process flow diagram of the gas plant.

6.1.1Process flow diagram
Figure 25: DGP Gas plant Process Flow Diagram
Figure 22: The D.G.P gas plant

6.1.2Process description
Charcoal is fed into conveyor 1 through a 50mm screen. Conveyor 2 then takes the charcoal
into the gas generator (fuel bed).a blower connected to the fuel bed provides oxygen for
combustion. Carbon monoxide is produced in large quantities due to incomplete combustion
taking place. The gas then flows into a cooling tower where water is used cool the gas and at
the same time to wash down unwanted charcoal particles in the gas stream. Gas exits this
chamber and is further cleaned in a filter chamber. A blower is then used to convey the gas
to the plant through a pipeline. A small tank is used to collect water vapour just after the

blower. Water leaving the cooling tower is cooled in a cooling fan and then recycled back to
the cooling tower. The plant operator uses a gas detector to make sure he/she is working in a
safe environment and can also detect any leakages.90 kilograms are fed into the gas
generator per hour.
6.1MAJOR EQUIPMENT
Gas generator (charcoal fuel bed)
Charcoal is fed into the fuel bed through the feed hoppers which are manually controlled. A
diesel soaked cotton waste is dropped through the pocking holes to light up the gas
generator. The charcoal burns at a temperature of 300 0C-5000C.A booster fan supplies air
and steam into the generator and the gases produced are N2(52%),CO (28%),H2(15%) and
C02(5%).The chemical formula for charcoal is C (carbon) and when completely burnt
carbon dioxide is produced as shown in the following reaction
𝐶 + 𝑂₂ → 𝐶𝑂₂
When there is a limited supply of oxygen carbon monoxide is produced
2𝐶 + 𝑂₂ → 2𝐶𝑂
Charcoal reacts with oxygen of the air at a glowing red heat to form colorless carbon
monoxide gas, which then burns with a blue flame with more oxygen from the air to
produce carbon dioxide gas. Due to the heat liberated by both of these reactions, the
charcoal reaches a glowing red and radiates heat energy and the hot carbon dioxide gas
leaves the combustion zone. A water jacket is used to prevent heat transfer from the fuel bed
to the environment. It is a water-filled casing typically a metal sheath having intake and
outlet vents to allow water to be pumped through and circulated. The flow of water to an
external water reservoir tank allows precise temperature control of the fuel bed. A weir at
the bottom of the fuel bed is filled with water and acts as a seal to prevent gas escaping from
the bed. A power pack is connected to the weir and it helps remove clinker from the bottom
of the bed.
Cooling tower
Gas enters the tower from the bottom and moves concurrently with water from the sprays
aligned along the tower as shown in the picture above. This is done to cool the gas and also
to remove charcoal particles and any other dirt. This cooling tower also acts as a stripping

column by removing nitrogen in the gas since it dissolves in water. A weir below the tower
is filled with water which acts as a seal and prevents any carbon monoxide from escaping.
Gas filter chamber

The gas is further cleaned and cooled in the filter chamber. Its temperature drops to 40 0C
from 350-4500C and water vapour is formed which is then collected along the gas supply
line. The chamber is filled with sack shavings which trap any charcoal particles in the gas.
Water is used a seal to trap the gas inside.
Water reservoir tank

Water is temporarily stored in the tank and is constantly fed into the water jacket.
Trisodiumorthophosphate (Na3PO4) is used to treat the water to prevent buildup of salts in
pipes.
The production of carbon monoxide is an exothermic reaction heat is released. Burning
carbon monoxide releases more heat which is then used to dry products in the D.G.P plant.
6.3RECOMMENDATIONS
 The cooling fan is malfunctioning and hot water is being returned to the cooling
tower. This means that gas is not being cooled to the required temperature which is
in the range of 80-900C.
CHAPTER 7:TANTALITE PLANT
7.0 BACKGROUND
The Tantalite Plant is explicitly designed to process tantalite from lepidolite. Crushed lepidolite
from the reduction section undergoes various processes until tantalite concentrate is obtained.
The plant has three sections namely primary, secondary and thickener and slimes dam.

7.1 Objective of Tantalite Plant

• To crush -28mm lepidolite to -850µm
• To wash ex-dump feed material to the optical sort
• To process lepidolite into tantalite concentrate
7.2 LITERATURE REVIEW

The separation of Tantalite from the tails is by gravity concentration method. Gravity
concentration methods separate minerals of different specific gravity by their relative
movement in response to gravity and one or more other forces, the latter often being the
resistance to motion offered by a viscous fluid, such as water or air. It is essential for
effective separation that a marked density difference exists between the mineral and the
gangue. The motion of a particle in a fluid is dependent not only on its specific gravity, but
also on its size; large particles will be affected more than smaller ones. The efficiency of
gravity processes therefore increases with particle size, and the particles should be
sufficiently coarse to move in accordance with Newton's law. Particles which is so small
that their movement is dominated mainly by surface friction respond relatively poorly to
commercial high-capacity gravity methods. In practice, close size control of feeds to
gravity processes is required in order to reduce the size effect and make the relative motion
of the particles specific gravity-dependent.
Gravity concentration has the following advantages;
• relative simplicity of gravity processes, and

• The fact that they produce comparatively little environmental pollution.
7.2 Major Equipment and Principles of Operation
VSI crusher

Figure 26: Vertical shaft impact crusher
Principle of operation
The Vertical Shaft Impact Crusher has a rotor which rotates at 1800rpm and a power of 90Kw.
When it is operating at its maximum capacity it draws in 135 Amps of current, the current draw
is proportional to the amount of feed it can crush, if the VSI crusher is over fed the current draw
increases from 135A suddenly it chokes. Feed material is fed through the center of the rotor,
where it is accelerated to high speed before being discharged through openings in the rotor
periphery. The material is crushed as it hits the liners of the outer body at high speed and also
due to the rock on rock collision.
Primary Vibrating screen

A vibrating screen is used to classify the ore into two streams which are +850mm and -850mm.
Using gravity, motion and mesh screens; this tool performs the work of several people in a
fraction of the time. During the Ta Plant survey done on the 25 th of October 2018 the efficiency
of the screen was 52%
Scrubber

Figure 27:Showing a scrubber(BM)
The scrubber is used to wash minerals which -28mm in size are cylindrical. Material loaded into the
scrubber is transported within the drum by internal augers or blades and is washed by water fed into the
drum; any admixtures of clay are thus washed away. Flow-through scrubbers are used for materials that
are relatively easy to wash. Counter flow scrubbers are used for difficult-to-wash materials. The scrubber
is designed for washing only or they may combine washing and sieving of the material. The scrubber has
the following specifications: length, 3 m, diameter, 1.5 m; and water consumption, 3–6 m3/ton. The
washing time depends on the degree of contamination and ranges from 2 to 12 min; the output is 25 to
200 tons.
Spirals

Figure 28: Showing a spiral concentrator
It is composed of a helical conduit of modified semicircular cross-section. Feed pulp of between 15 and
45% solids by weight and in the size range 3mm to 75mm is introduced at the top of the spiral and, as it
flows spirally downwards, the particles stratify due to the combined effect of centrifugal force, the
differential settling rates of the particles, and the effect of interstitial trickling through the flowing particle
bed. These mechanisms are complex, being much influenced by the slurry density and particle
size. Ports for the removal of the higher specific gravity particles are located at the lowest points
in the cross-section. Wash-water, added at the inner edge of the stream, flows outwardly across
the concentrate band. The width of concentrate band removed at the ports is controlled by
adjustable splitters. The grade of concentrate taken from descending ports progressively
decreases, tailings being discharged from the lower end of the spiral.
Factors affecting separation by spirals

• Feed rate (as feed rate increases performance falls, however there is generally an
optimum) – Feed density (as density increases performance also falls, although very fine
particles tend to be recovered better)
• Splitter settings (wider cuts increase concentrate recovery but reduce grade)
Feed sizing (optimum feed sizing is -3mm-75μm)
Advantages
• Open for visual inspection, adjustment and cleaning
• High upgrade ratio means fewer stages in circuit, smaller cleaning capacity, and
throwaway rougher tails in some cases
• Able to tolerate moderate to large variations in slurry feed density
• High capacity for floor area when used as triple starts, or with large diameters
• Better slimes and oversize tolerance
• No wash water
Disadvantages
 Multiple feed points require even distribution

Shaking Tables
Figure 29: Showing Principle of Operation of a Shaking Table
Theory of Operation
Feed slurry is fed at the top corner of the table, and segregates according to differences in
particle density and size. Feed density is typically maintained below 40% solids by weight
to insure optimum performance. Segregation results from the shaking action of the table,
which oscillates backwards and forwards at right angles to the slope of the table. Riffles on
the table surface provide retention time, and hold back material that is closest to the table
surface. The combined effect of the table oscillation and riffles cause the fine heavies to
ride the surface of the table, and thus report to the uppermost section of the table edge as

concentrate. Lower density coarse gangue remains close to the slurry surface, and with the
aid of wash water, rides over the riffles towards the tails launder at the lower portion of the
table. A middling stream is also produced, which is typically recycled back to the grinding
circuit for further liberation.
The angle of inclination of the table surface, length and frequency of table stoke, and splitter
position can all be adjusted to control concentrate yield. Riffle height can also be varied in
the table design, with reduced heights being favourable for finer feed types.
Wet Tables
There are various types of wet tables including the Deister, Holman and Wilfley that are
built to handle either coarse or fine feeds.
Variables
– Angle of deck (steeper angle less weight to concentrate)
– Length of stroke (longer the stroke, the more the sideways motion and hence more weight
to concentrate up to a maximum)
– Frequency of stroke (similar to length i.e., the more frequent the more sideways motion up
to a maximum)
– Splitter positions (the position of the splitters on the concentrate launder will determine
the weight take to concentrate)
– Feed rate and density (above a maximum of typically 2tph per full size table and density
typically 40% solids, depending on the type and particle size of the feed) separation will
be reduced
– Wash water (wash water is added along the top of the table to assist solids flow, maintain
low solids density, preventing ‘‘dry spots’’, and washing slimes to tails
– Riffle height (a low riffle height will be better for fine feeds and vice versa)
Advantages
– Highly selective, with high upgrading ratio if used correctly
– Able to see separation and make adjustments
Disadvantages
– Low capacity, large floor area requirements

– Require frequent operator attention, checking and adjustment

– Feed should be sized
7.3 Process flow diagram
Feed bin scavenger

cleaners Primary rougher
Scrubber
CONV 1
Screen
CONV 3 Secondary rougher
VSI
CONV 2
Undersize sump
Screen
RFT
RCT
Conc sump Tails sump

Recycle sump
RECYCLE SFT
Thickener
Concrete
tank
Dam
Tails dam
Steel tank
Fresh water pond
Figure 30: Tantalite Plant process flow diagram

Primary section
This section comprises of the following equipment, feed ore bin, wet scrubber, vibro-feeder,
vibrating screen, VSI crusher and conveyor belts.
The ore from the reduction plant of particle size of -28mm storage is accomplished through
stockpile next to the feed bin. The cylindrical ore bin with a conical base has a capacity of
30t and is equipped with a vibro-feed underneath which reclaim the ore from the bin. The
vibro feed discharges onto the conveyor 1 which feeds the wet scrubber at an average feed
rate of 8t/hr and a belt speed of 1.428m/s. Conveyor 1 discharges into the scrubber
retractable feed chute which discharges into the rotary scrubber.
Secondary section
The feed to the scrubber is aided into the scrubber by jets of water at a ratio of 1:1, thus
making up to 50% solids in the scrubber discharge. The inlet water is manually controlled
by a ball valve fitted to the pipe. The rotary scrubber discharges onto the horizontal
vibrating screen fitted with 2mm polyurethane panels. The screen is coupled with jets of
water that aid in the efficiency of the screen. The primary screen under size collects in the
spiral feed surge tank with a capacity of 1m³. The under size is pumped using a 3/2
centrifugal pump which feeds the primary rougher spiral via the 16 weir distribution box at
the upper most top.
The primary screen has an extension of a 28mm screen panel where the -28mm will collect
onto the conveyor 2 which feeds the vertical impact crusher whilst the +28mm will be
discarded as scats waiting recycling. Vertical impact crusher has a top feed size of 50mm
but due to challenges of blockages, the top size was reviewed to -28mm, which is also the
top size for all reduction plant. The VSI crusher product discharges onto conveyor 3 and is
in closed circuit with the 2mm vibrating primary screen.
The 3/2 spiral feed pump is used to pump the -2mm screen undersize at a density of around
30% solids to the primary rougher spiral. The pump discharges into the 16 weir spiral
distribution box. The roughing circuit has two spiral banks for both the primary and
secondary roughers. These spirals are wash waterless. The primary rougher concentrate will
report to the concentrate launder which goes directly to the secondary screen before tabling.
The primary rougher spiral middling will report to the recycle sump, from here it’s pumped
to the scavenger spiral which has just one bank of double helical conduit. The tailings from
the primary rougher spiral reports to the secondary rougher spiral, which also continue in
the gravity separation producing three streams of concentrate, middling and tails.

The primary rougher spiral tails are the feed to Secondary roughing spiral via feed pots by
gravity at the apex of the secondary spiral bank. There are two banks of secondary rougher
spirals. The orientation of the primary and secondary spiral is such that the primary spiral
tails will just cascade/gravitate to the secondary spiral since they are stacked. The
concentrate from the secondary spiral are channelled to the cleaner concentrate sump at the
floor of the plant. This is diluted with makeup water to lower the density before being
pumped to the cleaner spirals. The middlings join the primary spiral middling in the recycle
sump. The tailing reports to the final tails sump
Primary and secondary rougher middlings
The middlings from these streams collects in the recycle sump at the floor of the plant.
These are then pumped to the scavenger spirals to recover the valuable mineral that could
have reported to the middlings. The concentrates for the scavenger spiral reports to the
cleaner concentrate sump, this is the cleaner spiral feed. Cleaner spiral middlings together
with the tails report to the recycle sump and are fed to the scavenger spirals. The scavenger
tails and middlings are final tails and are pumped to the thickener.
The concentrates stream from the primary rougher and cleaner spirals gravitates to the
magnetic separator to remove iron from the product. With the iron trapped out of the
concentrate stream, then reports to the secondary vibrating screen with 800µm panels. The
screen undersize feed the Rougher Fines Table, (RFT), whilst the oversize goes to the
Rougher Coarse Table, (RCT). Shaking tables are used together with the spirals as cleaner
for spiral product. Both the undersize and oversize make use of the gravity to report to the
tables.
It’s ideal to ensure that the screen spray water is sufficient for ideal screen efficiency and
also to provide the ideal density to the shaking tables. For the fines table the ideal pulp
density is maintained within the range of 18-25% solids and 28-33% solids for the coarse
table feeds. Make up water is added to the feed to dilute the densities if they are too high for
separation. The tables then separate the heavies from the light based on the density of the
material. Wash water that flows perpendicular to the riffle washes away all the lights t
report to the tailings. The tails and middlings for both fine and coarse table are pumped by
1½/1 pump to the fine and coarse scavenger tables respectively. They are pumped to the
dewatering pots to recover much of the water and control the density to the table feed.
Scavenger tails report to the final tailings, middlings to the recycle sump and the
concentrates are the final product. It’s important for the attendant to ensure good
concentrate grade from the tables, thus the table splits are varied based on how the product
is coming out. For the sake of quality product control, 2-houly samples are taken and send
to the analytical laboratory for chemical analysis. Since the samples are for process control,

they are analysed using the hand held XRF machine which gives results after 30 seconds of
analysis. The only delay will be on the drying of samples before gunning with XRF.
The tails thickener
The tails from both the tables and the spirals are pumped by a 3/2 centrifugal pump to the
tailings thickener which has a carrying capacity of 95m³. Young Floc is added to aid the
settling of the solids. A 1m³ reagent mixing tank is at the top of thickener platform and
doses the reagent into the thickener feed well by gravity. The operator manning the section
oversees the flocculant mixing and flowrate depending on the overflow water clarity. An
average of 720g/mix is used and the flowrate will be varied depending on the water clarity.
The thickener overflow report to the concrete tank, which acts as a clarifier for further
settling of solids that could have reported to the overflow. The concrete tank overflow is
now the process water and overflows to the process water pond. From here the water will be
pumped to the plant, scrubber inlet, screen sprays, sump make up and underflow thickener
make up water. The thickener underflow is pumped to the tantalite tailings dam storage
facility which uses an open discharge method. A 3/2 pump is used to transport the thickened
tails of about 45-55% solids. The pump is fitted with an amperage meter which measure the
motor current draw, this directly proportional to the discharge density.
Hence the operator can make informed decisions and prevent underflow pump from choking
up. Also the amperage draw by the rake will be measured and analogue read out will be read
from the ammeter.
Figure 31:showing principle of operation of a gravity thickener

7.4 RECOMMENDATIONS
 Installation of the stacking cyclone to classify the thickener since thickeners are
sensible to the feed particle size. The plant tolerates a very wide particle size range of
(-)2mm to ()75µm, yet a thickener is comfortable with a particle size of less than
100µm. this will minimize the thickener rakes arm load. Also the pumping of coarse
material to the tailings dam will result in line blockages, which reduces plant availability
 Having a standby thickener underflow pump
Weightometer –to determine the feed rate to the scrubber such that optimum feed rate
can be determined to avoid feed spillage from the scrubber.
More sprays to be fitted at the primary screen to effect screen performance
Chapter 8: Environmental Management at Bikita Minerals
Bikita minerals is an environment cautious mining operation and it seeks

productively to make use of all its waste material in an environmentally friendly
manner. Bikita Mineral Subscribes to the Mines and Mineral act chapter 20.05 as
such it also subscribes to the Environmental Management act chapter 20.27
As part of its compliancy and environmental cautiousness Bikita Minerals dispose worst in an
environmentally friendly manner.
Water Reclamation and Tailings Management

At Bikita minerals water is a valuable resource as such Bikita Minerals endeavors to
use it conservatively. Process water is recovered from the thickeners and the tailings
dam storage facilities. Currently there are two thickeners, one for the tantalite
processing and the other for lithium bearing mineralize processing. The thickeners
receive gangue materials which are in slimes form. Through a process of
sedimentation enhanced by flocculants and the mechanical action of thickener rakes
the solid material settles while the water floats. The water is collected through a
launder that is around the circumference of the thickener and it is harnessed in

ponds. The water is pumped back into the process for reuse. A target of 55% solids
by composition is pumped to the tailings storage facilities.
Tailings storage facilities at Bikita Minerals serve every two purposes namely to
store processing waste which are in form of slimes and also for water reclamation. .
From the Ta plant survey that was carried out on 06 November 2018, the tails flow
rate to the dam was determined as 4.87t/hr. With this flow rate the tails are
discharged to the tails dam. The discharge points into the dam are continuously
monitored such that the free body at the dam walls is maintained. Discharge points
are changed so that the dam is raised uniformly, discharging is to start at the lowest
point of the dam to circumvent water from breaking the dam wall. When discharging
the sedimentation occurs whereby the water is then separated from the solids, this
water flows to the center of the dam. At the center of the dam water finds its way
through the pen hole to the dam water where it is pumped back to the process water
ponds.
Lithium Plants Thickener to Tailings dam Lithium Plants Thickener to Tailings dam
Month Mass Mass Mass Mass flowrate
Water(m³) Water(m³)
flowrate(tph) flowrate(tpm) flowrate(tph) (tpm)
October 10.58 6536.25 8032.75 4.17 2629.62 2983.89
Table 14 : Mass Flowrates of slimes to TSF
The tailings dam Design at BM
The first stage of design is to identify a suitable flat terrain ground, which is compacted before
disposal to reduce underground water penetration. A pen-stock is constructed on a firm conc rete
box. Mine waste rock, dominantly greenstone is used to build the embankment walls. The slimes
are discharged form pies into the embankment and the water sips the penstock, flows through
pipe to a water reclamation dam while the solid particle settle within the embankment.

Figure 32: slimes of tailings discharged at the TSF (BM)
CHAPTER EIGHT: HEALTH AND SAFETY

9.1 INTRODUCTION
There is a safety, health and environment department at Bikita minerals which enforces the
safety rules hence ensuring that every worker is working in a safe environment with proper
safety clothing and under the correct working instructions. The department contacts a team
briefing session once a week to remind workers of what they are expected of and also to
hear enquiries and suggestions from workers. New employees are first inducted by safety
officers before working in the plants. The department is also responsible for identifying
potential hazards and rectifies them before an accident occurs.
9.1.1ACTIVITIES
The safety, health and environment department trains workers on Basic First Aid by Mars
(Medical Air Rescue Service), in compliance with NSSA Act, and the Hazardous
Substances legislation. It puts up safety posters in the working area to increase
communication with the workers. Reports on workers who had hand injuries were
increasing and the department was holding massive campaigns against hand injuries and
improvements in departments were noted. Segregation of waste within the plant is being
implemented by color coding bins. Black bins for metal waste, red bins for draining of oil
filters before disposal and blue bins for other waste. EMA Act 20:27 section 70(3) every
person whose activities generate waste shall employ measures essential to minimize wastes
through treatment, reclamation and recycling. Grass slashing, drain cleaning was done to

minimize mosquito breeding, inundation and for aesthetic reason of the works
area.Radiation monitoring is done for the Density gauge and the X-Ray Fluorescent on a
weekly basis from the DMS and laboratory in compliance with the Radiation Protection Act
15:15 of 2004.Every yearworkers go for pneumoconiosis examinations.
9.1.2ACCIDENTS RECORDED
INCIDENT CAUSE REMEDIAL ACTION
A worker got caught by a Alcohol consumption No alcohol consumption
moving conveyor belt and during working days.. a
died 18/12/18 breathalyzer was put in place
02/02/19 an assistant welder Suspended gearbox load use of appropriate tools for the
accidentally put his finger trapped his finger against the task intended
under a suspended load base
whilst trying to put the
coupling in position.
05/05/19 a worker got his eye Ore spillages -follow job procedures
soiled whilst he was cleaning - wear eye protection(goggles)
the slurry sprays.
Table 3: Accidents recorded
9.1.3PROTECTIVE PLANT EQUIPMENT
Wearing proper safety clothing is a must to every individual who enters the plant site. Some
of the items are listed below:
 Helmet(hard hat):no one is allowed to enter the working site without a helmet as it
protects one’s head from falling rocks and equipment
 Work suit
 Googles: these are important for eye protection
 Ear plugs: some working areas have a lot of noise hence these help to reduce noise
 Gloves
 Gas respirator: this is used in the gas plant since a lot of carbon monoxide is produced
in the area
 Gas mask: the instrument is used to detect carbon monoxide concentration. If a person
inhales carbon monoxide, the oxygen in the blood stream is replaced by carbon
monoxide. This causes the nervous system to be starved of oxygen and the person loses
consciousness. At 200ppm the gas concentration will be too high and dangerous for
workers.
 Gumboots
 Life jacket: anyone who wishes to visit the thickener tank and the plant operators are
required to wear the jacket to avoid drowning in the tank.  Safety shoes

Chapter 10: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
10.0CONCLUSION
The author worked with personnel at all levels of the company hierarchy. The author was
exposed to industrial and human relations management through working with people of
different levels of education, administration and religions. At the various departments she
worked, the author obtained in-depth understanding of the relationship between planning,
drawing, production, operations, maintenance, and accounting departments. The author
attained skills in interpreting and analyzing plant data, developing an accurate understanding
of the unit plant operations, team working and time management skills which were crucial
in meeting deadlines for the projects and tasks assigned. Practical fault finding exercises and
tasks enhanced the author’s technique and approach to problem solving and decision
making.
10.1RECOMMENDATIONS
 The company should employ the use of automated control systems in their plants
as this will improve the yield and quality of products.
 Construction of concrete trenches to collect slime dam return water to dams and
minimize seepage.
 To introduce electric hoists
10.2 Projects undertaken

 Title
Tantalite Plant Optimisation- Reconfiguration of plant setup

 Objectives
I. To increase the Plant Recovery
II. To reduce the Tailings grade
III. To optimize the spiral performance
 Problem Statement
Bikita Minerals has a resource on hard rock Lepidolite that contains Tantalum
Pentoxide(Ta2O5). The current Tantalum processing plant was installed to treat alluvial ore that
was quickly exhausted, and the same plant set up is being currently used to treat different species
of hard rock Lepidolite. The tailings grade of the plant is above 800ppm which is significantly
above the head grades of most major operations. The recovery of the plant on hard rock
Lepidolite is below 30%.
 Problem Justification
A proposal to change the plant set up which may see the Ta Plant recovering more and reducing
the tailings grade was made. These quick fixes did not require new equipment, and there would
be much ease to return to the current plant setup if the changes failed. The changes were to be
done on the spiral configuration, bypassing of the secondary screen and table optimization. The
existing configuration for the scavenging coarse and fines table would remain as is save for the
table inclination.
 Methodology
Plant Survey
Plant survey was carried out before and shall be carried out after the plant has stabilized on
the new set up. The improvements within the plant performances in each unit of operation
shall be evaluated. The major aspects of the survey focused on the following:
i. PSD and metal distribution of the feed material in the spirals
ii. Particle size distribution on the Concentrate, middling and tailings stream of the spirals
iii. Mass flowrate within the streams

iv. Mass flowrate to each tables
v. The feed head to each tables
vi. The final tailings grade
Plant Set Up Changes

New Spiral Process Flow
i. Spirals were reduced 16 rougher spirals to 6 Roughing spirals. This increased the feed
throughput within each spiral to about 1-1.2tph.
ii. 3 cleaner spirals were introduced underneath the roughing spirals
iii. The fine Rougher Concentrate Cleaner Spiral Concentrate gravitates to the Rougher fines
table
iv. The Coarse Rougher Concentrate Cleaner Spiral Tailings gravitates to the Rougher
Coarse table

v. The coarse Rougher Middling Cleaner Spiral Concentrate and Middling gravitates to
Rougher coarse table.
Table Set Up
i. Tables were inclined more horizontally, thus offering larger surface area for concentration
ii. The pulsation settings on the Rougher Coarse Table and Scavenger Coarse Table were
changed from coarse to fine setting.
iii. Last four perpendicular wash water holes on all the tables were shut, to enable clear
stratification of streams
iv. Wash water bars were inclined to enable more water at the feed launder end of the tabl
Quarter Table Work
Tabling of Table Middlings and TSF Tailings
i. Table middlings were treated on the quarter table and the treatability was difficult and a
call was made to treat the middlings on the main tables on 2 hourly intervals.
ii. The tabling of the Tailings is still work in progress.
Results and findings

Grades
Date shift Feed(ppm) Tails(ppm) Conc (%) Conc weight(Kg) Total Weight (t)
M/S 1364 1045 28.709 47.30
02/04/2019 A/S 3028 1039 25.952 46.44 137.88
N/S 1334 733 24.243 44.14
M/S 981 860 21.006 33.97
03/04/2019 A/S 3474 810 28.308 44.12 131.39
N/S 1619 533 30.268 53.30
M/S 1200 800 32.5 44.41
04/04/2019 A/S 1300 700 30.67 45.85 142.11
M/S 1500 1100 29.89 51.85
1. There is improvement on the Daily Producton, which is above 130kgs
2. The Tailings grade is still high, still averaging above 800ppm
3. The Recent Head grades have been high, above the target of 1000ppm

Recommendation
1. To do a plant Survey after the plant change set up and establish where the high tailings
are coming from
2. To run the hardrock Lepidolite and Ex – Dump Lepidolite independently and ascertain
where the major losses are and establish a feed blend ratio thereof.
3. To Continously improve the plant optimisation, working closely with Production

personnel
Title
Optimization of the DMS2 plant at Bikita Minerals.

Problem statement
DMS2 plant at Bikita Minerals was designed to treat fines from ROM dumps, which are
dominantly in the (-) 2mm size fraction with the actual capacity of 35t/hr. This Plant was
constructed in 2017 and started operating in September of the same year. Since commissioning
one of the challenges that DMS 2 has been facing is production of product that does not meet the
company’s required quality specifications. Bikita Minerals defines its quality on its Petalite
Product range in terms of percentage content of Li 2O (4.05 to 4.75%) and those of impurities,
mainly the alkalis Na2O which is above the 1.0% and K2O which is above 0.5% the required. The
summation of Na2O and K2O must be below 1%. Other impurities like Fe2O3 are also looked at
DMS 2 and in some occasions the product quality is affected by high levels of Fe 2O3, which is
above 0.05% the required. The table below shows the product that was not within the required
range.
Product %Li₂O %K₂O %Na₂O %Fe₂O₃ %Na₂O+ K20

Floats 3.25% 4.32% 1.25% 0.10% 5.58%
The following table will show the Li2O content as well as the K2O, Na2O and Fe2O3 in the feed
that is feed into the DMS2 plant.
Fee d %Li₂O %K₂O %Na₂O %Fe₂O₃ %Na₂O+ K20

2.50% 2.17% 2.21% 0.04% 4.38%

Bikita Minerals classifies its Petalite product into three main categories. These are mainly
defined in terms of the level of Li 2O content as well as the major impurities (percentages of K 2O
and Na2O and their sum)- commonly denoted the Alkalis. Hence Bikita mainly produces LAP –
Low Alkaline Petalite, HAP (High Alkaline Petalite) and Standard Petalite. The general chemical
specification ranges are shown in the tables below.
Product specifications for Standard Petalite
%Li2O %K2O %Na2O AL20 3% %SiO2 %Fe2O3 (Na2O+K2O)

Range 4.05-4.75 0.05-0.5 0.25-1.0 16.00-17.8 74-79 0.01-0.05 <1%
Product specifications for High alkali Petalite (HAP)
%Li2O %K2O %Na2O AL20 3% %SiO2 %Fe2O3 (Na2O+K2O)

Range 3.65-3.95 0.69-1.02 0.56-1.19 16.00-17.8 74-79 0.01-0.05 >1.5%
Product specifications for Low alkali Petalite (LAP)
%Li2O %K2O %Na2O %Al2 O3 %SiO2 %Fe2O3 (K2O+Na2 O)

Range 4.40-4.65 0.05-0.19 0.20-0.45 16.50-17.10 77.2-78.0 0.010-0.050 < 1%
Major causes of the producing a product with high alkalis (Na2O and K2O) is due to ineffective
screening and washing of the ore (feed) and for high Fe2O3 is inadequate washing of the
product(floats) to remove the media(ferrosilicon).However, other factors are considered like
operating parameters.

% Out off spec for DMS2

27%
25%
% out off spec product
12%
6% 6%
0% 0%
may June july aug sept oct nov
months
% Out of spec for DMS1
2%
% of product
0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
may June july aug sept oct nov
months
Figure 33: Showing the graph of the out of spec product for DMS2

Figure 34:Showing the graph of the out of spec product for DMS1
The graphs above show the product that was produced and was not within the required quality
specifications in percentages from june2018 to november 2018 for both DMS2 and DMS1.
specifications. By comparing these two DMS’s it shows that high percentage (72%) of the
product that is not within required range is from DMS2 which makes it an area of concern as
there should be a slight difference with the DMS1 which only had 2%.
Justification
The optimization of the DMS2 plant is aimed at reducing the product that is not within the
required range by eliminating the causes of high alkalis (summation of K2O and Na2O should be
below 1%) and high iron therefore increasing production. This project is also aimed to increase
the revenue of the company by $186 240 as there will be no wastage of the resources e.g.
electricity. The table below shows the sales revenue that the company would have made if the
product was within the required range and sold as gravel.
Month off spec product(t) cost f production potential sales revenue profit
june 122 $ 13,420.00 $ 23,668.00 $ 10,248.00
July 269 $ 29,590.00 $ 52,186.00 $ 22,596.00
august 68 $ 7,480.00 $ 13,192.00 $ 5,712.00
september 298 $ 32,780.00 $ 57,812.00 $ 25,032.00
october 164 $ 18,040.00 $ 31,816.00 $ 13,776.00
$ 101,310.00 $ 178,674.00 $ 77,364.00
Aim
 To reduce alkalis in the DMS2 product
Objectives
 To establish the source of high alkalis.

 To ascertain the size fraction that constitute high alkalis.

 To determine the optimum pressure

 To determine the optimum density
 To conduct a cost benefit analysis.
Methodology
 Specific gravity test and AAS analysis for the mineral species that constitute of DMS2
feed.
 Particle size distribution of the feed and floats and AAS analysis for each size fraction
 Heavy Liquid separation test at different S. G’s.
 Tracer testing
Expected Results
 Reduction of the product that is not within the range by 9%
SAMPLE COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS BY AAS
• Samples of the dms 2 product were collected at thrice a day for one week using a manual
cutter
• Sample was homogenised and a full particle size distribution was done
• samples were submitted for AAS at the assay lab
• Atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) is a spectro analytical procedure for the
quantitative determination of chemical elements using the absorption of optical radiation
(light) by free atoms in the gaseous state
weight Li2O K2O Na2O K2O+Na2O Weight Percentage

head 408 3.91% 0.53% 0.82% 1.35%
10mm 30 4.27% 0.27% 0.65% 0.92% 1.215559157
5mm 97 4.23% 0.14% 0.84% 0.98% 3.930307942
2mm 803 4.32% 0.13% 0.54% 0.67% 32.53646677
1mm 1196 3.67% 0.64% 1.14% 1.78% 48.46029173
(+)850 188 2.67% 1.33% 1.89% 3.22% 7.617504052
(-)850 154 2.55% 1.42% 2.11% 3.53% 6.23987034
Total 2468
sample B (+)850 2621 3.69% 0.67% 0.90% 1.57% 93.207681%

sample B (-)850 191 2.57% 1.37% 2.07% 3.44% 6.792319%

total 2812
result authenticity
Li2O content
1.281
4.1031
34.6896
43.8932
5.0196 theoretical actual
3.927 grade 3.76% 3.91

sum 92.9135

var 3.715%

Heavy Liquid Separation

Aim
To separate different mineral species based on their relative Specific gravity
Apparatus
 5000ml beaker
 Scale
 Sieves
 TBE
 Acetone
 Calculator
 Spatula
 Mutton Cloth
 Measuring Cylinder

 Full face Mask
 PVC Gloves
 Relevant PPE
Procedure
I. Place a 5000ml beaker on the scale and tare to zero
II. Pour the TBE in the beaker
III. Divide total mass and volume of TBE to check the SG
IV. Use the following equation
TBEmass−(TBE volume∗S .G required )

VolAcet = ¿
S . Grequired−0.79(Acetone S .G)
V. If the SG is correct, take the samples and pour them into the 5000ml beaker
VI. Take floats and sinks, place them in different sieves
VII. Wash the floats and sinks with water to remove TBE
VIII. Dry the sinks and floats, take product for assay analysis on AAS
IX. Calculate the percentage of losses
sample at 2.15 weight

feed 1058 wt% Li2O avg summation of alkalis
float 231 22% 4.28% 0.660%
sink 830 78%
TOTAL 1061 100%
at 2.0 feed 1233
float 201 16% 4.12% 0.990%
sink 1036 84%
1237 100%
at 2.5 feed 1465
float 344 23% 4.22% 0.890%
sink 1123 77%
TOTAL 1467 100%
at 2.3 feed 1515
float 197 13% 4.26% 0.760%

sink 1320 87%

TOTAL 1517 100%
Recommendations
 There is need to do other lithium benefiation eg froth flotation and compare
REFERENCES
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crusher designpp1-40.
2. Gould, D.G. & Shoemaker, R.S. 1980. “Mineral Process Plant Design”, Society
of Mining Engineers, “American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum
Engineers”. Chapter 40, pp90-103.
3. Dance, A. 2001. “The Importance of Primary Crushing in Mill Feed Size
Optimisation”, International Autogenous and Semiautogenous Grinding
Technology , pp I-201.
4. McQuiston, F.W. & Shoemaker, R.S. 1978. “Primary Crusher Design” Book for
“American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers”, pp1-77.

5. Klein, Cornelis and Hurlbut, Cornelius S., 1985, Manual of Mineralogy, 20th ed.,
p. 362 6. Kirsch ink, J L; Walker, M; Diebel, C E (2001). "Magnetite-based magneto
reception.".
Current Opinion in Neurobiology ,pp 4–37
7. Wiltschko, Roswitha; Stapput, Katrin; Thalau, Peter; Wiltschko, Wolfgang
(2010). "Directional orientation of birds by the magnetic field under different light
conditions.". Journal of the Royal Society, Interface / the Royal Society 7,pp 16—
77.
8. Lowenstam, H A (1967). "Lepidocrocite, an apatite mineral, and magnetic in
teeth of chitons (Polyplacophora).". Science 156 ,pp 1373–1375.
9. Bókkon, Istvan; Salari, Vahid (2010). "Information storing by biomagnetites.".
Journal of biological physics ,pp 9–20
10.Baker, R R (1988). "Human magnetoreception for navigation". Progress in
clinical and biological research 257,pp 63–80.
11.Banaclocha, Marcos Arturo Martínez; Bókkon, István; Banaclocha, Helios
Martínez (2010). "Long-term memory in brain magnetite.". Medical Hypotheses ,pp
25–47.
12.M.C. Potter (May 1908). "Bateria as agents in the oxidation of amorphous
carbon". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B, Containing Papers of
a Biological Character 80,pp239–259.
13.SZYMAŃSKI T., WODZIŃSKI P.(2001), Membrane screens with vibrating
sieves, Physicochemical Problems of Mineral Procesing, pp113-123.
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introduction to band theory." J. Chem. Educ., pp 68, 804.

APPENDIX 1: BIKITA QUARRY PITS MAP

APPENDIX 2: LITHIUM BEARING ROCKS

POLLUCITE PETALITE
SPODUMENE LEPIDOLITE

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INDUSTRIAL ATTACHMENT REPORT

INDUSTRIAL ATTACHMENT REPORT FOR TUNIRA ANGELLA

REGISTRATION NUMBER: N01522921W

INSTITUTION: NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

HOST COMPANY: BIKITA MINERALS Pvt (Ltd)

PERION OF ENGAGEMENT: AUGUST 2018 – JUNE 2019

ACADEMIC SUPERVISOR: ENGINEER MUDONO

COMPANY SUPERVISOR: MR E. MUTANDIRO

THIS INTERNSHIP REPORT WAS SUBMITTED TO NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF

TUNIRA ANGELLA N01522921W 1

TUNIRA ANGELLA N01522921W 2

TUNIRA ANGELLA N01522921W 3

TUNIRA ANGELLA N01522921W 4

3.5.2 DMS2 process flow description....................................................................................41

TUNIRA ANGELLA N01522921W 5

Figure 1: Bikita minerals organizational structure..................................................................10

TUNIRA ANGELLA N01522921W 6

Figure 12: Spiral classifier at Bikita Minerals........................................................................37

TUNIRA ANGELLA N01522921W 7

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

TUNIRA ANGELLA N01522921W 8

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Mine Mine Productio HR Mine Exports Met services

Finance, Artisans& Foreman, Wages, Miners, Dispatch Met lab and

Figure 1: Bikita minerals organizational structure

1.3 Overview of the departments

1.3.1 Production department

1.3.2 Engineering department

1.3.4 Sales department

1.3.5 Human Resource Department

1.3.6 Metallurgical Services department (quality control)

TUNIRA ANGELLA N01522921W 10

parts of the operation of mining and milling

Lepidolite(Lithium KLiAl(OH,F)2Al(SiO4)3 Rose-red, violet-gray, Contains 2-3.5% Li or

Spodumene LiAl(SiO3)2 Colourless, white, gray, Contains 4-8% Li or

TUNIRA ANGELLA N01522921W 11

Pollucite (Cs,Na)2(Al2Si4O12) · Almost always colorless Contains about 20% Cs

Tantalite (Fe,Mn)(Ta,Nb)2O6 Varies between black and Contains 8-40% Ta2O5

ceramic & glass batteries

Figure 2:Pie chart showing uses of lithium

TUNIRA ANGELLA N01522921W 12

CHAPTER TWO: REDUCTION PLANT

TUNIRA ANGELLA N01522921W 13

2.1 Objectives of the reduction plant

2.2 Sectional SHE Aspects

TUNIRA ANGELLA N01522921W 14

Noise Damaged eardrums Wear ear protection e.g.

2.3.1 Theory of comminution

TUNIRA ANGELLA N01522921W 15

dp- is final particle size

df- is initial particle size

Therefore, the above equation transforms to;

W =10W i ( √1P − √1F )

Wi- is work index

P- is diameter in microns which 80% of the product passes.

F- is diameter in microns which 80% of feed passes

2.4 Major equipment used for crushing

The double toggle Blake jaw crusher

TUNIRA ANGELLA N01522921W 16

Figure 3: Double toggle blake jaw crusher

Some important features of the double toggle Blake crusher are:

TUNIRA ANGELLA N01522921W 17