Bachelor of Engineering Technology in Chemical Engineering (BETCE)

Particle Technology (PTY261S)

Introduction

DR M AZIZ
Introduction to Mineralogy
• Mining and downstream minerals
processing remains keystones of the
economy of the Republic of South Africa.

• The most important mineral

commodities produced in South Africa,
in terms of value, are gold, coal,
platinum-group metals (PGM),
ferroalloys (ferrochromium,
ferromanganese, ferrosilicon, and
ferrovanadium), aluminum, steel, iron
ore, diamond, vanadium, zirconium, and
copper.

• Additionally, significant output of

metallic commodities included
antimony, chromite, cobalt, lead,
manganese, nickel, silver, titanium,
uranium, zinc, and zirconium.
The minerals industry, including mining
and minerals processing through semi-
manufactured products, accounted for
more than 6% of the GDP and more than
500,000 jobs.

South Africa was a major producer and

the world’s third largest exporter of coal,
and it was also the largest producer of
synthetic liquid fuels and petrochemicals
derived from coal.
 MINERALS INDUSTRY

CHALCOPYRITE (CuFe)S2 DOLOMITE (MgCO3.CaCo3) GALENA (PbS)

GYPSUM PENTLANDITE (NiFe)9S8

 MINERALS INDUSTRY

COVELLITE (CuS) CHROMITE (FeCr2O4) HEMATITE (Fe2O3)

Complex
minerals

Sphalerite crystals with minor Sphalerite on dolomite

associated chalcopyrite
 MINERALS INDUSTRY
Sometimes, some metals occur in nature in their
native form. Examples of these metals are
copper, silver, mercury, gold and platinum

GOLD PLATINUM SILVER

 MINERALS INDUSTRY - Terminology
• Many metals occur naturally in compounds
known as minerals.
• When a mineral deposit in the crust of the earth
has a sufficiently high concentration of
mineral present and the mineral can be
profitably recovered, the mineral deposit
becomes known as an ore.
• Complex ores contain more than one extractable
mineral.
• The ore consists of the extractable minerals
and the gangue material.
Mineralogy prior to Mineral processing
• Exploration & identification of minerals
present in a deposit
• Size & depth of the ore body
• Orientation relative to the surface
• Geographical location
• Characterisation of the ore: Macro (determines
mining method) & micro (determines ore
processing) bases
Open and underground mines

Ores mined from open mine Ores mined from underground mine
 • Mineral processing, also
known as ore dressing,
MINERALS PROCESSING…. mineral dressing, or
ORE
milling.
• Comes after mining and
LIBERATION

prepares ores for extraction.

COMMINUTION

• The aim of mineral

processing is to produce a
SEPARATION concentrate containing
the valuable minerals
CLASSIFICATION FLOTATION ELECTROSTATIC CONCEN. MAGNETIC CONCEN.
and a tailing containing
the gangue minerals.
CONCENTRATION

DEWATERING

• Mineral processing is a
REDUCTION & REFINING
combination of
liberation and
PYROMETALLURGY HYDROMETALLURGY ELECTROMETALLURGY
concentration.

FINAL PRODUCT
 MINERALS PROCESSING
• Beneficiation is a variety of processes whereby extracted ore
from mining is separated into mineral and gangue, the former
suitable for further processing or direct use.

• The cost of extraction increases with increasing gangue content.

• Gangue is the commercially worthless material that surrounds,

or is closely mixed with, a wanted mineral in an ore deposit.

• The process of separation of mineral from gangue is known as

mineral processing, mineral dressing or ore dressing. It can be a
complicated process, depending on the nature of the minerals
involved.
STEPS OF BENEFICIATION
COMMINUTION
ORE

Generic name for particle size COMMINUTION Liberation

reduction of ore using crushing and
grinding.
SEPARATION

CLASSIFICATION FLOTATION ELECTROSTATIC CONCEN. MAGNETIC CONCEN.

DEWATERING

REDUCTION & REFINING

PYROMETALLURGY HYDROMETALLURGY ELECTROMETALLURGY

FINAL PRODUCT
 COMMINUTION
REJECTED
REJECTED

CRUSHING SIZING DEVICE GRINDING SIZING DEVICE

crushing grinding
primary stage secondary stage
intermediate size reduction fine grinding
dry basis wet basis

• Crushing is an operation that ensures a small enough particle size to provide optimum
surface area for the required reactions to occur.

• In open circuit grinding, the material passes though the crusher once. In closed
circuit grinding, the oversized material is separated and returned to the crusher.

• reasons for comminution = mineral recovery increases with decrease

in particle size
• excessive comminution = high cost (need more energy) loss of
mineral as slime
 COMMINUTION: Crushing
Class of Crusher Example of Crusher Product Size

Coarse crushers Stag jaw crusher, dodge jaw 50 – 5 mm

crusher, gyratory crusher

Intermediate crushers Crushing rolls, edge runner 5 – 0.1 mm

mill, hammer mill

Fine crushers Roller mill, ball mill, Babcock 0.1 mm

mill
Colloid mills Down to 0.01 m

• The choice of crusher for a particular duty depends on the nature of the feed
material and the product size.
• Additional factors needing consideration are:
hardness, structure, moisture content, crushing strength, friability,
stickiness, soapiness, and explosiveness.
• In addition, materials that produce large amounts of dust should be treated
under conditions where the dust is not allowed to escape.
Crushing:
Jaw crushers
Crushing: Cone Crusher
Crushing: Rock crusher
 GRINDING: Ball mill

• Grinding is a combination of impact and abrasion. It normally takes place in

tumbling mills.

• The grinding medium may be steel rods, steel balls, hard rock or the ore itself.

• Examples of tumbling mills are rod mills, centre peripheral discharge mills, end
peripheral discharge mills, overflow mills, ball mills and autogenous mills.
 GRINDING
• The correct degree of grinding is essential for optimum mineral recovery and
energy consumption. Grinding uses the most energy at a mill.

• Grinding can be done wet or dry (Coulson & Richardson, 1991).

• Wet grinding is generally used in low speed mills and its advantages are:
 Power consumption is reduced by 20 – 30%.
 Increased plant capacity.
 Product removal is easier and the amount of fines is reduced.
 No dust is formed.
 The solids are more easily handled.

• The disadvantages of wet grinding are:

 The product may need drying.
 The wear on the grinding medium is 20 % greater than in dry grinding.
SEPARATION ORE

Generic name for particle size reduction COMMINUTION Liberation

of ore using crushing and grinding.

SEPARATION
Concentration
Purpose is to separate
valuable mineral from
gangue CLASSIFICATION FLOTATION ELECTROSTATIC CONCEN. MAGNETIC CONCEN.

DEWATERING

REDUCTION & REFINING

PYROMETALLURGY HYDROMETALLURGY ELECTROMETALLURGY

FINAL PRODUCT
 SEPARATION
• Physical methods: - used to concentrate the valuable minerals.
• These methods make use of differences in physical properties of
the valuable minerals and the gangue minerals.
• One or a combination of the following physical methods
achieves concentration of the valuable minerals:
– Separation based on differences in density (Dense Medium
Separation).
– Separation based on surface tension (froth flotation).
– Separation dependent on electrical conductivity
(electrostatic concentration).
– Separation dependent on magnetic properties (magnetic
concentration).
SEPARATION:
ORE

Classification
Generic name for particle size reduction COMMINUTION Liberation
of ore using crushing and grinding.

SEPARATION
Concentration
Purpose is to separate
valuable mineral from
gangue CLASSIFICATION FLOTATION ELECTROSTATIC CONCEN. MAGNETIC CONCEN.

DEWATERING

REDUCTION & REFINING

PYROMETALLURGY HYDROMETALLURGY ELECTROMETALLURGY

FINAL PRODUCT
 SEPARATION: Classification
• Classification:
– The velocity of a particle falling through a fluid depends upon the shape of
the particle, its size, and its density. Classification is a method based
on this principle and it is used to separate minerals from one another.

– Perry (1988) lists the following three “fundamental laws” of classification:

1. Considering particles of the same density, coarse particles have a higher settling
velocity than fine particles.
2. High-density particles have a higher settling velocity than lower density
particles of the same size.
3. The increased density or viscosity of the carrier fluid reduces the settling rates
of particles.

• Free settling and Hindered settling

 SEPARATION: Classification

Free settling occurs

• when particles fall through a stationary fluid and they are
sufficiently far from each other that they do not influence
each other’s rate of fall through the fluid.
• This happens when the percentage of solids is less than
approximately 15%.
• The forces acting on the particle are: gravitational force,
buoyancy and viscous drag.

Equations for the terminal settling velocities of particles in a

fluid.
gd 2 (D s  D f )
• Stokes’s Law (particles less than 50m in diameter ): v
18 
1/ 2
• Newton’s Law (particles greater than 0.5 cm in diameter ): v   3gd(D s  D f ) 
 
 D f 
 SEPARATION: Classification
• Hindered settling
Occurs when the percentage of solids is greater than approximately
15% and crowding causes the falling rate of the particles to decrease.

There are two reasons for this decrease in falling rate.

• Firstly, when there is a high percentage of solids, the system behaves as if
the particles are falling through a fluid with the density of the pulp instead
of the density of the carrier fluid. The pulp density is generally higher
than the carrier fluid density.
• Secondly, the pulp generally has a higher viscosity than the carrier fluid
and this also slows the particles down.

A modified Newton’s law gives an estimate of the terminal velocity of a

v  kd(D s  Dp 
particle during hindered settling: 1/ 2
 SEPARATION:
Particles
Classification
travel
downward
E.g of classifier is the sorting column

Those particles with a settling velocity

Sorting column

higher than the upward velocity of the fluid

will move fast enough to reach the bottom
of the sorting column. They will be
removed in the underflow product.

Those particles with a settling velocity

lower than the upward velocity of the fluid
will be carried into the overflow product.
Water
travels
upward
SEPARATION: Flotation ORE

Generic name for particle size reduction COMMINUTION Liberation

of ore using crushing and grinding.

SEPARATION
Concentration
Purpose is to separate
valuable mineral from
gangue CLASSIFICATION FLOTATION ELECTROSTATIC CONCEN. MAGNETIC CONCEN.

DEWATERING

REDUCTION & REFINING

PYROMETALLURGY HYDROMETALLURGY ELECTROMETALLURGY

FINAL PRODUCT
 SEPARATION: Flotation
 uses modification of surface tension of
particles, which affect settling in liquid.
 ore is hydrophilic, i.e wetted easily.
 flotation agent is hydrophobic
 flotation agent attach to ore surface
therefore, ore is less easily wetted
 air bubble from bottom, attach to solid Air flow
 solid floated to top (apparent density
drop)
Froth
 froth & solid scrapped off phase
Hydrophillic
Comes from greek words meaning water and friend. A hydrophilic Air
material is a friend of water and can be easily wetted. A hydrophilic
bubbles
material can bond with water through hydrogen bonding. The
water droplet will spread across the surface of the material and/or
enter the pores of the material and totally wet the material, with a Pulp
contact angle of less than 90°. phase
Tailings
Hydrophobic
Come from the greek words meaning water and fear. The material
repels the water and the contact angle between the surface and the
droplet is more than 90°. The water will try not to touch the
surface of the material. The shape of the droplet remains spherical.
 SEPARATION: Flotation
A modern froth flotation process
involves the interaction of three phases:
solid, liquid and gas.

The solid phase is the ore, and

commonly the liquid is water, while the
gas is air. Air flow

Successful flotation separations depend Froth

on the interrelation among the various phase
physical, chemical and mechanical
factors involved in the system. Air
bubbles

The success of this process depends on Pulp

the appropriate use of a variety of phase
flotation reagents that upon their
adsorption at the solid/liquid, solid/gas
and liquid/gas interfaces, modify the
physical-chemical characteristics of the
system.
SEPARATION: Electrostatic
ORE

concentration
Generic name for particle size reduction COMMINUTION Liberation
of ore using crushing and grinding.

SEPARATION
Concentration
Purpose is to separate
valuable mineral from
gangue CLASSIFICATION FLOTATION ELECTROSTATIC CONCEN. MAGNETIC CONCEN.

DEWATERING

REDUCTION & REFINING

PYROMETALLURGY HYDROMETALLURGY ELECTROMETALLURGY

FINAL PRODUCT
 SEPARATION: Electrostatic concentration

• Electrostatic concentration
– use difference in electrical properties of ore constituents
– surface of particles charged,
– conducting material loses charge quickly, non-conducting material not
– ore separated by passing ore through an electrode
– conducting material attracted
– separated material collected in partitioned trough
– capital cost high, capacity low, recycling usually necessary
SEPARATION: Magnetic
ORE

concentration
Generic name for particle size reduction COMMINUTION Liberation
of ore using crushing and grinding.

SEPARATION
Concentration
Purpose is to separate
valuable mineral from
gangue CLASSIFICATION FLOTATION ELECTROSTATIC CONCEN. MAGNETIC CONCEN.

DEWATERING

REDUCTION & REFINING

PYROMETALLURGY HYDROMETALLURGY ELECTROMETALLURGY

FINAL PRODUCT
 SEPARATION: Magnetic concentration

• Classification
• Flotation
• Electrostatic concentration

• Magnetic concentration:
– use magnetic & paramagnetic properties of minerals
– operation
– size of magnetic field determine feed size
– dry or wet basis
– capital cost high, capacity low, recycling necessary
DEWATERING
ORE

COMMINUTION

• Drying usually last step of

beneficiation process
• Most mineral separation processes SEPARATION
beneficiation
use large amounts of water and the
concentrates obtained have to be CLASSIFICATION FLOTATION ELECTROSTATIC CONCEN. MAGNETIC CONCEN.
dewatered to facilitate subsequent
processing and transport .
DEWATERING

• The methods of dewatering are: REDUCTION & REFINING

– Sedimentation
– Filtration
PYROMETALLURGY HYDROMETALLURGY ELECTROMETALLURGY
– Thermal drying
• Sedimentation produces a thickened
pulp of 55 to 65% solids. This is then FINAL PRODUCT
filtered to produce a wet filter cake.
This cake is then dried by thermal
drying
• Flocculants or flocculating agents are chemicals
that promote flocculation by causing colloids
• Stages: thickeners, centrifuges, and other suspended particles in liquids to
vacuum/ pressure filtration aggregate, forming a floc.
• The extend of dewatering is • Used in water treatment processes to improve
sedimentation or filterability of small particles.
determined by refining processes
 METALLURGY (EXTRACTION)
• Once a concentrate of the ORE

valuable minerals has been

obtained, the metals are
COMMINUTION
extracted by
pyrometallurgy,
hydrometallurgy, or SEPARATION
electrometallurgy. These
chemical techniques use the
CLASSIFICATION FLOTATION ELECTROSTATIC CONCEN. MAGNETIC CONCEN.
addition of heat, solvents, or
electricity respectively, and
use large amounts of energy. DEWATERING

• Pyrometallurgy, the most REDUCTION & REFINING

widely used chemical

technique, takes place in a PYROMETALLURGY HYDROMETALLURGY ELECTROMETALLURGY
modified furnace called a
smelter. To minimise energy
• usage in the smelter, only the FINAL PRODUCT

necessary material should

enter it.
 How can copper wire be made from
malachite?

Malachite

Copper wires
 How is coltan used in electronic
devices?

Mobile phone

Electronic capacitors

Coltan ore from mines

GPS tracker
 Ore components

-Valuable mineral (contain one

Or more metals)
-Barren component: Gangue

Chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) Malachite ((Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2)

Applications of concentrated and non-
concentrated copper

Container made with copper

Copper wires made from

chalcopyrite

Non-concentrated copper can be used in

jewelry
Open and underground mines

Ores mined from open mine Ores mined from underground mine
 Unit operations in Mineral Processing
Ore (Malachite)
0.2%Cu

Jaw-Crusher
. Statistics & Chemistry
Sampling and analysis

Rod Mill
Comminution Size reduction (crushing and
Physics Grinding)
Hydrocyclone
Separation according to
Classification Particles size
Flotation tank
Concentration Upgrading and recovery
Of metal (flotation, mag. Sep. etc)
Physics and Chemistry
Rotary drum
Water removal from the
Dewatering Concentrated mineral
Concentrate (~ 27%Cu)
Electrowinning
Electricity and Chemistry End product (Copper 99.9%)
Mining Site somewhere in nowhere
Mineral Processing Site somewhere in nowhere
Yes, …………………really
Believe me not …………….