| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 234068 | Minerals Engineering | 2011 | 4 Pages |
Platinum concentrator plants experience significant losses in their overall Platinum Group Elements (PGE) recoveries due to the inefficiencies of their secondary grinding circuits. This study involves an investigation of selective grinding of the platinum-bearing silicate particles present in UG-2 platinum ores found in the Bushveld Igneous Complex (BIC).Batch-scale laboratory test work was done to investigate the effect of a secondary milling circuit configuration, using a hydrocyclone underflow sample from a UG-2 concentrator plant as feed material. The envisaged secondary milling circuit consists of a conventional hydrocyclone to de-slime the feed followed by density separation with a spiral concentrator to separate the ore into lights (silicates-rich) and heavies (chromite-rich) fractions, followed by separate milling of the two fractions in parallel ball mills, and combined rougher flotation. A full-scale spiral was run in batch mode, followed by separate milling of samples in a 200 mm diameter mill and combined flotation in a 4.2 l cell. The milling energy inputs were re-distributed between the lights and heavies mills to determine the effect on the platinum mineral rougher flotation recovery and the Cr entrainment.The most promising results were found with 88% of the energy input to the lights mill and 12% to the heavies mill. The results indicated that under batch conditions, the secondary rougher flotation recovery (69% 4E) was similar to the conventional mill-float circuit (70%) however the Cr entrainment was significantly reduced by approximately 40% (2.3–1.4% Cr).This test work has confirmed the benefit of separate milling in the secondary milling circuit for a UG-2 ore. Spiral concentrators have shown potential as an effective density separating device to produce a silicate-rich and chromite-rich fraction for milling; further test work will be conducted to confirm its viability on an industrial scale.
Research highlights► A spiral concentrator was found to be an effective density separating device in the secondary milling circuit for UG-2 ore after desliming with a hydrocyclone. ► The spiral concentrator produced a relatively pure silicates and chromite fraction for separate ball milling. ► Separate milling of UG-2 ore was found to significantly reduce the chromite entrainment during secondary rougher flotation (40%). ► Most of the milling energy (88%) was re-distributed to the silicates ball mill without a drop (<1%) in the overall platinum recovery. ► The silicates ball mill can be run in closed-circuit and alternate milling options may be considered for the chromite fraction.
