KB Qs Module 1: Mass balances and Flowsheet Flashcards
Give quick definition of:
Separation
Gangue
Concentrate
Tailings
Recovery
Grade
Separation: Recover and concentrate valuable mineral from waste
Gangue: Waste mineral
Concentrate : Valuable product stream – sent for further processing to produce pure metal
Tailings: Waste product stream – can be disposed of (becoming a tailing and can lead to environmental concerns) or can be further ground and reprocessed
Recovery: The amount of a particular metal the is in the concentrate, expressed as a percentage of the total metal in the feed
Grade: The percentage of a stream that is a particular metal
Outline how to get the maximal grade for a given ore. Ex: Chalcocite Cu2S
From Mass balance, give:
Feed tonnage formula
Metal Feed tonnage
Metal Recovery
Give Enrichment Ratio formula and Mass Recovery formula.
Give the fraction of the feed that is recovered formula.
Give the cumulative recovery vs cumulative time graph.
Give the Grade of metal vs Recovery of the metal
Fill: “As we increase the recovery, the grade _________”
As we increase the recovery, the grade decreases.
What is the net Smelter return formula?
NSR = Payment for contained metal - Charges
Name the costs associated with processing.
- Crushing
- Grinding
- Separation technique, flotation
- Thickening
- Filtration
- Dealing with tailings
- Reagents
- Pipeline
- Water
10 Laboratory - Maintenance support
- Management support
- Admin
- Miscellaneous
What is the The economic efficiency of a mineral processing operation?
the ratio of the actual smelter return to the maximum theoretical return
Draw and identify component of flotation cell.
Why do we do mass balance and not volume or moles balance?
Volume is not preserved: Material expand or contract with temperature.
Moles are not preserved: Moles decrease or increase after reactions.
