Froth Flotation Testing – More Reliable Data

Froth.

Froth flotation testing – reliable works better.  Rather use High Confidence Flotation Testing.

High Confidence Flotation Testing (HCFT) was developed for platinum-bearing ores in South Africa in the 1990s, and was updated in 2010 in Canada to also suit base metal ores.  It is a combination of best practice sampling and sample preparation, and replicate flotation testing with associated quality controls to identify and reject outlier tests at the 95% confidence level, leaving an accepted set of replicates that are composited.  Metal balances across the final composite data set close with less than 3.3% error.   It is a practical and effective procedure that serves projects well.

HCFT has a track record of successful scaleups to operations scale.  Examples are:

  • The formulation and use of talc depressant at the Raglan operations, Northern Québec (Lotter et al., 2002)
  • The startup of the Montcalm operations, North Ontario (Charland et al., 2006; Fragomeni et al., 2009)
  • The formulation at laboratory scale, and successful plant testing of a mixed collector suite for Eland Platinum Mine, South Africa (Lotter et al., 2010)
  • Flowsheet development for the Nickel Rim South project, Sudbury (Lotter et al., 2011)

Lotter, N.O., Whittaker, P.J., Kormos, L.J., Stickling, J.S., and Wilkie, G.J., 2002.  The Development of Process Mineralogy at Falconbridge Limited, and Application to the Raglan Mill, CIM Bulletin, vol. 95, No. 1066, Nov-Dec 2002, pp. 85-92.

Charland, A., Kormos, L.J., Whittaker, P.J., Arrué-Canales, C., Fragomeni, D., Lotter, N.O., Mackey, P.J., and Anes, J., 2006, A Case Study for Integrated Use of Automated Mineralogy in Plant Optimization: The Falconbridge Montcalm Concentrator, proc. MEI Automated Mineralogy, Brisbane.

Fragomeni, D., Yu, S., Anes, J., Edwards, T., and Scott, D., 2009. Advancing Asset Performance at the Montcalm Operation, proc. Canadian Mineral Processors, Ottawa, January 2009, Paper 12.

Lotter, N.O., and Fragomeni, D., 2010.  High Confidence Flotation Testing at Xstrata Process Support, trans. Minerals and Metallurgical Processing, SME, 27, (1), February 2010, pp. 47-54.

Lotter, N.O., Kormos, L.J., Oliveira, J.F., Fragomeni, D., and Whiteman, E., 2011.  Modern Process Mineralogy: Two case studies, Minerals Engineering, 24 (2011), pp. 638–650.

Lotter, N.O., Monnapula, R., Oliveira, J., Fragomeni, D., and Bradshaw, D.J., 2011.  Formulation and Plant Trial of a Mixed Collector Suite for Eland Platinum, proc. Canadian Mineral Processors, Ottawa, January 2011, Paper 10.