Thickener and Continuous Countercurrent Decantation (CCD) geometric design in gold mining for tailings disposal•

Abstract

Sedimentation or thickening is the separation of liquids and solids in order to increase the density of the final discharge pulp and to recover the greater amount of water from the mineral beneficiation process, mainly in gold. Flocculation accelerates sedimentation through the action of the selective union of suspended particles. The design of the settler for an active gold mine in Antioquia is based on Kynch's theory, the method proposed by Richardson-Zaki, Mishler-Coe, and Clevenger. The development of new theories opened a new research field, seeking a faster and more accurate method. The sedimentation analysis was performed under the Kynch process for batch sedimentation. It is estimated that the area is 99.83 m2 therefore, a diameter of 11.27 m in length. For the calculation of the height of the bed of solids in the settler a height of 0.82 m is obtained.