Diagnosis and optimization of gold ore flotation circuit via linear circuit analysis and mass balance simulation

Abstract

The aim of this study is to diagnose and optimize a closed multistage gold ore flotation circuit in an operational industrial plant. Linear circuit analysis (LCA), a partition-based model, and a mass balance model using flotation first-order kinetics are employed to diagnose the current process. The result shows that the current circuit operates with high recovery but the gold grade of the final concentrate is low owing to the low buoyancy ratio. Hence, several alternative circuits with different streamlines and cell arrangements are proposed and simulated using LCA and a mass balance model. The result suggests that if the current process is changed to an alternative circuit in which the floated product stream of the rougher bank is changed, then the gold grade of the concentrate can be improved by 128%. Finally, the current circuit is optimized by changing it to an alternative circuit. This study provides a methodology for adapting the simulation of optimization for the flotation circuit of an industrial plant via LCA and mass balance simulation.