FLOTATION
single point of connection for power , air , water and control . Installation and commissioning times are reduced due to the integrated supply .
Russian Copper invests in RIVS flotation plant upgrades
Earlier this year , the leading Russian supplier of flotation technology , St-Petersburg-based RIVS announced that it was supplying a threechamber flotation machine of model RIF-25 to the Alexandrinskaya GRK mine , which is owned by Russian Copper Company . The equipment is being installed in the main building of the processing plant as part of a technical reequipment program .
The new flotation machine will be equipped with an automated system for stabilising the slurry level and air flow rate ( ASSUP-RV ), designed to automatically control the slurry level in the cascade of the flotation machine with variable feed of the cascade with slurry , as well as to stabilise the flow rate of air entering the cascade of the flotation machine .
Earlier , in May 2021 , AGK JSC launched a twochamber single-stage RIF-25 flotation machine with a chamber volume of 25 m 3 manufactured by RIVS , also equipped with an automation system .
The entire flotation plant of the AGK beneficiation plant is equipped with flotation units produced by RIVS . The specialists of the two enterprises have successfully worked out the scheme of interaction during the operation and maintenance of flotation equipment , which made it possible to carry out modernisation without stopping production and in the shortest possible time .
The two-chamber single-stage flotation machine RIF-25 replaced the equipment that had been in operation since the founding of the factory . The chambers of the new three chamber unit have a large volume and are equipped with a U-shaped section . This design improves the efficiency of the beneficiation of the copper ore . Russian Copper stated : “ The renewed unit was put into operation as part of AGK ' s annual program for the technical re-equipment of production . Thanks to the joint work of the concentration plant specialists and representatives of the manufacturer , the flotation machine was replaced without interrupting production in 15 calendar days . The cost of the project to upgrade the flotation units is estimated at 30 million rubles .”
The beneficiation plant of the Alexandrinskaya Mining and Ore Company is located in the Nagaybaksky District of the Chelyabinsk Region . The facility was commissioned in 2001 , and in 2014 the reconstruction of production was completed at the factory , after which the ore processing capacity doubled - up to 800,000 t
RIVS flotation cells at Russian Copper-owned Alexandrinskaya GRK mine
per year . Also , as part of the reconstruction , the area of the main dressing building was increased and an open ore warehouse was created to store raw materials . The work was carried out without stopping the main production .
Four years later , a large-scale modernisation started , aimed at improving environmental safety and reducing the residual moisture content of the shipped concentrates by almost one and a half times . Investments in the project amounted to over 150 million rubles . In 2020 , the next stage of modernisation was completed : new filter presses with a total value of more than 200 million rubles were installed at the enterprise , intended for the production of copper and zinc concentrates . By 2021 , the plant had processed 10 Mt of ore .
Last November RIVS also announced it will supply to iron ore mine Andrey Varichev Mikhailovsky GOK ( part of Metalloinvest ) pneumomechanical flotation tank cells with a volume of 10 m 3 and 50 m 3 , as well as conditioning tanks with a volume of 50 m 3 . The equipment supplied by RIVS is being supplied with the necessary automation systems and a machine vision system . The new flotation tank cells are part of a large investment project at the mine to improve the quality of products with the introduction of Derrick fine screening technology . Currently , at Andrey Varichev Mikhailovsky GOK the second stage of the project is being implemented - the construction of a new building for the additional enrichment of concentrate using highly efficient equipment - screens , mills and flotation equipment .
Dr Rainer Imhof , Maelgwyn and the advancement of reactor froth flotation
With the successful installation of the Imhoflot froth flotation plant at Kalium Lakes ’ Beyondie sulphate of potash operation in Western Australia it signifies the mainstream acceptance of reactor flotation in minerals processing . Mike Battersby , Chairman and MD of Maelgwyn Mineral Services told IM : “ To some it may come
as a surprise , to others not , that it has taken over 40 years to reach this milestone ! A comparison can be made to the breakthrough in comminution in the last half century , the high-pressure grinding rolls ( HPGRs ); where despite the immediately recognised benefit of increased performance and reduced energy consumption over existing grinding equipment , it still took over 40 years to be accepted in metallic mineral processing . Interestingly , both reactor flotation and HPGR ’ s roots can be traced back to the same German university at around the same time but with two different Professor ’ s research .”
The installation at Beyondie is the culmination of a lifetimes work by Dr Rainer Imhof , who is now approaching his 80th year and after overcoming many obstacles put in his way , will have been developing the technology for nearly 50 years . The story starts at the Technical University of Clausthal in Germany where in 1972 Dr Imhof commenced his PhD studies in mineral processing . At that time at the university Professor Albert Bahr was developing concepts in a different type of froth flotation - pneumatic flotation . Dr Imhof assisted Professor Bahr with the design of laboratory cells that would become the Bahr Cell . “ It must be mentioned at this time at another German university – the Technical University of Berlin , Professor Wolfgang Simonis was undertaking similar research into pneumatic flotation and would develop the Simonis Cell . Both Bahr and Simonis collaborated to some degree , however , they each had different ideas in how to apply the concept into a practical machine .”
In 1979 , Dr Imhof had joined KHD Humbold Wedag as R & D manager . KHD had already been granted separate licences to both the Bahr and Simonis cells . Dr Imhof ’ s job was to develop the technology into practical flotation equipment that was commercial , and several sales were made . However , company politics raised its head . KHD Humboldt Wedag was the merger of a number equipment companies in the 1970s . “ There were technical disagreements between various factions from the original companies .
Dr Rainer Imhof developed the technology behind the Maelgwyn Imhoflot flotation cell which bears his name
40 International Mining | OCTOBER 2021