Beneficiation of Gold Ore by Flotation Column: A Pilot Scale Study

Abstract

During the first phase of the study, laboratory size flotation column was installed within the premises of flotation plant of M/s BGML to study the amenability of column technology for the benefIciation of gold. Encouraged by the results, semi-commercial flotation column designed and developed by NML Madras Centre was installed in the flotation circuit to evaluate its performance and also to instil confidence. The results obtained both by laboratory and semi-commercial size flotation columns clearly indicated that the columns can perform better than the conventional cells. It was observed that high quality concentrates assaying 40 to 50 ppm of gold could be achieved by flotation column, whereas conventional cells could produce hardly 10 to 15 ppm of gold concentrates.