How Sepro’s Gravity Concentrators Recover Ultra-Fine Minerals

Demand for tin, tungsten, tantalum and other minerals is rising, putting an increasing strain on the plants that process them. Mining companies are being pushed to recover these minerals at finer, even microscopic levels. Where historically we sent these fine minerals to trailing dams, today this isn’t an option. Fine mineral recovery is more important than ever as we look to collect particles less than 10 microns in size. To put this into perspective, the cross-section of a human hair is 50 microns, and the humans cannot see objects smaller than 40 microns in size.

Fine Mineral Recovery

Traditionally these ultra-fine particles have interfered with many mineral processes such as flotation and dewatering. Mine operators would simply send these particles directly to tailings rather than try and manage them within existing processes. However, technology has improved and these particles can now be economically recovered..

The Solution

The cost-effective solution for fine and ultra-fine mineral recovery are gravity concentrators. Recent technological advances have enabled machines like the Falcon UF Gravity Concentrator to recover particles as small as 3 microns in size while having a low operating cost.

How Gravity Concentrators Work

These devices rely on the principle of differential and hindered settling to sort particles. In other words, particles of different sizes and densities will settle at different velocities. Large, dense particles settle first at lower forces making it vital to have a powerful machine to recover ultra-fine minerals. The Falcon UF Gravity Concentrator can generate a maximum force of 600 G’s which is used to recover fine minerals from slimes typically sent straight to trailing dams.

Cost-Effective Solutions

The Falcon UF Gravity Concentrator is the most economical solutions to ultra-fine mineral recovery. Advanced wear materials and a modular design decrease maintenance costs and downtime. Parts costs are expected to be less than $0.01 USD per ton treated, and no additional process water is required during concentration, thus lowering its operating cost. These benefits combined with its ability to increase your projects mineral yield make it the most cost-effective solution to ultra-fine particle recovery.

Real World Success

TMAC, a gold producing company with mines in Nunavut Canada, have seen record-breaking gold recovery with their installation of Sepro gravity concentrators this year. They installed their first Falcon SB units in May and were so pleased with the results that they have already upgraded to larger, more powerful units. They are currently on target to hit their 2018 goal of a 90% gold recovery rate.

Sepro Mineral Systems devotes a substantial amount of time and resources to research and development to bring you breakthrough technologies like the Falcon UF Gravity Concentrator. If you are looking to maximize your projects fine mineral recovery speak to one of our mineral processing equipment experts today.

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