Evolution of gold gravity recovery in grinding circuits — A critical review

CIM Journal, Vol. 4, No. 3, 2013

S. Koppalkar MET-CHEM, Montreal, Quebec, Canada A. Bouajila G Mining Services Inc., Brossard, Quebec, Canada C. Gagnon and S. Makni COREM, Quebec, Quebec, Canada ABSTRACT

This paper briefly reviews the gravity recovery between conventional and centrifugal gravity separators. The advantages of semicontinuous gravity separators will be discussed, as will techniques for upgrading the gravity concentrates. The research efforts in optimizing semicontinuous gravity separators will be recalled. An innovative gravity circuit for eliminating or minimizing the use of complex processing schemes will be reviewed. Ongoing gold gravity research has revealed that gold particle shape transformation is one of the main factors explaining the lower recoveries of the plant units. Efforts to devise possible remedies for improving plant gravity recovery will be discussed.