The use of a simulator to improve the performance of an iron ore gravity concentration circuit

2019

Maryam Sadeghi, Université Laval; Claude Bazin, Université Laval

This paper illustrates that basic process analysis techniques and simulation are suitable tools to identify possible approaches to improve the performance of an iron ore gravity concentration circuit. Coarse hematite is lost in the tailings of rougher and cleaner spirals of two different industrial iron ore concentration circuits. Tests conducted on a pilot spiral confirm this loss of iron. The use of a simulator for an iron ore gravity circuit shows a potential 3% increase of iron recovery by simply changing the wash water distribution strategy between the rougher, cleaner and re-cleaner spirals of the circuit. Finally, the simulator is used to assess the advantage of replacing the cleaner and re-cleaner spirals of a circuit by hydraulic classifiers in order to reduce the loss of coarse hematite that occurs in these two concentration steps.

Keywords: Iron ore processing, Spiral concentrators, Simulation, Operating strategies