Evaluation of flotation circuits design using a novel approach.

• New approach for flotation simulation including design and operating variables. • A flotation simulator was built and tested using a large industrial dataset. • The impact of number and size of cells per row on recovery and grade was studied. • The effect of different launder designs on metallurgical performance was analysed. • This approach showed a good potential for industrial circuit characterization. This paper presents a new approach for modelling and simulation of flotation circuits, which addresses the potential to increase metallurgical performance, selecting the best choice of cell size, number of cells per bank, cell design and operating conditions. For this purpose, a flotation simulator was built and calibrated using data from industrial sampling campaigns carried out in Chilean concentrators, using modern and large mechanical flotation cells. The simulator allowed for evaluating and comparing the metallurgical performance of different flotation circuits. For this purpose, alternative scenarios were analysed for a selected industrial circuit, where different cells arrangement (number and size of cells), launder designs (represented by the mean froth transport distance) and operating conditions (pulp residence time and froth depth) were evaluated. This new approach showed to be a useful and practical tool to evaluate metallurgical performance in large industrial flotation banks, being able to show the effect of different flotation process characteristics such as froth transport distances and operating conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]