THE KINCALC®FLOTATION KINETICS CALCULATOR … · Figure 8 Flow Diagram of KinCalc® Functions ......
Transcript of THE KINCALC®FLOTATION KINETICS CALCULATOR … · Figure 8 Flow Diagram of KinCalc® Functions ......
© Eurus Mineral Consultants. 2008 Description, Capability and Value of KinCalc™. March 2008.
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Flotation Simulation & Modelling Software
THE KINCALC®FLOTATION
KINETICS CALCULATOR AND ORGANISER
AND THE SUPASIM® FLOTATION SIMULATION MODEL
BRIEF DESCRIPTION, CAPABILITY AND VALUE
Martyn Hay MARCH 2008
(last updated June 2007)
© Eurus Mineral Consultants. 2008 Description, Capability and Value of KinCalc™. March 2008.
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CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION: FLOTATION, KINETICS AND KINCALC®............................................... 3 1.1 KINETICS ...........................................................................................................................................3
2. WHAT KINCALC® DOES .................................................................................................................. 7 2.1 FUNCTIONS........................................................................................................................................7
2.2 LINEAR CORRELATION AND HISTOGRAM FUNCTIONS .............................................................11
3. ACCURACY OF SUPASIM® ............................................................................................................ 13
LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Flotation Kinetics........................................................................................................................... 4 Table 2 Correlation Coefficient Table: Ni Ore 1 ................................................................................... 12 Table 3 Correlation Coefficient Table: Ni Ore 2 ................................................................................... 12
LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Flotation Kinetics, Circuit Design and Performance ........................................................... 3 Figure 2 Results from a Flotation Rate Test and Kelsall’s Equation ................................................. 4 Figure 3 Physical Meaning of Kinetics in the Plant ............................................................................. 6 Figure 4 Simulation of Plant from Laboratory Data............................................................................ 6 Figure 5 Flotation “PID” Diagram ......................................................................................................... 9 Figure 6 Factors Affecting Flotation Performance............................................................................... 9 Figure 7 Organisation of KinCalc® Functions ................................................................................... 10 Figure 8 Flow Diagram of KinCalc® Functions................................................................................. 10 Figure 9 Detail of Interconnection of All KinCalc® Functions ........................................................ 11 Figure 10 Histogram ................................................................................................................................ 12 Figure 11 Predicted vs Simulated Plant Recovery............................................................................... 13
© Eurus Mineral Consultants. 2008 Description, Capability and Value of KinCalc™. March 2008.
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1. INTRODUCTION: FLOTATION, KINETICS AND KINCALC®
In a flotation plant the separation of mineral from waste is only about 85-95% efficient and is
dependant upon a myriad of parameters encompassing the quality and characteristics of the ore,
the operating environment, the reagents and the mechanical effectiveness of the flotation cells.
How much mineral is recovered (and how much revenue is generated) is primarily driven by the
characteristics of the ore which dictate what the operating conditions should be, such as the
fineness of grind, what reagents to use and the pH etc. The efficiency of the equipment (mills and
flotation cells) also has an influence on mineral recovery. How the various economic minerals
occur in the ore – i.e. in what way they are associated with each other and the various components
of the host rock – is determined by the ore’s geology which is measured by a mineralogist. How
these associations affect recovery by flotation is measured as the ore’s flotation kinetics. The
diagram below outlines the pivotal role that flotation kinetics plays in characterising the ore,
understanding why it performs (or behaves) the way it does and what size and configuration of
circuit is best to treat it and to maximise recovery and revenue.
MINERALOGY
FLOTATION KINETICS
CIRCUIT DESIGN
FLOTATION PERFORMANCE
(Grade/Recovery) & REVENUE
Flotation Performance Influence Diagram (Flotation "PID")
Determines
Affects
Defines CONTROLS
Figure 1 Flotation Kinetics, Circuit Design and Performance
1.1 Kinetics
How an ore responds to milling and flotation is determined by laboratory-scale batch milling and
flotation tests. Under chosen conditions a flotation rate test is performed which generates a
recovery, grade and concentrate mass profile over time. A graph showing typical recovery-time
profiles of two “good” ores and one “bad” ore is shown in Figure 2 below. The shape of these
profiles and the relationship between recovery, grade and mass with time is described
© Eurus Mineral Consultants. 2008 Description, Capability and Value of KinCalc™. March 2008.
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mathematically by Kelsall’s equation where R equals recovery and t equals time. The equation
describes fast and slow floating components which relate to material that is easily and quickly
recovered at the beginning of the process and material that is not (i.e. the slow and difficult to
recover component).
The equation has four unknowns (collectively known as kinetics), a fast fraction, a fast rate, a slow
fraction and a slow rate. These are estimated from the testwork data in Excel by using the Solver
facility. Accuracy is improved by use of additional algorithms derived from experience.
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
FLOTATION ROUGHER RATE TIME (min)
LABO
RA
TOR
Y R
ECO
VER
Y
Kelsall's Equation:
R = (100 - Ø) [1 – exp(-kf*t)] + Ø (1 - exp(-ks*t)]
FAST COMPONENT + SLOW COMPONENT
FAST SLOW
Figure 2 Results from a Flotation Rate Test and Kelsall’s Equation
The outcome of using Kelsall’s equation is that the behaviour and response of the ore as in Figure 2
is now described by a set of numbers or kinetics. The various components of the ore that have
been measured by assay (floatable gangue, economic metals and minerals and other gangue or
metal contaminants if desired) each have their own set of kinetics. An example is shown below in
Table 1. If each set of kinetics was put back into Kelsall’s equation then it would recreate the lines
as in Figure 2.
Line IPF kPF kPS IGF kGF kGSPink 0.9011 1.6263 0.1158 0.0496 0.3586 0.0063Red 0.7705 1.8396 0.1493 0.1062 0.2201 0.0021Dark Blue 0.5135 1.1383 0.0554 0.2493 0.5582 0.0043
Table 1 Flotation Kinetics
© Eurus Mineral Consultants. 2008 Description, Capability and Value of KinCalc™. March 2008.
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Where, I = fraction k = rate P = Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) G = Gangue
Thus, IPF = fast floating fraction of PGMs and kGS = slow floating rate of gangue. The usefulness of flotation kinetics is that the flotation response of both minerals/metals and
gangue can be reduced to a set a numbers. Different ores will have a different set of flotation
kinetics as will the same ore under two different test or operating conditions. This makes
benchmarking of one ore or one condition against another possible and it then becomes easy to
determine which the better is by simply comparing one set of numbers against the other.
Taking this further, each parameter of rate and fraction has a specific physical meaning in terms of
recovery, grade and mass in the laboratory test. Since the laboratory-scale test cell is merely a
scaled-down version of much larger cells in operation in the industry, then the kinetics are also an
accurate description of the ore under full-scale, continuous plant conditions when allowance has been
made for the difference in efficiencies between laboratory-batch and plant-continuous modes. The
difference between batch and continuous systems is described by a set of scale-up factors. An
illustration of the link between each kinetic parameter and operating plant design and
performance is shown in Figure 3).
The importance of flotation kinetics is that understanding of the flotation process, whether in the
laboratory, pilot plant or operating plant, is increased and the process can then be optimised1.
Laboratory flotation kinetics are used by Eurus Mineral Consultants to simulation plant
performance (see Figure 4).
1 Using the SUPASIM™ flotation model to diagnose and understand flotation behaviour from laboratory through to plant. Proceedings 37th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Mineral Processors Conference, Ottawa 2005.
© Eurus Mineral Consultants. 2008 Description, Capability and Value of KinCalc™. March 2008.
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Laboratory Ro.conc after 25 min
Fast Gangue
Slow Gangue
Fast PGMs
Slow PGMs
% Mass
Grade g/t Rec. %
Fractions 0.0473 0.9527 0.9213 0.0787
Rates 0.0659 0.0028 2.7811 0.0560
Fractions 0.1151 0.8849 0.5422 0.4578
Rates 0.2902 0.0057 0.7215 0.027323.3 16.5 76.9
10.3 47.8 98.1Clean ore
Highly altered ore
0.9213
Recovery
0.1151 0.5422
IPF/IGF: grade, nos of stages of cleaning
Circulating load
0.04730.0028
0.0057 0.0273
kPS/kGS: incremental recovery, residence time, use of scavengers, regrinding?
Physical Meaning of Kinetics in the Plant
1st Ro conc to final conc?, air rates
2.78110.0659
Selectivity: 1st Ro to final conc, regrinding?
Degree of alteration/oxidation, pulp density
Liberation
Figure 3 Physical Meaning of Kinetics in the Plant
Measurement to Prediction
NECESSARY INPUTS
SIMULATIONPROGRAM
“SUPASIM™”
SCALE-UP FACTORS +
SGS
Figure 4 Simulation of Plant from Laboratory Data
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2. WHAT KINCALC® DOES
2.1 Functions
KinCalc® calculates flotation kinetics from laboratory float test data in excel format. The program
has the facility to automatically import data (test data and conditions etc) by identifying the cells
or range of cells where the data occurs. This is done by setting-up a format which can be
customised for any arrangement of data in an excel worksheet/spreadsheet including multiple
data sheets per worksheet and multiple worksheets per file. KinCalc® can be set-up to handle the
importation and processing of multiple files in a folder. There is no limit to the number of files
and/or data sheets that can be imported and processed in one batch; however in practice it is best
to restrict importation to about 200 data sheets at one go.
If data exists in hardcopy, software exists (from others) to convert these data into excel format.
Once imported, KinCalc®
1. Calculates flotation kinetics with and without boundary algorithms,
2. Generates five standard graphs,
3. Produces a summary sheet containing test descriptions; kinetics; laboratory test results;
cumulative recovery, grade and mass pull; headgrade and various kinetic ratios,
4. Allows for kinetics to be calculated manually via scroll bars set-up for each kinetic
parameter. This is done in that part of the program called ScrollCalc™,
5. Allows any set of data to be averaged and its kinetics calculated,
6. Allows one button generation of correlation coefficient tables and histograms which are
time consuming to generate each time by manual application of the relevant excel function,
7. Stores all data in Access or SQL where searches can be set up to collate all data according to
requirements such as ore type, reagent type, test date…. Etc. The data can be dumped into
excel for data mining or statistical processing.
Overall, the value of KinCalc® to the client/user is that KinCalc® is an integrated system capable
of handling and organising large amounts of data. With mineralogical Qemsem or MLA data it
also provides a facility to dump both kinetic and mineralogical data into Access in order to
generate correlations as per the diagram below.
© Eurus Mineral Consultants. 2008 Description, Capability and Value of KinCalc™. March 2008.
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MINERALOGY
FLOTATION KINETICS
CIRCUIT DESIGN
FLOTATION PERFORMANCE
(Grade/Recovery) & REVENUE
Flotation Performance Influence Diagram (Flotation "PID")
Correlate Qemsem/MLA data
with flotation kinetics
Link mineralogical data with circuit design and performance
Determines
Affects
Defines CONTROLS
This “add-on” facility increases KinCalc’s® usefulness as many clients perform a lot of mineralogy
but have not generated the association with kinetics and plant design and performance.
The value of KinCalc® lies in clients/users being able to,
1. Calculate kinetics from float tests they have performed and as a result be able to
benchmark one test, ore type or set of test conditions against another,
2. Automatically import, process and store data,
3. Have a customised graphing facility and one touch generation of r2 correlation tables and
histogram/ cumulative frequency graphs,
4. Use KinCalc® to graph test data and determine r2 correlations without having to use the
kinetics calculation section of the program,
5. Conduct an array of statistical analysis on the data having previously been conveniently
arranged in the KinCalc® summary sheet or in the Access database,
6. Load Qemsem mineralogical data into the Access database and link with the associated
kinetic data for a particular test. This provides the possibility of being able to correlate
Qemsem data with flotation kinetics which are correlated with plant design and
performance,
7. Collate all tests into one database and vehicle for easy access and processing,
8. Generate tables and graphs which are report quality and can be copied and pasted to a
word document.
Figure 5 to Figure 9 shows details of the functions within KinCalc®.
© Eurus Mineral Consultants. 2008 Description, Capability and Value of KinCalc™. March 2008.
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Figure 5 Flotation “PID” Diagram
PARAMETERS AFFECTING FLOTATION PERFORMANCE
KINETICS
MINERALOGY
PHYSICAL PARAMETERS
OPERATION/DESIGN
CHEMICAL ENVIRONMENT
HYDRODYNAMIC ENVIRONMENT
Influences on Flotation Performance
Kinetics of metal/mineralKinetics of floatable gangueKinetics of entrained materialWater recoveryMineral/rock association
TextureUni/binary/tertiary componentsGeo-metallurgical considerations
Particle sizeParticle size distribution
Degree of liberationFroth recovery factor
Circuit configurationCell typeCell geometryShort circuitingResidence timeLip length to volumePulp levelFroth depthWhere to add reagents
pHEhAmount of dissolved oxygenWater qualityType of reagentQuantity of reagent
Cell kW/m3Efficency of mixing
Bubble sizeBubble coalescencePulp densityViscosity
Air rate
> 90%What is the effect of each?
Figure 6 Factors Affecting Flotation Performance
WHY ARE FLOTATION KINETICS IMPORTANT?
MINERALOGY
FLOTATIONKINETICS
CIRCUIT DESIGN
FLOTATION PERFORMANCE
(Grade/Recovery) & PROFIT
Dictates
Determines
Affects
CONTROLS
SUITABLE VEHICLE
PERFORMANCE
ASSOCIATIONS
• Increases understanding of flotation…and therefore
• Optimise flotation performance & Recovery + Grade
Flotation “PID”: Flotation Performance Influence D iagram
© Eurus Mineral Consultants. 2008 Description, Capability and Value of KinCalc™. March 2008.
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Figure 7 Organisation of KinCalc® Functions
KinCalc™ IN DETAIL(Flow diagram linking functions)
Test 1 High r² linear regression All analytes/minerals/gangueTest 2 Equal kF & kS values? All analytes/minerals/gangueTest 3 Very low IMF? All metals/mineralsTest 4 Very high IMF? All metals/mineralsTest 5 High r² & low IMF? All metals/mineralsTest 6 Very high IXF & very low kXS Gangue + contaminantsTest 7 kMF limit? All metals/minerals
Solving Kelsall's equation to determine kinetics sometimes gives values which are mathematically correct but not adequately descriptive of the material's practical response - hence these tests.
kinetics
™ Kinetics
Summary Sheet (per set of data)
Results Page (per test)
Data Sheet (per set of data)
Access Database
Re-import
Re-import
Dump into Excel
Query
ge
Import WizardOpen New
File
Select Existing File
Re-input of Processed
data or Kinetics
Input test data
Input conditions
Input description
Input Page
Choose to:Plot Graphs only
or Calculate Kinetics
ScrollCalc™ KinCalc™
MANUAL CALCULATION
OF KINETICS
AUTOMATIC CALCULATION
OF KINETICSManage/set-up list of Analytes, Minerals
and Other Parameters
Configure Customised Graph Settings
Use 4 standard graphs as visual aid to estimate
kinetics
ScrollCalc™ Kinetics
Choose to use best fit
button, if so go to
KinCalc™
Calculate
KinCalc™
Choose boundary tests
Graphs Page
Choose Graph Type
5 Standard Graphs1. Rec-Time & Grade-Time2. Rec-Grade3. Rec-Mass4. Mas-Time5. Separability
Customised GraphsCompare sets of analytes/minerals. Compare lab, pilot and plant data.
Plot combinations of data
Average PagHistogram & Correlation R² functions
Analyse using standard Excel
functions
Figure 8 Flow Diagram of KinCalc® Functions
WHAT DOES KinCalc® DO?Automatic Import
(single/multiple file) Import Wizard
Boundary test algorithms
Calculate KineticsTest data (Lab, Pilot, Plant)
Results Page (per test)
Summary test data Kinetics
Rec/Time graph Test Details
Sample description Test description Test conditions
Data Sheet (capacity of 4500 tests)
Test information Sample description
Raw data Analytes specified Misc parameters
Graphs Page (5 standard graphs) Rec & Grade/Time
Rec/Grade Mass/Time
Recovery/Mass Separability
Summary Sheet(capacity of 4500 tests)
Test informationSample description
Test resultsKinetics
Kinetic ratios
Customised Graphing Facility
Analysis and interpretation
Dump to Excel QueryMineralogical Data Access Database
Each set of test data, results and kinetics has a unique identifying code
Report
Report
Report
ReportReport
Input Page
Standard Excel functions Histogram function
Corr. R² function
Report
Average PageAverages
selected test data sets
ScrollCalc™
© Eurus Mineral Consultants. 2008 Description, Capability and Value of KinCalc™. March 2008.
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KinCalc™ IN DETAIL (functions)
KIN-CALC
GENERATION OF GRAPHS
MANUAL IMPORT OF DATA
SCROLL-CALC
ACCESS DATABASE
AUTOMATIC IMPORT OF DATA
DATA IMPORT FORMAT
INPUT & STORAGE OF TEST CONDITION DATA
DATA OUTPUT
CUSTOMISATION OF PROGRAM FORMATS
TOOL BAR ICONS
OPTIONAL TOOLBAR ICONS
TOOL BAR ICONS
KinCalc™ Kinetics Calculator
Kinetics of metal/mineral
Kinetics of floatable gangue
Kinetics of entrained material
With/without boundary tests
What-if scenarios
Custom FunctionsHistogram
Correlation r2
5 Standard Graphs
Separab ility Curve
Recovery and Grade vs Time
Recovery vs Grade
Recovery vs Mass
Conc Mass vs Time
Customised Graphing Facility
Single data set
Educational facility
What-if scenarios
Kinetics estimation with few data points
Compare lab, pilot and plant profiles
Import of KinCalc, ScrollCalc and Test Description Data
Re-import data for further analysis
Anal ysisData sorting
Correlations
Statistical
Generation of Queries
Single file basis Any number of Data Worksheets
Batch of files in a folder Any number of Files
Any Number of Data Worksheets
Single or multiple data sets per worksheet
Set-up formats
Lab, Pilot or Plant data
Client/Mine
Ore body/type or stream in plant
Date or time
Reagents and additions
Reagent addition Straight or Staged
Conditioning Time
Grind
% Solids
Power (kW) input
Cell Type
Cell rpm
Air Flowrate
Water Type/Quality
Temperature
Eh, pH, Oxygen %
Geographical position
Depth or other position
Sta ndard Graphs
Data Sheet
Test information
Miscellaneous parameters
Analyte names and units
C onc times a nd masses
Analytes selected and category IDs
Feed, Tails and Conc assays
Parameter order indices
Summary Sheet
Test Descriptions
Kineti cs with/w ithout Boundary Tests
Scro llCal c Kinetics
Linear Flag (Mass-Time Curve)
Sum of the squared errors
Kinetic RatiosSlow Floating Ratio
Selectivity
Kinetic Meas ur e of Metal/Mineral and Gangue Floa tabil ity
Test Data SummaryRecoveries
Concentrate Grades
Head Grades
Average PageCalculates average for a set of data
Results PageSing le A4 page
Test Data Summary
Kinetics with/without Boundary Tests
Recovery-Time Graph
Graphs
Font
Type
Markers (12 options)
Lines (12 options)
Size and Dimension Ratio
General ProgramBackground and foreground colours
Font
Goto Input page
Clear the current Input Data
Manage the List of Analytes
Manage the List of Other Parameters
Manage Stream Names
Add current data to the Summary Sheet
Copy current sheet/page to a new workbook
Import Data Wizard
Import data from KinCalc database
Solve for Kinetics
Goto Results page
Goto Graphs page
Go to the Average sheet
Clear all data off the Average sheet
Delete the highlighted record on the Average sheet
Copy the current average values to the Input sheet
Go to ScrollCalcClear all data off the ScrollCalc page
Copy the active ScrollCalc parameters to the Summary sheet
Customise program settings
Show the Data sheet
Rows to Columns
Columns to Rows
Paste special function maintaing format of worksheet
Create a Correlation Matrix from selected data
Create a Frquency plot from selected data
Transform Layout of Kinetic Data Sets
Rows to Columns
Columns to Rows
Paste special function maintaing format of worksheet
Goto Summary sheet
Highlight Differences between Kinetics with/without Boundary Tests
Sort all data in chosen column in descending order
Sort all data in chosen column in ascending order
Highlight specific row
Delete highlighted row of data
Highlight a Specific Row
Move H ighlighted Row Up
Move H ighlighted Row Down
Copy Hig hli ghted R ow to Input Sheet
Clear Summary Sheet & Input Page
Copy highlighted record to the Average sheet
Copy highlighted row to ScrollCalc
Summary Roll-Up: Hide all details
Post current record to the KinCalc database
Post all summary records to the KinCalc database
Automatic Import, Calculation and Generation of Summary Sheet
Ma nual calculation o f kinetics
Input of anything user wishes to record; examples shown for illustration only
Figure 9 Detail of Interconnection of All KinCalc® Functions
2.2 Linear Correlation and Histogram Functions
Examples of one-touch button generation of linear correlation coefficient tables and a histogram
are shown in Table 2, Table 3 and Figure 10. Associations are identified by an elevated coefficient
between like parameters, for example between fast floating fractions and rates and slow floating
rates of Nickel and Cobalt (INiF vs. ICoF, kNiF vs. kCoF and kNiS vs. kCoS) and fast floating
fractions of Nickel and Gangue (INiF vs. IGF) in Table 2. In Table 3, a more altered Nickel ore has
elevated coefficients between slow floating rates of Nickel and gangue (kNiS vs. kGS) which are
more pronounced for fines than for coarse.
© Eurus Mineral Consultants. 2008 Description, Capability and Value of KinCalc™. March 2008.
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Correlation MatrixBMS Ore Composite Rougher Rate Tests 1-20: EMC Rates
kGF kGS INiF kNiF kNiS ICuF kCuF kCuS ICoF kCoF kCoSIGF 0.0115 0.0784 0.4357 0.0081 0.7213 0.2184 0.0060 0.1145 0.6038 0.1364 0.5266 0.260kGF 0.1499 0.0065 0.4637 0.0279 0.0044 0.0284 0.0059 0.0001 0.2685 0.0013 0.096kGS 0.0171 0.2385 0.2355 0.0348 0.0005 0.3094 0.0022 0.2353 0.2781 0.150INiF 0.0605 0.2498 0.5368 0.0130 0.1014 0.8786 0.0615 0.1231 0.253kNiF 0.0377 0.0042 0.1436 0.0104 0.0181 0.6508 0.0002 0.124kNiS 0.0800 0.0035 0.1563 0.3435 0.2307 0.5043 0.220ICuF 0.0458 0.2577 0.3902 0.0672 0.0863 0.169kCuF 0.0009 0.0665 0.2120 0.0510 0.083kCuS 0.0637 0.0657 0.3941 0.175ICoF 0.1123 0.1176 0.115kCoF No of Data Points = 20 0.0046 0.005
0.011 0.114 0.153 0.193 0.254 0.146 0.034 0.120 0.263 0.204 0.190
0.142
0.060
0.169
0.199
Table 2 Correlation Coefficient Table: Ni Ore 1
Correlation Matrix
Combined XX Composite + FOT 1-9
kGF kGS INiF kNiF kNiS G & NiIGF 0.1459 0.1573 0.1566 0.0673 0.1694 0.2314kGF 0.1194 0.3309 0.3191 0.0599kGS 0.1299 0.1047 0.7450INiF 0.4224 0.0619kNiF No of Data Points = 26 0.1499
Correlation Matrix
Combined XX Composite + FOT 1-9
kGF kGS INiF kNiF kNiS G & NiIGF 0.0711 0.0510 0.2241 0.0001 0.0790 0.1280kGF 0.1623 0.0006 0.0527 0.0569kGS 0.0013 0.1518 0.5859INiF 0.3411 0.0023kNiF No of Data Points = 32 0.3388
Average Between
Fractions :XXX Fines Rougher
Average Between
Fractions :XXX Coarse Rougher
Table 3 Correlation Coefficient Table: Ni Ore 2
Individual and Cumulative Frequency DataNickel Head Jan 00 - Oct 06
0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
12.0
14.0
0.50
1
0.52
1
0.54
1
0.56
1
0.58
1
0.60
1
0.62
1
0.64
1
0.66
1
0.68
1
0.70
1
0.72
1
0.74
1
0.76
1
0.78
1
0.80
1
0.82
1
0.84
1
0.86
1
0.88
1
0.90
1
0.92
1
Bin Values
% F
requ
ency
Figure 10 Histogram
© Eurus Mineral Consultants. 2008 Description, Capability and Value of KinCalc™. March 2008.
Page 13 of 13
3. ACCURACY OF SUPASIM®
To date over 60 case studies (validations) have been done where the flotation performance of
operating plant have been simulated from laboratory batch rate tests. This covers PGM, Base
Metal Sulphide, Phosphate, Pyrite, Graphite and Cassiterite ores and furnace slag and tailings
dams. These include a variety of circuits from MF1, MF2 and MF3 configuration with/without
regrinding of rougher concentrate and cleaner tails.
Figure 11 shows the good agreement between predicted and actual plant recovery where predicted
concentrate grade is at or close to that of the plant. The graph includes secondary metals and
contaminants such as Copper and Nickel in UG2 and Merensky PGM ores and Copper in a Zinc
circuit etc.
ACTUAL vs SIMULATED PLANT RECOVERY PLATINUM, PHOSPHATE & BASE METAL SULPHIDE ORES
Predicted plant recovery = 0.937*(actual recovery) + 5.2638
R2 = 0.977
05
101520253035404550556065707580859095
100
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100
ACTUAL PLANT RECOVERY
SIM
ULA
TED
PLA
NT
REC
OV
ERY
1
7
23 5
4
1 - Foskorite (SA) 2 - Canadian Cu ore 3 - Maranda Cu (SA)4 - Palabora Cu ore (SA)5 - Palabora Cu ore (SA)6 - Gt Dyke Pt ore (Zimbabwe)7 - Northam Merensky ore Pt (SA)8 - Maranda Zn (SA)9 - BMM Pb (SA)10 - BMM Zn (SA)11 - BMM Cu (SA)12 - Gt Dyke PGM ore Oxidised (Zimbabwe)13 - O'Okiep Cu Slag (SA)14 - R/burg PGM UG2 #1 (SA)15 - R/burg PGM UG2 #2 (SA)16 - Palabora Cu Slag (SA)17 - Oxidised PGM Merensky (SA)
PRIMARY STAGE VALUES
6
9810
13
12 1114
17
16
18
2120
1918 - PGM Merensky (SA) 19 - R/burg PGM UG2 #1 (SA) 20 - R/burg PGM UG2 #2 (SA)21 - Silicate PGM (SA)
SECONDARY STAGE (REGRIND) MF2 VALUES
15
22 - Lac des Iles PGM Pd (Canada) 23 - Lac des Iles PGM Pt (Canada) 24 - Lac des Iles PGM Au (Canada) 25 - Lac des Iles PGM Cu (Canada) 26 - Lac des Iles PGM Ni (Canada)
SECONDARY STAGE (REGRIND) MF2 VALUES
25
26
23
2422
Cu in Zn circuit (SA)Pb in Zn circuit (SA)
Cu in Zn circuit (SA)
Ni in Merensky
Zn in Pb circuit (SA)
Zn in Cu circuit (SA)
Cu in Pb circuit (SA)
Ni in UG2
Cu in UG2
Cu in Merensky
27a & b - PGM Furnace Slag 28 - PGM UG2 29 - PGM Merensky30 - Ni & Cu Ore 131 - Ni & Cu Ore 2
27a
27b
28 & 29
3031
Figure 11 Predicted vs. Simulated Plant Recovery