In the mineral processing industry, there is an interesting phenomenon: the same mine, the same set of equipment, only changing the reagent scheme, the recovery rate may fluctuate significantly, and the quality of concentrate may vary greatly.

It's like cooking - the ingredients are the same, but with the right seasoning and heat, the dish is served; If used incorrectly, it may be difficult to swallow.

Today we will talk about the tricks of using mineral processing agents in large mines.

Why are large mines so sensitive to chemicals?

The biggest difference between large and small mines is their size. The size has increased, and any subtle changes will be magnified.

Mixed sources of ore
A large mine often has multiple mining areas, each with different ore compositions. Some have high sulfur content, some have high arsenic content, some have more clay, and some have high silicon content. If the medication plan is a one size fits all approach, there will inevitably be some mining areas with good effects and some with poor effects.

Long process flow
The beneficiation process of large mines is often much more complex than that of small mines. Grinding, grading, flotation, selection, sweeping, dehydration... each step will affect the consumption and effectiveness of the reagents. If there is a deviation in one link, it will be transmitted all the way to the final product.

High operating costs
The loss of a day's work stoppage in a large mine with continuous operation is enormous. Therefore, they cannot accept "experimental" drug regimens and require mature, stable, and predictable products and services.

The "formula thinking" of pharmaceuticals rather than the "single product thinking"

Buying pharmaceuticals in small mines is often like "I want to buy yellow medicine", just like buying daily necessities. Large mines are completely different - they buy 'formulas'.

What is formula? It is to mix multiple agents in a certain proportion and customize a combination plan based on the characteristics of one's own ore.

For example, in the ore of a large gold mine, there are both easily floatable pyrite type gold and difficult to floatable arsenopyrite type gold. Using a single collector can only capture a portion of it. So the engineer designed a "combination formula": using one collector to capture pyrite type gold, using another collector to capture toxic sand type gold, and then combining with specific adjusters to control the slurry environment. So the overall recycling rate has increased.

This' formula thinking 'requires pharmaceutical suppliers not only to be manufacturers, but also to possess mineral processing testing capabilities and on-site service capabilities.

The 'invisible champion' status of adjusters

During the flotation process, the collector and frother are the "actors" on stage and are easily visible. The adjustment agent is the "director" behind the scenes, which is not easily noticed by the audience, but whether the entire scene looks good or not largely depends on the director's level.

There are many types of adjusters, each performing their own duties:

PH adjusterResponsible for controlling the acidity and alkalinity of the slurry. Too acidic, equipment corrodes quickly; Too alkaline, some minerals may not float up. The choice of adjusting agent and how much to add depends on the "temperament" of the ore.

inhibitorResponsible for "pressing" impurities that do not want to float up. For example, pyrite is often associated in gold mines, and if it floats up with the gold, the grade of the gold concentrate will be lowered. The purpose of adding inhibitors is to make pyrite "wait patiently".

activatorThe effect is exactly the opposite. Some gold is wrapped in pyrite and cannot float out. The activator can "activate" the surface of pyrite, allowing the collector to adsorb onto it and bring up the encapsulated gold.

Dispersants and coagulantsResponsible for managing fine mud. Too much fine mud in the slurry will stick to the mineral surface like paste, affecting flotation. Dispersants can help them disperse; Coagulants can allow them to settle quickly and separate out in advance.

Mineral processing engineers in large mines often spend a lot of time on the "fine-tuning" of adjusters. Because the types of collectors are relatively fixed, while the types of adjusters are diverse and have complex effects, each optimization of the formula may bring significant improvements in indicators.

How to select pharmaceutical suppliers for large mines?

The inspection of pharmaceutical suppliers in large mines is far more than just a matter of "price and quality". They will evaluate from multiple dimensions:

technical capability
Does the supplier have their own laboratory? Can we conduct beneficiation tests on the customer's ore? Do you have the ability to recommend medication plans based on experimental results? The stronger the technical ability, the higher the efficiency of problem-solving after cooperation.

production stability
Is the supplier's factory producing continuously or intermittently? Is there a standardized quality control system? Is there a significant fluctuation in the indicators of each batch of products? The stability of production directly determines whether mining production can operate smoothly.

supply guarantee
The risk of supply interruption is absolutely unacceptable for large mines with high demand. Is the supplier's raw material supply chain reliable? Is the production capacity sufficient? Can we quickly restock in emergency situations?

service response
Problems in mines occur day and night. Can the supplier send personnel to the site in a timely manner? Can we diagnose the problem remotely and quickly? The service response speed often determines the size of the loss caused by the problem.

industry reputation
Have other large mines used this supplier's products? How is the evaluation? Are there any successful cooperation cases? Industry reputation is an important reference basis.

The 'dressing change trend' of environmental protection agents in large mines

In recent years, an obvious change is that more and more large mines are switching from traditional sodium cyanide to environmentally friendly beneficiation agents.

There are three reasons driving this change:

Policy pressure
The environmental supervision is becoming increasingly strict, and the compliance cost of using highly toxic chemicals is becoming higher and higher. Instead of investing a large amount of resources in approval, security, and emergency response every year, it is better to switch to low toxicity products at once.

safety risk
Once a cyanide leak occurs in a large mine, the impact range is wide and the consequences are serious. This kind of risk is something that no enterprise can afford. Using environmentally friendly chemicals is essentially 'buying safety'.

comprehensive cost
The unit price of environmentally friendly chemicals may be slightly higher, but it eliminates a series of hidden costs such as the construction of highly toxic substance warehouses, specialized transportation vehicles, professional security personnel, and harmless treatment of tailings. Calculating the total cost is not more expensive than sodium cyanide.

At present, the application of environmentally friendly mineral processing agents in large-scale mines has become very common. From heap leaching to agitation leaching, from carbon slurry process to resin gold extraction, environmentally friendly chemicals are comprehensively replacing traditional products. This is no longer a question of 'whether to change', but a question of 'when to change'.

Deep Water Zone for Mineral Processing Reagent Services

For large mines, purchasing mineral processing agents is not just about signing a supply contract. The truly valuable cooperation is when suppliers can deeply participate in the optimization of mineral processing technology in mines.

For example, the supplier's engineers regularly come to the mine to take samples, analyze changes in ore properties, and proactively suggest adjustments to the chemical formula; For example, when a mine encounters difficult to process ore, the supplier's laboratory can quickly conduct experiments and provide solutions; For example, suppliers can train mine operators to help them better understand the characteristics of chemicals and master addition techniques.

This' deep service 'model is becoming an important criterion for selecting pharmaceutical suppliers for large mines. Simply selling drugs is no longer sufficient to meet demand. Only manufacturers who can provide a comprehensive solution of "technology+product+service" can gain long-term trust from large mines.

From "buying medicine" to "nourishing medicine"

In the past, the attitude of mines towards pharmaceuticals was' buy '- just buy them and use them up. Nowadays, more and more large mines are starting to "cultivate" - establishing their own pharmaceutical management and optimization systems.

What does that mean? It is to manage pharmaceuticals as an important production factor: regularly evaluate the effectiveness of pharmaceuticals, track their consumption, analyze the differences between different batches of products, establish a database of pharmaceutical usage, and continuously conduct optimization experiments

This practice of "nourishing medicine" may seem to increase workload, but in fact it is accumulating core competitiveness. Because in the end, you will find that in the same mine, whoever studies the chemicals thoroughly can reduce costs and improve indicators. In the fiercely competitive mining market, this is often the winner.