A shortcut procedure for the design of mineral separation circuits

An important issue in the design of a mineral plant is the synthesis of mineral separation circuits. There are several methods for the synthesis of these circuits, but in most of the cases, sophisticated computer programs are required. This paper presents a simple method for the synthesis of preliminary separation circuits. The method considers the design of circuit configuration of fixed operating parameters. Given the transfer functions of scavenger, rougher, and cleaner stages, the method gives the number of scavenger and cleaner stages, and the configuration of the recycling streams. Two examples are analyzed using the technique developed, and implemented on a spreadsheet.