Jord International is pleased to share our latest NovaCell™ research paper, recently published in the Minerals Engineering journal.

The paper, ‘Advancing coarse particle flotation: how the NovaCell™ overcomes liberation challenges’, explores the fundamental mechanisms behind capturing these difficult particles.

In conventional mechanical cells, the strong hydrodynamic forces required for particle attachment frequently lead to the detachment of coarser particles. This challenge is compounded by the fact that larger composite particles often have lower fractional surface liberation, which reduces the adhesive force holding the particle to the bubble. By utilising a quiescent fluidised bed, the NovaCell™ provides a calmer environment that minimises the detachment forces tearing coarse bubble-particle aggregates apart.

We have summarised the core findings in the attached infographic, highlighting the results from laboratory testing on a run-of-mine IOCG ore:

– Superior Copper Recovery: The NovaCell™ achieved an overall copper recovery of 94.3% ± 0.8%, compared to 89.4% ± 0.8% in a conventional mechanical cell.
– Complex Composite Capture: While the mechanical cell saw a sharp decrease in recovery for particles larger than 106 µm, the NovaCell™ maintained high copper recovery above this size.
– Low Liberation Threshold: Detailed mineral liberation analysis (MLA) demonstrated that the NovaCell™ achieved effective recovery across all size fractions for composite particles with surface liberation as low as 10%.
– Flowsheet Efficiency: The ability to successfully recover poorly liberated, coarse composites permits a coarser primary grind. This unlocks additional plant throughput and reduces specific energy consumption, while simultaneously generating coarser tailings that improve dewatering rates.

Congratulations to authors Lonn Cooper, Professor Graeme Jameson, and Sherwin Morgan on this excellent contribution to mineral processing literature.

Read the full paper here.