Minerals and coal need to be beneficiated from ore/crudes before being sold into the market. Among the prevalent beneficiation methods, froth flotation is widely employed for fine and ultrafine sized fractions of ore.
Monitoring and diagnosis of flotation performance are increasingly more dependent on real-time measurements, especially in remote areas. There is a pressing need to develop a low-cost and accurate diagnostic tool to monitor the flotation performance in real-time, enabling instant control of the operational variables to maximise and maintain flotation efficiency.
Researchers at The University of Queensland (UQ) have developed a novel sensor to monitor real-time flotation performance by measuring the drag exerted by the overflowing froth onto a cantilever beam. The team designed a scaled-up sensor design for industrial application and has held successful field trials at a Central Queensland mine.
Key features
- Inexpensive, simple yet rugged construction
- Live monitoring and instant, remote feedback
- High accuracy compared to more expensive comparable measurement methods
- Easily scalable.