Mining and Minerals

Mineral Sands and Heavy Mineral Recovery

Mineral sands operations move very large tonnages to recover a few percent of heavy minerals, then separate products that differ from one another only slightly in density, magnetism and conductivity. This course follows that separation. Delegates work through deposit types along the coastal belts of the region and the assemblage each carries of ilmenite, rutile, zircon and monazite. Mining methods are covered, including dredging and dry mining, with the slurry handling each requires. Wet concentration follows through spirals, with the multi stage circuits that reject quartz while holding heavies. Dewatering and drying are addressed ahead of dry separation. Dry plant separation is worked through in detail: magnetic, electrostatic and gravity stages, and the sequence that resolves the assemblage into saleable products. Product specification and radionuclide content are covered honestly, since monazite carries a regulatory consequence. Tailings, dune rehabilitation and progressive restoration follow. The course closes on recovery accounting and on grade variability.