Mineral Processing and Recovery Course

Lesson 1 • Economic Minerals and Their Uses

Surveys metals, industrial minerals, and energy minerals with commercial value. Links mineral identity to downstream recovery and market demand.

Lesson 2 • Ore Deposit Classification

Examines major ore deposit types and their geological origins. Connects deposit type to expected mineral assemblages and processing challenges.

Lesson 3 • Mineral Properties and Identification

Covers physical and chemical properties used to identify minerals in the field and lab. Establishes the vocabulary and observation skills needed throughout the course.

Lesson 1 • Grinding Mills and Media

Examines ball, rod, SAG, and AG mills along with grinding media selection. Connects mill type and media charge to product fineness and energy efficiency.

Lesson 2 • Principles of Size Reduction

Explains breakage mechanisms and energy-size relationships governing comminution. Provides the theoretical basis for equipment selection and circuit design.

Lesson 3 • Classification and Screening

Teaches mechanical and hydraulic classification to control product size in circuits. Proper classification prevents over-grinding and improves downstream recovery.

Lesson 4 • Crushing Equipment and Circuits

Covers jaw, gyratory, cone, and impact crushers with their operating parameters. Students match crusher type to ore hardness and target product size.

Lesson 1 • Filtration Fundamentals

Explains pressure and vacuum filtration mechanisms and filter media selection. Connects filtration theory to moisture targets for concentrate and tailings.

Lesson 2 • Sedimentation and Thickening

Covers settling theory, thickener design, and flocculant selection for pulp dewatering. Thickening is the primary step before filtration and tailings disposal.

Lesson 3 • Centrifugal Separation Methods

Examines centrifuges and hydrocyclones for fine particle dewatering and classification. Centrifugal methods complement gravity-based separation for difficult slurries.

Lesson 1 • Dense Medium Separation

Teaches dense medium cyclone and drum separation for pre-concentration and waste rejection. DMS reduces downstream processing costs by discarding gangue early.

Lesson 2 • Jigs and Sluices

Covers jigging and sluicing equipment used for coarse and alluvial mineral recovery. These low-cost methods are widely applied in placer and coarse ore processing.

Lesson 3 • Principles of Gravity Separation

Establishes the physical basis of density-driven separation and concentration criteria. Understanding these principles guides equipment selection and feed preparation.

Lesson 4 • Centrifugal Gravity Concentrators

Covers enhanced gravity devices for fine gold and heavy mineral recovery. These units extend gravity separation to particle sizes where conventional methods fail.

Lesson 1 • Flotation Cell Design and Operation

Examines mechanical cells, column flotation, and pneumatic cells with their hydrodynamics. Cell design affects bubble size, residence time, and collection efficiency.

Lesson 2 • Selective Flotation of Complex Ores

Addresses differential flotation of polymetallic and oxide ores requiring sequential separation. Students apply advanced reagent schemes to achieve multi-mineral selectivity.

Lesson 3 • Flotation Reagents

Covers collectors, frothers, activators, depressants, and pH modifiers with their functions. Correct reagent selection and dosing determine selectivity and recovery.

Lesson 4 • Flotation Circuit Design

Integrates rougher, scavenger, and cleaner stages into optimised flotation circuits. Circuit architecture balances grade and recovery for specific ore mineralogy.

Lesson 1 • Electrowinning and Precipitation

Covers electrowinning cell design and chemical precipitation for final metal recovery. These finishing steps produce saleable metal or intermediate products.

Lesson 2 • Heap and Vat Leaching

Examines heap leach pad design, solution application, and vat leaching for low-grade ores. These methods offer low capital cost for oxide and secondary sulphide ores.

Lesson 3 • Solvent Extraction and Ion Exchange

Teaches SX-EW circuits and ion exchange for selective metal recovery from pregnant solutions. These methods purify and concentrate metals before final electrowinning.

Lesson 4 • Agitated Tank Leaching

Covers carbon-in-leach, carbon-in-pulp, and resin-in-pulp processes for gold and base metals. Agitated leaching achieves higher extraction rates than heap methods for fine ore.

Lesson 1 • Smelting and Converting

Examines flash, reverberatory, and electric furnace smelting for copper, lead, and nickel concentrates. Converting removes iron and sulphur to produce blister or crude metal.

Lesson 2 • Fire Refining and Electrolytic Refining

Covers fire refining to remove impurities and electrolytic refining to achieve high-purity metal. Refining steps determine final product grade and by-product recovery.

Lesson 3 • Thermodynamic Principles of Pyrometallurgy

Establishes Ellingham diagrams, phase equilibria, and reaction thermodynamics for high-temperature processing. These principles guide furnace atmosphere and temperature selection.

Lesson 4 • Roasting and Calcination

Covers oxidative, sulphating, and chloridising roasting to convert sulphides and prepare ores for leaching. Roasting is a critical pretreatment step for refractory gold and base metal ores.

Lesson 1 • Equipment Sizing and Selection

Applies design criteria to size and select major equipment items from mass balance outputs. Proper sizing prevents bottlenecks and ensures design throughput is achievable.

Lesson 2 • Flowsheet Development and Selection

Guides systematic flowsheet development from ore characterisation through process selection. Flowsheet choice determines capital cost, recovery, and operational complexity.

Lesson 3 • Mass and Water Balance

Teaches steady-state mass and water balance construction for complete processing plants. Accurate balances are essential for equipment sizing and reagent consumption estimates.

Lesson 4 • Process Control and Instrumentation

Covers control loops, sensors, and automation strategies for stable plant operation. Effective process control maximises recovery and reduces reagent and energy costs.