Minerals Engineering 19 (2006) 748–757

This article is also available online at:

www.elsevier.com/locate/mineng

Evaluation of a MicrocelTM sparger in the Red Dog column

flotation cells
Jason Pyecha a, Brigitte Lacouture a,*
, Scott Sims a, George Hope b, Andrew Stradling c

a
Teck Cominco Alaska Incorporated, 3105 Lakeshore Drive, Building A, Suite 101 Anchorage, AK 99517, USA
b
Teck Cominco Limited, 600-200 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6C 3L9
c
Teck Cominco Research, P.O. Box 2000, Trail, BC, Canada V1R 4S4

Received 16 July 2005; accepted 9 September 2005

Available online 21 November 2005

Abstract

Column flotation cells have been installed in numerous base metal operations around the world. The majority of these cells utilize
conventional air-only spargers to introduce air into the bottom of the column. The recent development of instruments to measure the
bubble characteristics in these columns has provided a renewed understanding of column behaviour. These new tools provided insight
into why the columns at Red Dog Mine had never performed up to expectations. After efforts to optimise the spargers failed to substan-
tially change the bubble size and air efficiency, alternate sparger systems were investigated. The Metso Minerals CISA Microcel sparger
system appeared promising and was selected for a full-scale plant trial. The Microcel sparger system was originally developed for the coal
industry at the Virginia Centre for Coal and Minerals Processing.
In October 2003, a Microcel was retrofitted into one of two 3.66 m diameter flotation columns in the zinc retreat circuit at Red Dog
Mine. The operation of the two different sparger systems in parallel allowed a detailed comparison.
This paper discusses the performance of the Microcel based on the data collected during several detailed surveys. Bubble size mea-
surements carried out in the pulp zone using the McGill University bubble viewer showed a significant difference in bubble size. The
mean Sauter diameter of the bubbles decreased from 3.4 mm for the jetting-type sparger to 1.9 mm for the Microcel sparger. The overall
recovery and the recovery by size fraction for both valuable and gangue minerals were compared. Paired t-tests demonstrated that the
Microcel column produced a higher concentrate grade (0.6% zinc absolute) and a higher unit recovery (2.8% zinc absolute) than the exist-
ing Canadian Process Technologies Inc (CPT) SlamJet column. These improvements provided a payback period of 1.5 months for the
$109,000 investment.
 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Sulphide ores; Column flotation; Flotation bubbles; Process optimisation; Liberation analysis

1. Introduction during the 100-day shipping season. The operating crews

The Red Dog Mine, located in North-Western Alaska,
is the worldÕs largest producer of zinc in concentrate. The
mine is located above the Arctic Circle and is accessible
only by air, or seasonally, by ocean-going barge. All oper-
ating supplies are received and concentrates dispatched
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 907 426 9209; fax: +1 907 426 2117.
E-mail address: brigitte.lacouture@teckcominco.com (B. Lacouture).
are flown from either Anchorage or the local villages.
Red Dog is a Mississippian to Permian, black shale
hosted, zinc–lead–silver sedimentary exhalative (sedex)
deposit. Silicification was a dominant component of the
mineralizing event and the host shale has been silicified
and locally resembles a chert. The major sulphides in
decreasing order of abundance are sphalerite, pyrite,
galena, and marcasite. Red Dog sphalerite is very fine
grained to amorphous and is commonly intergrown with
silica.

0892-6875/$ - see front matter  2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.mineng.2005.09.044
 J. Pyecha et al. / Minerals Engineering 19 (2006) 748–757
The process plant consists of a primary gyratory
crusher, SAG/Ball mill grinding, differential flotation and
concentrate dewatering with pressure filters. The tailings
are deposited in a sub-aqueous basin adjacent to the con-
centrator. The current milling rate is 3.2 million tonnes
per year to produce 220,000 tonnes of lead concentrate
and 1.1 million tonnes of zinc concentrate. The concentrate
is trucked 80 km to the port where it is stored in two con-
centrate sheds until the start of the shipping season.
2. Flotation circuit description
The flotation circuits at Red Dog have been modified
numerous times during its 14 years of operation. The major
changes and the logic for those changes are described in
detail by Lacouture and Hope (2002). The following brief
process description and flowsheet (Fig. 1) describes the
current circuit.
The ore is ground to 80% passing 65 lm prior to flota-
tion. Flotation consists of three sequential stages; preflota-
tion to remove naturally floating organic carbon and
elemental sulphur, lead flotation and zinc flotation. The
flotation equipment consists primarily of 50 m3 Outok-
umpu (OK) conventional tank cells for both roughing
and cleaning and Atlantic Gulf & Pacific Co & CPT col-
umns for final cleaning. The plant has a total of fifty-nine
50 m3 tank cells, eight 3.66 m dia columns, and four
2.74 m dia columns. A total of ten 335 kW tower mills
are used for regrinding various products in the lead and
zinc cleaning circuits.
Preflotation
Pb circuit
Lead
concentrate
Zn cleaners
Zn 2nd retreat
Zn 3rd retreat
11 12
Zinc concentrate
Fig. 1. Red Dog Mine flotation circuit.
749
The portion of the circuit discussed in this paper is the
zinc retreat circuit, which is fed by the zinc first cleaner tail-
ings. The zinc retreat circuit consists of three flotation
stages. The first stage is conventional flotation with the zinc
first retreat tailings open circuited to final tailings. The con-
centrate goes to closed circuit regrinding with tower mills
to produce a P80 of 17–29 lm. The regrind is dependant
upon ore characteristics and operating parameters. The
cyclone overflow goes to a second stage of conventional flo-
tation (zinc second retreat) and then to the third flotation
stage. The third flotation stage consists of two 3.66 m
dia columns (columns 11 and 12) which were projected to
generate 25% of the final zinc concentrate.
3. Column flotation theory
Numerous studies have been conducted to explore the
role of gas dispersion properties on column flotation. The
gas dispersion properties of most interest are superficial
gas velocity (Jg), bubble diameter (db), gas hold-up (Eg),
and bubble surface area flux (Sb). These studies on columns
and parallel research in mechanical cells have shown the
collection zone rate constant (kc) to be linearly dependent
on the bubble surface area flux.
The superficial gas velocity (Jg) is the volumetric flow
rate of air moving up through the column per unit column
cross-sectional area. The bubble surface area flux (Sb) can
be quantified as the rate of bubble surface area moving up
the column cross-sectional area. The relationship between
Sb, Jg, and db was described by Finch and Dobby (1990):
S b ¼ 6J g =d b ð1Þ
Flotation
feed Gorain et al. (1997) showed the relationship between recov-
ery (R) and Sb as
Zn roughers 1
R ¼ 1  ð1 þ ksÞ ð2Þ
k ¼ PS b Rf ð3Þ
where R is the overall mineral recovery; k, the flotation rate
constant; s, the mean residence time; P, the intrinsic min-
Tower eral floatability (particle size, liberation, etc.) and Rf is
mills the froth recovery.
The froth recovery is the ratio of the flotation rate con-
Zn 1st retreat
stant to the collection zone rate constant:
Rf ¼ k=k c ð4Þ
It therefore follows from Eqs. (1)–(3) that a small bubble
size equates to a higher recovery.
Tower In work by other researchers, the bubble size was usu-
mills ally inferred from indirect measurements. The evaluations
at Red Dog used the McGill University bubble viewer
(Hernandez-Aguilar et al., 2002) to directly measure bub-
ble size. The bubble images were processed using the McG-
ill University developed image analysis software. The
Tailings delineated bubbles were converted from two-dimensional
area to equivalent circle diameter. The equivalent circle
diameter was then used as the measured bubble diameter
750 J. Pyecha et al. / Minerals Engineering 19 (2006) 748–757
and to determine the spherical volume and surface area.
The mean Sauter size (d32) is calculated as
d 32 ¼ 6V b =Ab ð5Þ
P P
where V b ¼ bubblesÕ spherical volume; Ab ¼ bubblesÕ
spherical surface area.
4. Red dog flotation column optimisation
4.1. Current column performance
The latest zinc circuit modifications were completed in
November of 2001. The most significant change to the cir-
cuit was the incorporation of the zinc retreat circuit to treat
the fine, slow floating and poorly liberated sphalerite in a
completely separate circuit. This circuit provided increased
flotation capacity and applied more regrind power to the
difficult to float material.
Following commissioning, the retreat circuit was found
to perform below target with respect to sphalerite recovery.
Although the liberation characteristics of the ore feeding
the retreat circuit were a limiting factor in the retreat per-
formance, it was also found that the flotation columns were
not operating as efficiently as designed. A review of the
retreat circuit modal data showed that liberated sphalerite
particles were not being recovered (Lacouture, 2002; Lin,
2002a). Fig. 2 shows that although free sphalerite makes
up more than half of the retreat column feed, free sphaler-
ite recovery is less than 35% for all size fractions. Further
investigation (Lin, 2002b) detected large bubbles (2–
5 mm) in the flotation columns which resulted in reduced
bubble surface area flux (Sb) and poor recovery.
Testwork and surveys to identify the reasons the retreat
circuit was not performing up to expectations were con-
ducted in July 2002 as a part of the AMIRA P9M site visit.
The limits of the retreat circuit performance were attrib-
uted to poor ore floatability, poor selectivity, and high
entrainment. It was suggested that significant improvement
in metallurgical performance could be realized through
reduced entrainment and the improved flotation selectivity
of sphalerite with respect to gangue minerals (Runge et al.,
2003).
Fig. 2. Retreat column feed composition and size-by-size recovery.
4.2. Jetting-type sparger bubble size results
Based on preliminary column performance evaluations,
Red Dog, Teck Cominco Research, and McGill University
embarked on a program aimed at decreasing the column
bubble size and improving the air utilization. The following
parameters of the jetting-type spargers (SlamJet) in use at
Red Dog were adjusted:
• Sparger nozzle diameter (5.1, 3.8, and 2.5 mm).
• Air manifold pressure.
• Frother addition rate.
• Water and water + frother injection into the air
manifold.
Table 1 shows the actual parameters for each individual
test. The average d32 of all the jetting-type spargers bubble
size tests was 3.2 mm with a standard deviation of 0.3 mm.
Although there were slight changes to bubble sizes as the
above parameters were tested, the impact on bubble size
was less than desired. Given the limited success of the tests,
the use of a very high frother dosage (test 19) was
attempted to determine if a significant change to bubble
size could be obtained through frother addition. The test
combining the injection of water and very high frother dos-
age (75 ppm concentration within the column) into the air
manifold gave the smallest d32 of 2.4 mm. Uncontrollable
frothing prevented this level of frother addition from being
sustained. Tests with lower levels of frother resulted in only
slight changes to bubble size (0.3 mm changes to d32 val-
ues). For comparison purposes, bubble size data from the
mechanical cells in the zinc rougher circuit are shown on
Fig. 3. The data clearly show the bubble sizes measured
in the flotation columns were significantly larger than those
measured in the mechanical cells. It was thus concluded
that the resulting bubble sizes generated by the jetting-type
spargers could not be reduced significantly and were larger
than desired.
These results confirmed the initial findings that large
diameter bubbles existed in the columns. While not the sole
source of the lower than expected retreat circuit perfor-
mance, the large diameter bubbles were believed to contrib-
ute to the low recovery and high entrainment. Based on the
results, it was decided to look at different sparging systems.
4.3. Why Microcel
The Microcel system has found many applications in
fine coal flotation (Yoon et al., 1989, 1992) and has started
to gain acceptance in the base metal sector. The first report
of industrial-scale tests of the Microcel in a base metal
application was in Cyprus SierritaÕs Twin Buttes cleaner
circuit (Booher et al., 1990). In this bulk cleaner applica-
tion the Microcel gave significantly higher recovery of cop-
per and molybdenum at similar grade compared to the
in-house bubble generation system. The Microcel achieved
these results with 30–50% less air than the other systems.
 J. Pyecha et al. / Minerals Engineering 19 (2006) 748–757 751

Table 1
Jetting-type optimisation testwork parameters
Test # Spargers #/nozzle size Air/spargera Air pressure Additional frother Water injection to air manifold
(mm) (L/s) (kPa) (ml/min) (L/min)
1 16/5.1 2.1 476
2 23/5.1 1.7 400
3 15/5.1 2.0 538
4 20/3.8 1.5 434
5 24/3.8 1.5 434
6 20/3.8 1.6 503
7 23/5.1 1.7 400 120
8 23/5.1 1.7 400 120
9 24/2.5 0.9 538
10 24/5.1 1.3 359
11 24/5.1 1.0 469 38
12 24/5.1 1.3 359
13 24/5.1 1.1 345
14 24/2.5 0.9 359
15 24/5.1 1.0 496 50 38
16 24/5.1 1.0 496 50 38
17 24/5.1 1.2 359 45
18 24/2.5 0.9 517 45
19 24/5.1 1.0 462 165 38
a
At given air pressure.

100 Based on the experience at Cyprus and Golden Grove,

90 Teck Cominco Research recommended that Red Dog evalu-
80 ate the Microcel system to address the problem of bubble size
distribution achieved with the jetting-type sparger system.
Cumulative volume (%)

70
60

50 4.4. Microcel sparging system

40

30 OK-50 av (6 tests)
The Microcel sparging system, as shown in Fig. 4, pro-
20 Jetting-type av (19 tests)
vides air–slurry contact under controlled conditions out-
side the column. The Microcel system consists of a slurry
10 5.1mm water + MIBC
injection (75 ppm) pump to provide recycle of column tailings from the bot-
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 tom of the column through an array of static in-line mixers.
db (mm) Compressed air is introduced into the in-line mixers where
air and slurry are mixed under high-shear conditions to cre-
Fig. 3. July 2002 bubble size results using jetting-type spargers.
ate the bubble dispersion. The intense agitation created
when the air–slurry mixture passes through the static in-
line mixers results in the air being sheared into very small
In early 1998 Golden Grove conducted a plant trial of
the Microcel system in a zinc rougher prefloat application
(Kidd, 2001). These tests showed that the Microcel gave Column
wall
far superior metallurgical performance to the Minnovex
Slurry
sparger system. Again these results were achieved with manifold ring
approximately half the compressed air requirement of the
Air manifold ring
Minnovex sparger. In 2001 two 2.4 m Microcel columns Isolation valve
were successfully operating in this rougher duty at Golden
Static mixer Recycle slurry
Grove. Some other metal producing mines using Microcel pump
Isolation valve
columns include Boliden Aitik (Cu) and Boliden Laisvall
(Pb) in Sweden, Apirsa Azbacollar (Pb/Zn) in Spain,
Kumba Resources Rosh Pinah (Pb/Zn) in Namibia, Nicico
SarCheshmeh, Miduk and Sungun (Cu) in Iran, Myra Falls
Tailings discharge line
(Cu/Zn) in Canada and Grupo Mexico La Caridad (Cu) in
Mexico (Monredon, 2004). Fig. 4. Microcel schematic (Metso Minerals CISA, 2003).
752 J. Pyecha et al. / Minerals Engineering 19 (2006) 748–757
bubbles. The in-line mixers discharge around the periphery
of the column.
5. Performance comparison—Microcel versus jetting-type
spargers
5.1. Bubble size and bubble surface area flux
A Microcel sparging system was commissioned in Octo-
ber 2003 on one of the two parallel 3.66 m dia columns in
the zinc retreat circuit. A zinc retreat column was selected
for the retrofit because of the lower than predicted retreat
circuit performance and because the retreat feed consists
of the slow floating fine and locked particles. Smaller bub-
bles were expected to be beneficial in the zinc retreat col-
umns since smaller bubbles for a given superficial gas
velocity increase collision efficiency. Increased collision effi-
ciency would result in higher fines recovery which in turn
would allow a finer retreat regrind target. The finer retreat
regrind would permit higher sphalerite liberation and ulti-
mately better sphalerite to gangue selectivity (Bond, 2001).
Since the two retreat columns were in parallel, this made
for an easy side by side comparison. Bubble size measure-
ments were conducted on both column sparging systems to
determine the actual size differences. In addition, eight
retreat column surveys were completed to compare the
metallurgical performance of column 11 (utilizing the
Microcel sparger system) with column 12 (utilizing the jet-
ting-type sparger system). The jetting-type column oper-
ated with 24 spargers having 5.1 mm nozzles at an
average air pressure of 296 kPa. The Microcel column
operated with eight static mixers. The pressure drop across
the static mixers was 97 kPa. The recirculating slurry flow-
rate was approximately 454 m3/h, which typically equated
to a 3.5 ratio to fresh feed. Background frother concentra-
tion in the column circuit was 5–15 ppm.
The bubble size measurements were completed with the
McGill University bubble viewer. Four of the initial
twenty-five images processed from two of the tests (one
Microcel test and one jetting-type test) are shown in
Fig. 5. A rough visual comparison shows both systems con-
tain large bubbles (>2 mm) but the jetting-type images con-
sist of a greater quantity of large bubbles. The averaged
results (bubble diameter versus cumulative volume) with
error bars to show the full range are presented graphically
in Fig. 6. While neither column sparging system matches
the performance of the OK-50 mechanical cell, a difference
of 1.5 mm in the d32 values exists between the Microcel and
jetting-type air sparging systems. Under the same frother
addition rates the Microcel generated an average d32 of
1.9 mm while the jetting-type system averaged a d32 value
of 3.4 mm (see Table 2). Based on the difference in bubble
size between the two air sparging systems, the Microcel col-
umn has the potential to generate higher recoveries at
lower Jg values due to larger Sb values (see Fig. 7). While
similar Sb values can be generated by the jetting-type
sparging system by increasing Jg, the impact of the larger
bubbles generated by the jetting-type system would
decrease the collection zone rate constant. Although the
Sb values would be similar, the actual recovery is expected
to be lower with the jetting-type system.
5.2. Grade, recovery, and selectivity
As discussed earlier, the change in bubble diameter (db)
impacts Sb which impacts recovery. The effects on grade
and selectivity however are not directly predicted. To deter-
mine the performance difference between the two air sparg-
ing systems, eight retreat column surveys were completed.
Since the Microcel air sparging system was new, column
11, the Microcel column, was operated at varying air rates,
froth depths, and wash water rates to determine the opti-
mum ranges. Column 12, the jetting-type column, was
operated in the traditional ranges based on historical per-
formance. Table 3 details the setpoints of each of the eight
surveys.
The most notable differences in the operating parame-
ters between the two columns were the air rates and froth
depths. The Microcel air rates were intentionally lower
than the jetting-type air rates with the expectation of
reduced db and therefore similar or improved Sb over the
jetting-type column. The froth depths for the Microcel col-
umn were up to 45 cm deeper than the jetting-type column.
The deeper froth depths on the Microcel column were
achievable due to more stable and quiescent froth than typ-
ically seen on the jetting-type column. The froth depth on
the jetting-type column was set as deep as possible while
maintaining adequate concentrate flow. Historically froth
depths greater than 76 cm on the retreat columns cause
the froth to become unstable and collapse.
A summary of the column survey results, with respect to
individual column feed, is given in Table 4. Of the eight
surveys, the Microcel column performed better with
regards to concentrate zinc and silica grade than the jet-
ting-type column in all but one test (#13307). Paired t-tests
using these survey results (see Table 5) determined that the
Microcel column produced higher sphalerite recoveries
(+2.8% absolute) with better zinc concentrate grades
(+0.6% absolute) and lower non-sulphide gangue (NSG)
(0.7% absolute), silica (0.6% absolute) and pyrite
(0.4% absolute) grades. The sphalerite grade-recovery
curves in Fig. 8 show the Microcel column performed
along a better curve than the jetting-type column. Figs. 9
and 10 show improved sphalerite-pyrite and sphalerite-
NSG selectivity for the Microcel column as well. As the
sphalerite recovery increases the grade-recovery and selec-
tivity curves seem to merge. A review of the column param-
eters at the higher sphalerite recoveries shows decreased
wash water rates. When compared, these high sphalerite
recovery points resulted from bias rates (Jb) less than
0.11 cm/s for both columns. As shown in Figs. 11 and
12, at similar bias rates the Microcel column outperformed
the jetting-type column.
 J. Pyecha et al. / Minerals Engineering 19 (2006) 748–757 753

Fig. 5. Bubble size images of Microcel column (Jg = 0.7 cm/s, d32 = 2.0 mm) and jetting-type column (Jg = 0.9 cm/s, d32 = 3.6 mm) (reference
dot = 3.05 mm).

The Microcel air sparging system was installed because it
was advertised to give fine, uniform bubble generation capa-
ble of improving mineral recovery. The results of the eight
surveys support this claim. The Microcel column consumed
25–35% less air than the jetting-type air sparging system, yet
averaged 2.8% higher sphalerite recovery and achieved bet-
ter selectively against pyrite and NSG which translated to
an increase of 0.6% zinc concentrate grade. The finer and
more uniform bubble generation appears to have increased
the Sb, thereby increasing the overall column recovery.
754 J. Pyecha et al. / Minerals Engineering 19 (2006) 748–757

100 40
90 35
80 30
Cumulative volume (%)

70 25

60
50
40
30
OK-50 av (6 tests)
20
Jetting-type av (19 tests)
10
M icrocel av (17 tests)
0 Calculated Jg (cm/s)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
db (mm)
Fig. 6. Bubble size versus cumulative volume comparison of Microcel and
jetting-type spargers.
5.3. Size-by-size
An evaluation of the fine particle recovery was based on
detailed size fraction liberation analysis of the #13301 sur-
vey samples. This survey was analyzed since both columns
had similar sphalerite unit recoveries (20.6%—Microcel,
19.3%—jetting-type) but significantly different concentrate
grades; 53.2% Zn and 2.00% SiO2 for the Microcel versus
52.2% Zn and 3.00% SiO2 for the jetting-type. The size-
by-size liberation data revealed that the Microcel column
matched or exceeded the free and locked sphalerite recov-
ery of the jetting-type column across all size ranges. The
Microcel column significantly reduced entrainment of the
fine (11 lm) free NSG. The increased recovery of locked
sphalerite caused an increase in the recovery of locked
NSG. Overall pyrite recovery was found to be unaffected,
although the recovery mechanism changed.
5.4. Sphalerite distribution and recovery
The solids distribution of the retreat column feed shows
that 38% of the mass was in the 2.5 lm size fraction. The
F80 of the column feed was 15.0 lm with a top size of
38 lm. Similarly, 38% of the sphalerite in the retreat col-
umn feed occurred in the 2.5 lm size fraction. Free sphal-
Sb (cm2/s/cm2)
20
15
10
Jetting-type d32 = 3.4 mm
5
Microcel d32 = 1.9 mm
0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5
8
Fig. 7. A comparison of Sb versus Jg between the Microcel and jetting-
type spargers.
erite recovery (see Fig. 13) was higher for the Microcel
column except for the finest size where the jetting-type col-
umn likely entrains more of the sphalerite. The Microcel
column recovered 1.8% more free sphalerite than the jet-
ting-type column. The Microcel locked sphalerite recovery
was also 0.6% higher. Overall the Microcel column recov-
ered 1.3% more sphalerite than the jetting-type column.
5.5. Diluents distribution and recovery
Fig. 14 shows the column feed NSG distribution and
recovery for both free and locked particles. The ability of
the Microcel column to operate with deeper and more sta-
ble froth reduced the entrainment of the fine (11 lm) free
NSG by 13%. The recovery of locked NSG increased with
the Microcel, as expected given the increased recovery of
sphalerite composites. The improvement in NSG selectivity
against sphalerite led to a reduction in grade from 6.3%
NSG in the jetting-type column to 4.3% NSG in the Micro-
cel column.
The pyrite distribution in the retreat column feed (see
Fig. 15) shows a trend similar to sphalerite. Unlike sphal-
erite however, pyrite had a 1.3% lower unit recovery in
the 15–28 lm size fractions for the Microcel column due
to the improved rejection of locked coarse particles. The
similar pyrite unit recovery between the columns in the

Table 2
McGill University bubble viewer results comparison between Microcel and jetting-type spargers at 14.5 ml/min frother addition rate
Sparging system Test # Air rate (L/s)a Jg (cm/s) (calculated) Air pressure (kPa) d32 (mm) Sb (cm2/s/cm2)
Microcel 23 66 0.63 262 1.8 21
Microcel 24 73 0.70 269 2.0 21
Microcel 25 59 0.56 259 2.0 17
Average 1.9

Jetting-type 26 94 0.90 303 3.6 15

Jetting-type 27 85 0.81 296 3.2 15
Jetting-type 28 76 0.72 290 3.5 12
Average 3.4
a
Standardised to 101.3 kPa.
 J. Pyecha et al. / Minerals Engineering 19 (2006) 748–757 755

Table 3
Column parameters for retreat circuit surveys
Survey # Column 11—Microcel Column 12—jetting-type
2 a 2
Air rate (L/s m ) Froth depth (cm) Wash water (L/s m ) Air rate (L/s m2)a Froth depth (cm) Wash water (L/s m2)
13298 6.08 86 2.26 8.08 74 2.46
13299 5.42 86 2.27 8.08 74 2.49
13300 6.27 91 2.47 9.60 74 2.80
13301 6.27 109 2.41 9.60 74 2.73
13302 6.27 119 2.41 9.60 74 2.73
13304 6.08 119 2.44 8.93 74 2.70
13306 6.08 119 2.57 8.93 74 2.67
13307 6.08 112 2.24 8.93 74 2.72
a
Standardised to 101.3 kPa.

Table 4
Survey results with respect to individual column feed
Survey # Column 11—Microcel Column 12—jetting-type
Concentrate grade Unit recovery Concentrate grade Unit recovery
% Zn % Silica % Zn % NSG % Zn % Silica % Zn % NSG
13298 51.8 2.30 28.3 11.3 51.8 2.60 24.1 10.5
13299 52.6 1.90 27.0 8.7 52.0 2.30 27.4 11.1
13300 53.1 2.13 22.8 7.6 52.1 2.85 20.7 7.7
13301 53.2 2.00 20.6 6.5 52.2 3.00 19.3 6.9
13302 53.4 1.87 22.3 6.3 52.2 2.85 20.5 8.4
13304 54.0 2.57 24.2 7.1 53.5 3.28 19.8 6.5
13306 54.5 2.13 21.8 5.6 53.5 3.30 22.4 7.2
13307 52.4 3.29 26.5 10.9 53.1 3.15 17.1 5.7
Average 53.1 2.27 24.2 8.0 52.6 2.92 21.4 8.0

Table 5
Paired t-test results
Response Mean difference (jetting-type—Microcel) Standard deviation difference Significant @ 95%? Significance level (%)
Column concentrate grade (%)
Galena 0.2 0.11 Yes 100
Zinc 0.6 0.64 Yes 98
Sphalerite 0.9 1.01 Yes 98
NSG 0.7 0.47 Yes 100
Silica 0.64 0.434 Yes 100
Pyrite 0.4 0.58 Yes 95
Column unit recovery (%)
Zinc 2.8 3.23 Yes 98
NSG 0.0 2.40 No 50
Pyrite 0.6 2.08 No 78

2.5–11 lm size fractions resulted from the reduced entrain-
ment of the Microcel system being offset by the increase in
true flotation of pyrite. Work by Lin (2002a) identified that
40% and 30% of the pyrite in the first and second retreat
concentrates, respectively, was being deported by true flo-
tation. Given the increase in sphalerite unit recovery expe-
rienced in the Microcel column, a similar response would
be expected for the pyrite if deportment was only via true
flotation. Conversely, if all pyrite deportment in the col-
umn was due to entrainment, a reduction in pyrite recovery
with the Microcel system would be expected.
6. Microcel economic evaluation
An economic analysis was completed based on the over-
all change in plant performance from the installation of a
single Microcel column. Based on 17.5% of the zinc final
concentrate coming from the retreat circuit, the 0.6% grade
and 2.8% unit recovery improvements translate to an over-
all benefit of 0.04% in zinc grade and 0.16% in sphalerite
recovery. As a result of the recovery improvement, an addi-
tional 2000 tonnes of zinc concentrate per year at a slightly
higher grade are produced.
756 J. Pyecha et al. / Minerals Engineering 19 (2006) 748–757

56 30

55 25

Sphalerite recovery (%)

54
20
Zinc grade (%)

53
15
52
10
51
Jetting-type
50 5
Jetting-type Microcel
49 Microcel 0
0.04 0.09 0.14 0.19
48
10 15 20 25 30 JB (cm/s)
Sphalerite recovery (%)
Fig. 12. Bias rate versus column sphalerite recovery for Microcel and
Fig. 8. Sphalerite grade-recovery curves for Microcel and jetting-type jetting-type spargers.
spargers.

Locked Sp in feed
16 30 Free Sp in feed 60

14 Jetting-type free Sp rec

25 Jetting-type locked Sp rec 50
12 Microcel free Sp rec
Pyrite recovery (%)

Distribution (%)
20 Microcel locked Sp rec 40

Recovery (%)
10

8 15 30
6
10 20
4 Jetting-type

2 5 10
Microcel

0 0 0
10 15 20 25 30
2.5 7.5 11 15 28
Sphalerite recovery (%) Size fraction (µm)

Fig. 9. Sphalerite-pyrite selectivity curves for Microcel and jetting-type Fig. 13. Size-by-size sphalerite recovery and column feed distribution.
spargers.

16 Locked NSG in feed

30 60
14 Free NSG in feed
25 Jetting-type free NSG rec 50
12
NSG recovery (%)

Jetting-type locked NSG rec

10

Distribution (%)
20 40
Recovery (%)

Microcel free NSG rec

8 Microcel locked NSG rec
15 30
6
4 10 20
Jetting-type
2 Microcel 5 10
0
10 15 20 25 30 0 0
Sphalerite recovery (%) 2.5 7.5 11 15 28
Size fraction (µm)
Fig. 10. Sphalerite-NSG selectivity curves for Microcel and jetting-type
spargers. Fig. 14. Size-by-size NSG recovery and column feed distribution.

56 Locked Py in feed
30 60
55 Free Py in feed

54 25 Jetting-type free Py rec 50

Zinc grade (%)

Jetting-type locked Py rec

53
Recovery (%)

20 40
Distribution (%)

Microcel free Py rec

52 Microcel locked Py rec
51 15 30

50 Jetting-type 10 20
49 Microcel
5 10
48
0.04 0.09 0.14 0.19
0 0
JB (cm/s) 2.5 7.5 11 15 28
Size fraction (µm)
Fig. 11. Bias rate versus column concentrate zinc grade for Microcel and
jetting-type spargers. Fig. 15. Size-by-size pyrite recovery and column feed distribution.
 J. Pyecha et al. / Minerals Engineering 19 (2006) 748–757
The capital cost of the Microcel installation was
$109,000 comprising $57,000 in labour costs and $52,000
in materials costs. At a zinc price of $1036/t (47¢/lb), the
net improvement in revenue is $1,000,000 per year and after
deducting increases in distribution costs, operating costs,
and royalties, the net improvement in profit is $858,000.
The operating cost increase includes the power to operate
the recycle pump and the maintenance of the pump
and the static mixers. The decrease in air consumption
and the reduced sparger maintenance (from 24 spargers to
8 static mixers) has not been included as a cost saving.
7. Conclusions
Attempts to optimise the bubble size of the CPT SlamJet
jetting-type spargers at the Red Dog Mine only provided
modest improvements. The desired bubble size target was
never reached. This led to the decision to test the Metso
Minerals CISA Microcel system via a full-scale plant trial
on one of the two zinc retreat columns.
The full-scale trial consisted of parallel column surveys
and bubble size measurements of the jetting-type and
Microcel systems. The bubble size measurements showed
reduced diameters in the Microcel column at the same
frother concentrations. The jetting-type system averaged
a d32 of 3.4 mm while the Microcel system averaged a d32
of 1.9 mm. Although the Microcel column was not fully
optimised at the time of the parallel column surveys, the
Microcel column produced a higher average concentrate
grade (0.6% zinc absolute) at a higher average sphalerite
recovery (2.8% sphalerite absolute) over the existing jet-
ting-type column. The improved sphalerite grade and
sphalerite recovery were achieved at similar NSG and pyr-
ite recoveries, indicating improved selectivity. Size-by-size
analysis showed that the higher sphalerite recovery of the
Microcel column occurred in all but the finest size fraction.
Entrainment was reduced as supported by the lower free
NSG recovery in the fine (11 lm) size fractions.
These improvements provided a payback period of 1.5
months for the $109,000 investment. Red Dog is currently
completing the installation of three additional Microcel
sparger systems; one in the zinc cleaner circuit and two in
the lead circuit.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the management of
Teck Cominco Ltd. and the Red Dog Mine for supporting
the preparation of this paper and for granting permission
to publish this work.
AMIRA P9M, in particular the McGill researchers, for
their initial gas dispersion measurements and their contin-
ued work to optimise the jetting-type sparger system.
757
Dr. David Lin and Dr. Barun Gorain for their initiative
and valued input throughout the campaign.
Trevor Houlden, Karl Reimer, Victor Steiner, Mike
Mozak, and Dennis Bigras of the Teck Cominco Research,
Mineral Treatment Group for their time and effort in con-
ducting the subsequent gas dispersion measurements on the
Microcel and jetting-type columns.
Canadian Process Technologies Inc for their input and
assistance with optimising their SlamJet system.
Metso Minerals CISA—Thierry Monredon for provid-
ing his expertise of the Microcel system which enabled a
flawless retrofit and a stress free commissioning, resulting
in the Microcel performing near optimum at the outset.
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