Análise da influência da granulometria na recuperação do minério de ouro para implantação de moinho de bolas

Abstract

This work was developed with COMPEL company, seeking solutions for a very common problem in artisanal and small-scale mining: the low recovery of gold ore. This is because many of these projects do not have an adequate comminution system to achieve a desirable granulometry that facilitates the release of the gold ore. The analysis that was carried out seeks to understand the granulometric range obtained by the current beneficiation plant, as well as the need for a ball mill to increase mineral release and consequently increase the recovery of gold ore. Study material was collected from the mine's raw ore pile (ROM), the mill pass, and the tailings of the company's gold ore processing plant. First, the manual comminution of 5 samples of the ROM was carried out, then, together with the sample from the mill pass, they were submitted to the sieving test. Thus, it was possible to find the P80 of 5.383; 2.720; 1.493; 0.603; 0.548 and 1.716 mm of the ROM samples - 01, 02, 03, 04, 05 and current comminution, respectively. Subsequently, chemical analysis data were obtained, which helped in the calculation of the plant's metallurgical recovery, reaching 13%. The mercury recovery process proved to be satisfactory, as it had the help of chemical analysis (Fire Assay). The results of recovery through amalgam were 17, 41 and 74% of ROM samples - 01, 02, 03, 04 and 05, respectively. Finally, it is concluded that there is a clear relationship between the P80 of the material and mercury recovery. Therefore, it is very likely that the installation of a ball mill will be beneficial to the company