600 Morgan et al. (2023) reported on a copper recovery study at the Pinto Valley mine that demonstrated the potential impact of the NovaCell™ at coarser grind sizes, with predicted benefits including a 20% increase in plant throughput and a 15% reduction in carbon emissions per ton of copper produced. To validate these findings, the technology was later benchmarked against conventional flotation cells, which also treat the full process stream. Morgan et al. (2024) presented three case studies of copper mines in Canada, Chile, and Australia, where the NovaCell™ produced higher copper and molybdenum recoveries than conventional flotation technology. The recovery improvements were most evident in the coarse +300 µm, +212 µm, and +150 µm size fractions. They concluded that the NovaCell™ is a viable option for CPF circuits. To fully evaluate the NovaCell™ CPF flowsheet and its ability to address current CPF circuit challenges, it is essential to consider both valuable mineral recovery and selectivity across all size fractions. Figure 38 presents the simplified NovaCell™ CPF flowsheet. The following sections present three case studies that illustrate these aspects, ranging from laboratory testing of run-of-mine (ROM) material to pilot plant trials, highlighting recovery, mass pull, and selectivity across coarse and fine size fractions. Figure 38 – Simplified flowsheet of NovaCellTM CPF circuit 2. CASE STUDIES Case Study 1: NovaCell CPF test programs on ROM material Jord, together with our partner laboratory, has undertaken multiple test programs on ore deposits globally. Although other commodities have been tested, the focus of this study is on copper porphyry, copper porphyry-like, and iron-oxide copper gold (IOCG) ores delivered as ROM material. Error! Reference s ource not found. presents six ore bodies, detailing the feed grades and feed grind sizes tested under laboratory conditions. Table 8 – Copper ore bodies tested with the NovaCellTM Location USA USA Australia Australia Canada Australia Feed Grind Size P80 µm 490 480 460 365 350 212 Feed Grade %Cu 0.4% 0.2% 0.5% 0.4% 0.2% 1.0% Deposit Type Porphyry Porphyry Porphyry Porphyrylike Porphyry IOCG The objective of the work was to evaluate the NovaCell™ in the CPF application of coarse gangue rejection. Thus, relatively coarse flotation feed grind sizes were tested, and the NovaCell™ performance was evaluated. For the proposed simplified NovaCell™ CPF flowsheet to be a viable option, recovery and selectivity in both coarse (+106 µm) and fine (-106 µm) size fractions were evaluated separately.
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