607 3. CONCLUSION The NovaCell™ has demonstrated its ability to enhance coarse particle flotation (CPF) performance across a range of copper ore types. In Case Study 1, laboratory testing on run-of-mine material confirmed selective recovery of both coarse (+106 µm) and fine (−106 µm) particles, achieving strong enrichment ratios without the need for desliming or separate ‘fines’ flotation circuits. These results show that the NovaCell™ can treat the full particle size distribution while maintaining circuit simplicity and metallurgical performance. Case Study 2 benchmarked the NovaCell™ against elutriation-type CPF devices. Although copper recoveries were comparable, the NovaCell™ achieved significantly lower product mass pulls, reducing downstream regrind and cleaner circuit requirements. Testing of the full rougher tails stream without desliming further demonstrated that integrated fine and coarse recovery within a single device enables simplified flowsheets and lower capital and operating costs compared to current hybrid CPF configurations. Case Study 3 validated these findings at pilot-scale at the Mantos Blancos mine. The NovaCell™ consistently met or exceeded copper recovery, upgrade ratios, and product mass pull targets, while demonstrating operational stability and repeatability over extended operation. The pilot program confirmed that high selectivity and broad particle size recovery can be achieved without upfront desliming or separate fines flotation circuits. Collectively, these results demonstrate the NovaCell™ advantage: enhanced selectivity, recovery across the full particle size spectrum, and simplified CPF circuit design. By reducing downstream processing intensity and infrastructure requirements, the NovaCell™ offers a practical, scalable, and cost-effective CPF solution for modern copper concentrators. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors acknowledge Hunter Process Technologies Pty. Ltd. and Core Resources Pty. Ltd. for their assistance with the NovaCell™ test work, and Capstone Copper, the Mantos Blancos site and corporate metallurgy teams, and Aminpro for their contributions to the NovaCell™ pilot plant trial. REFERENCES Akerstrom, B., (2025). Flotation Technology. International Mining, p. 29. Ballantyne, G.R., Powell, M.S. & Tiang, M., (2012). Proportion of energy attributable to comminution. In: Proceedings of the 11th AusIMM Mill Operators’ Conference, pp. 25–30. AusIMM. Concha, J., Hobert, D., Lempens, P., Zhmarin, E., & Wasmund, E. (2023). Role of Coarse Particle Flotation in the Development of More Efficient Concentrator Plants. Eriez White Paper COM-2023. Flores, A., Jaques, E., Amelunxen, P., Åkerström, B., Orlich, J., Parraguez, D., Saavedra, M., Cooper, L. & Morgan, S., (2025). NovaCell™ Pilot Performance at Mantos Blancos: Advancing Toward FullScale Implementation. In: Proceedings of the MEI Flotation 2025 [Extended Abstract]. Jaques, E., Vollert, L., Akerstrom, B. & Seaman, B.A., (2021). Commissioning of the coarse ore flotation circuit at Cadia Valley Operations – Challenges and successes. In: Proceedings of the AusIMM Mill Operators Conference 2021. AusIMM. Jameson, G. J. (2010). New directions in flotation machine design. Minerals Engineering, 23(11–13)
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