efficiently recovered coarse (+212 µm), poorly liberated (<30%) particles, typically lost in conventional flotation cells, while also recovering fine particles via the froth concentrate. 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-ofmine 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.
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