launder can be implemented to enhance process performance and the recovery of valuable minerals. 2.1 Evaluation of Current Challenges in Froth Management In recent years, the size of mechanical flotation cells has trended towards larger volumes (Bermudez et al. 2022). Nowadays, the average size of flotation cells is 1000 times larger than the beginning of the 1990s, when the technology was patented (Lopez-Pacheco 2021). When examining the last four decades, the size of the flotation cells has increased tenfold, reaching volumes larger than 600 m3 (Corona-Arroyo et al. 2021). Fig. 2 shows this significant increase in flotation tank sizes in recent decades, based on the cell sizes launched by Metso. Figure 2 – Flotation cell size evolution based on Metso data. The significant increase in flotation cell sizes is mainly driven by declining ore grades and the need to process larger throughputs (Lopez-Pacheco 2021; Liu et al. 2022). Even though larger cells offer simplified operations (Vallejos et al. 2022) and economic benefits, such as cost savings from reduced equipment and maintenance needs (Bermudez et al. 2021; Bermudez et al. 2022), they often face challenges due to decreased froth velocity and stability caused by greater froth transport distances to the launder lip (Lopez-Pacheco 2021). To ensure optimized froth carry rates (FCR), the need for enhanced froth zone optimization becomes even more critical (Bermudez et al. 2022). As shown in Fig. 3, the process parameters like lip length, froth transport distance, and froth surface area increase with the volume of the flotation cell. Lip length measures the length of the launder lip, where the froth can be collected by crowding it. Froth transport distance therefore measures the distance bubbles need to travel to reach the launder lip, and froth surface area measures the area on the top of the flotation tank. Increased froth transport distance hampers the
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