In this model, upstream decisions regarding mineral liberation and coarse rejection are made with the explicit objective of enhancing the physical amenability of the final waste stream to filtration [20]. There is a burgeoning industry consensus that dismantling these traditional operational silos is essential for achieving long-term sustainability. This shift toward upstream-downstream integration focuses on "pre-conditioning" material at the earliest possible stage to ensure downstream success [19]. While methodologies such as Sensor-Based Ore Sorting and Advanced Geometallurgical Mapping provide the initial layer of integration by rejecting barren waste and providing predictive data on clay-rich mineralogy [20], the critical technical bridge remains Coarse Particle Flotation (CPF). To evaluate this integrated approach, this study investigates how the NovaCell™, utilize as a Coarse Waste Rejection (CWR) unit, facilitates the production of coarser tailings, a strategic shift that prevents the inadvertent generation of the ultra-fines that typically choke dewatering circuits [21]. a fundamental prerequisite for optimizing the performance of downstream dewatering systems [22]. To address existing knowledge gaps, the research quantifies the enhancement of filtration rates attributable to the integration of this CWR stage. Notably, the scope of this investigation is confined to a comparative analysis of dewatering kinetics between conventional processing routes and an integrated CWR configuration, rather than an evaluation of the unit's metallurgical flotation recovery. 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS The experimental methodology utilized two primary samples to validate the study’s hypothesis. Sample 01 (Baseline) provides the operational benchmark, representing tailings from the current industrial process (Figure 1). In contrast, Sample 02 (NovaCell™ CWR) represents an engineered tailings stream produced through laboratory tests, configured to simulate the Coarse Waste Rejection circuit shown in Figure 2. Figure 1– Process flowsheet of the existing industrial plant (Baseline).
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