Satbayev University (Almaty, Kazakhstan):

Telkov Sh. A., Professor, Candidate of Engineering Sciences, Associate Professor
Motovilov I. Tu., Associate Professor, PhD in Metallurgy, i.motovilov@satbayev.university
Barmenshinova M. B., Head of Chair, Candidate of Engineering Sciences
+Abisheva Z. S., Professor, Doctor of Engineering Sciences

Lead-zinc ores of the Shalkiya deposit in Kazakhstan are classified as refractory, but, given their significant reserves, remain one of the main potential lead and zinc mining targets. Selective flotation is recommended for the industrial processing of these ores, which, however, fails to ensure high lead and zinc recovery into the concentrates. This paper presents gravity concentration studies for the ore of the Shalkiya deposit. Fractional analysis results for the particle size class of –40+8 mm were used to design and compile Henry–Reinhard washability curves, establish the separation density (2730 kg/m³) required to isolate the light fraction with the minimum possible content of lead and zinc, and calculate the gravity washability indices for all the size classes studied (0.7 to 0.71). It has been established that, when gravity concentration of the original crushed ore of the deposit is placed at the head of the process, tailings are released with a yield of up to 20 % and with the recoveries of up to 30 % for silica, up to 11 % for calcite, and up to 12 % for carbonaceous matter. It has also been found that the coarse crushed ore must be processed in dense media. One of the positive aspects of gravity concentration consists in the reduction of energy costs for grinding the heavy fraction, which has been experimentally proven in the article.
This work was supported by grant no. AP 05133980 of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

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