Recent Gravity Improvements at the Porcupine Joint Venture
Tony Y. Chong, B.Sc., ARSM, Chief Metallurgist, PJV
Don Strickland, B.A.Sc., Project Metallurgist, PJV
J.A. Folinsbee, P.Eng., Plant Manager, PJV
Ron Millions, General Foreman, PJV
Michael Fullam, P.Eng., Knelson Gravity Solutions
Ishwinder Grewal, M.A. Sc., P.Eng., Knelson Gravity Solutions
February 1st, 2004
Since milling began in 1912, the Dome mill, now part of the Porcupine Joint Venture (PJV), has been expanded several times. The most recent increase in the milling rate was from 3,500 to 11,500 tonnes per day.
Dome uses conventional crushing and grinding followed by gravity concentration to recover free milling gold. A cyanidation/CIP process recovers the remaining gold in the gravity tails.
Over the past few years, continuous gravity improvements have increased the gravity recovery from 20% to nearly 50% of the plant feed. This paper describes some of the factors that have contributed to this dramatic increase, and suggests how gravity recovery can be further improved.
Gravity circuit availability has been improved to >98% with the implementation of a preventative maintenance program.
More Knelson concentrators have been added to the circuit, and in 2002, an ACACIA Intensive Leach Reactor was installed to replace the shaking table. In 2003, the entire gravity circuit was audited to evaluate and qualify the circuit performance. The metallurgical and mechanical operating conditions of the gravity circuit are now well understood, and areas for further improvement are well defined.
Download the full paper here.
Recent Gravity Improvements at the Porcupine Joint Venture
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Reference: Paper presented at the 36th CMP Operators Conference 2004, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
