Eriez Vice President Of Global Technology Helping To Advance Coarse Particle Flotation

For the 2016 International Mineral Processing Congress (IMPC), in Quebec City, Canada, Mike Mankosa, Ph.D, Eriez Executive Vice President of Global Technology, co-authored three technical papers focused on coarse particle flotation applications and the benefits of the HydroFloat Separator. “Mike is a leader in the mineral processing field and we are proud that the work he is doing—alongside other experts at the Eriez Flotation Division—is helping to advance and revolutionize coarse particle flotation,” says Tim Shuttleworth, Eriez President and CEO.

As a part of the IMPC technical program, Mankosa co-authored three coarse particle flotation papers: “Significance of Exposed Grain Surface Area in Coarse Particle Flotation of Low-grade Gold Ore with the HydroFloat Technology” “Recovery of Values from a Porphyry Copper Tailing Stream” and “Split-feed Circuit Design for Primary Sulfide Recovery.” To download the papers, visit https://www.eriezflotation.com/flotation/hydrofloat-flotation/.

Eriez was the first in fluidized-bed flotation and first patented this coarse particle recovery system in 2002. Its ability to recover particles up to and exceeding 3 mm has re-shaped the industrial minerals market. It is now being applied to the sulphides and base metal markets where there are numerous benefits not just in reducing capital and operating costs, but also for improving sustainability and environmental efforts.

The greater benefit of this approach is that the amount of grinding and comminution is radically reduced. Simulations show that energy consumption can be reduced by 50-75 percent. Additionally, mill throughput capacity can be increased by at least 25 percent with an improved IRR or net present value.

The HydroFloat Separator is an aerated fluidized-bed (or teeter-bed) separator. The synergistic effect of combining flotation with gravity concentration results in an outcome that cannot be achieved by either approach alone. Air bubbles are dispersed by the fluidization system, percolate through the hindered-setting zone and attach to the hydrophobic component, rendering it sufficiently buoyant to float and be recovered. The use of the dense phase, fluidized bed eliminates axial mixing, increases coarse particle residence time and improves the flotation rate through enhanced bubble-particle interactions. As a result, the rate of recovery is high for both fully-liberated and semi-liberated particles. To learn more, visit https://www.eriezflotation.com/flotation/hydrofloat-flotation/.

Mankosa earned his doctorate in mining and minerals engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). His graduate work focused on the design, instrumentation and control of process equipment. Throughout his career, Mankosa has published nearly 100 articles in prominent scientific and technical journals, obtained numerous equipment and process patents and received more than $2M in research funding from a number of state and federal agencies.

For more information about the EFD’s advanced engineering, metallurgical testing and innovative flotation technology for the mining and mineral processing industries, visit www.eriezflotation.com.

About EFD
Eriez Flotation Division (EFD), a wholly owned subsidiary of Eriez Manufacturing Co., is a world leader in advanced flotation technology. EFD provides advanced testing and engineering services, in addition to sparging and column flotation equipment for the mining and mineral processing industries.