Combined Column and Mechanical Flotation Cell Process for the Beneficiation of Sanshandao Gold Ore

Semi-industrial tests were conducted to investigate the feasibility and efficiency of a combined column and mechanical flotation cell process for the beneficiation of Sanshandao low-grade gold ore. The results showed that the performance of the combined flotation process of the cyclonic-static microbubble flotation column (FCSMC) and mechanical flotation cells was superior to that of the mechanical flotation cell, while the flowsheet was simplified. FCSMC is efficient when used on fine particles, whereas a mechanical flotation cell is effective for coarse particles. Thus, the combined flotation process exhibited a better separation performance by employing the strengths of both methods. The use of the combined FCSMC and cell flotation process showed promising results for a producing grade of 48.24 g/t gold with 96.13% recovery. The combined column and cell flotation process introduces a new approach for the separation of low-grade gold ore.