PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS FOR FINE CASSITERITE RECOVERY AT WHEAL JANE

Increasing environmental pressure and lower tin prices have forced some tin smelters out of business and those that remain in operation in general rely upon receipt of high grade tin concentrates in order to satisfy environmental and/or economic constraints. Carnon management have successfully kept one step ahead of these changes by continually striving to produce cleaner tin concentrates. Over a period of some 12 years the fine cassiterite concentrate grade has increased from 5% to 60% Sn without which the company would not have been able to continue marketing it's product. This paper briefly describes the evolution of the tin flotation circuit at the Wheal Jane mill with particular reference to improvements in concentrate grade and details the metallurgical improvements by replacing column flotation with a Mozley Multi Gravity Separator, as the final stage of cleaning.