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Concept
Mineral processing
Summary
In the field of extractive metallurgy, mineral processing is the process of separating commercially valuable minerals from their ores. Depending on the processes used in each instance, it is often also known as ore dressing or ore milling.
Before the advent of heavy machinery the raw ore was broken up using hammers wielded by hand, a process called "spalling". Before long, mechanical means were found to achieve this. For instance, stamp mills were used in Samarkand as early as 973. They were also in use in medieval Persia. By the 11th century, stamp mills were in widespread use throughout the medieval Islamic world, from Islamic Spain and North Africa in the west to Central Asia in the east. A later example was the Cornish stamps, consisting of a series of iron hammers mounted in a vertical frame, raised by cams on the shaft of a waterwheel and falling onto the ore under gravity.
The simplest method of separating ore from gangue consists of picking out the individual crystals of each. This is a very tedious process, particularly when the individual particles are small. Another comparatively simple method relies on the various minerals having different densities, causing them to collect in different places: metallic minerals (being heavier) will drop out of suspension more quickly than lighter ones, which will be carried further by a stream of water. The process of panning and sifting for gold uses both of these methods. Various devices known as 'bundles' were used to take advantage of this property. Later, more advanced machines were used such as the Frue vanner, invented in 1874.
Other equipment used historically includes the hutch, a trough used with some ore-dressing machines and the keeve or kieve, a large tub used for differential settlement.
Mineral processing can involve four general types of unit operation: comminution – particle size reduction; sizing – separation of particle sizes by screening or classification; concentration by taking advantage of physical and surface chemical properties; and dewatering – solid/liquid separation.
Official source
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Froth flotation
Froth flotation is a process for selectively separating hydrophobic materials from hydrophilic. This is used in mineral processing, paper recycling and waste-water treatment industries. Historically this was first used in the mining industry, where it was one of the great enabling technologies of the 20th century. It has been described as "the single most important operation used for the recovery and upgrading of sulfide ores". The development of froth flotation has improved the recovery of valuable minerals, such as copper- and lead-bearing minerals.
Extractive metallurgy
Extractive metallurgy is a branch of metallurgical engineering wherein process and methods of extraction of metals from their natural mineral deposits are studied. The field is a materials science, covering all aspects of the types of ore, washing, concentration, separation, chemical processes and extraction of pure metal and their alloying to suit various applications, sometimes for direct use as a finished product, but more often in a form that requires further working to achieve the given properties to suit the applications.
Mill (grinding)
A mill is a device, often a structure, machine or kitchen appliance, that breaks solid materials into smaller pieces by grinding, crushing, or cutting. Such comminution is an important unit operation in many processes. There are many different types of mills and many types of materials processed in them. Historically mills were powered by hand or by animals (e.g., via a hand crank), working animal (e.g., horse mill), wind (windmill) or water (watermill). In modern era, they are usually powered by electricity.