Presented at SME Annual Conference, Cincinnati, USA, February 2003
THE IMHOFLOT G-CELL–AN ADVANCED PNEUMATIC FLOTATION TECHNOLOGY FOR THE RECOVERY OF COAL SLU RRY FROM IMPOUNDMENTS
M. J. G. Battersby, J. V. Brown, R. M. Imhof
ABSTRACT
There is a plethora of former industrial sites where coal mining operations have left large slurry impoundments. These contain raw washed fines, which have previously been too ex
pensive to process to requisite grades for commercial use. New technology has been developed for fine material processing, namely the Imhoflot pneumatic flotation G – Cell. This froth flotation technique is a highly efficient means of concentrating coal and is particularly appropriate to the nature of materials encountered in tailings ponds. The high volumetric throughput resulting
from the vastly reduced residence time in the cell allows for drastically reduced equipment sizes when compared to conventional flotation cells. This means the process, when combined with innovative pre treatment and filtration equipment can be developed as a mobile plant concept. This is seen as a minimum requirement when re treating and rehabilitating fine coal ponds