India's first column flotation installation in the zinc cleaning circuit at Rajpura Dariba Mine, India

Lab scale investigations by Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL) using a 3 " flotat ion column and data analysis by Engineers India Limited (EIL) confirmed ame nability of production of zinc concentrate of desired grade by column flota tion. Based on statistically designed pilot scale experiments, on-line data generated by HZL, the scale-up and design has been done using the software COLSIM developed at EIL. Two columns in series replaced nine conventional mechanical cells in three cleaning stages of the zinc circuit at Rajpura Da riba Mine (RD Mine) of HZL. The plant has been commissioned and has been in operation for over one year. The column flotation system has led to an imp rovement in final zinc concentrate grade by simultaneous reduction of the i nsoluble matters (ISM). (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rig hts reserved.