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DOI: 10.1016/j.mineng.2016.06.010

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 Minerals Engineering xxx (2016) xxxxxx

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Minerals Engineering
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/mineng

A strategy for the identification of optimal flotation circuits

Daniel A. Calisaya a, Alejandro Lpez-Valdivieso d, Marcos H. de la Cruz d, Edelmira E. Glvez b,c,
Luis A. Cisternas a,c,
a
Departamento de Ingeniera Qumica y Procesos de Minerales, Universidad de Antofagasta, Chile
b
Departamento de Ingeniera Metalrgica y Minas, Universidad Catlica del Norte, Chile
c
Centro de Investigacin Cientfico Tecnolgico para la Minera CICITEM, Chile
d
Instituto de Metalurgia, Universidad Autnoma de San Luis de Potos, Mexico

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This article presents a strategy for the identification of optimal flotation circuits based on experimental
Received 24 December 2015 data and the assumption that the flotation circuit structure are not very sensitive to stage recovery. The
Revised 17 May 2016 main objective is to find a set of optimal flotation circuit configurations, including the best metallurgical
Accepted 12 June 2016
conditions for the process and cell design. The optimization process maximizes the Net Present Value
Available online xxxx
(NPV). This methodology consists of two steps. The first step of the methodology entails obtaining data
from the laboratory. Different metallurgical conditions are tested for different flotation stages. Each met-
Keywords:
allurgical condition is evaluated to determine its kinetics. The second step of the methodology is the opti-
Flotation
Optimization
mization process. The optimization process achieves the best solution by optimizing cell design, flotation
Design circuit structure and metallurgical conditions. The optimization process has three phases. The first phase
Frother assumes that every flotation stage has the same residence time and calculates feasible flotation circuits,
Collector and kinetics metallurgical conditions and cell volumes. This process is performed for several residence times and,
therefore, a set of feasible solutions is generated. The second phase takes the previous set of feasible solu-
tions and calculates the residence time at each flotation stage. Then, for each phase two solution, the opti-
mal flotation circuit, metallurgical conditions and cell design are calculated. The final product is a set of
optimal solutions than can be considered for further study. The procedure is illustrated by the design of a
zinc flotation plant, considering seven flotation stages and five species.
2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction structure a mathematical programming model is developed which

Flotation circuit design determines the type, design, and inter-
connection of flotation units from an enormous number of alterna-
tives given the design objectives. In general, several systematic
methods can be used to evaluate and search among design alterna-
tives. For example every alternative can be evaluated using
sequential simulation and the one with the best evaluation is
selected. This method demands large amounts of computation or
human resources, unless the number of alternatives is considerably
small. Another design alternative is to begin with a feasible base
flotation circuit and make incremental improvements to part of
the design in each iteration. The most significant drawback of this
method is that it is unable to reach the globally optimal flotation
circuit design. In superstructure optimization, a superstructure
containing all the alternatives is proposed. Based on the super-
Corresponding author at: Departamento de Ingeniera Qumica y Procesos de
Minerales, Universidad de Antofagasta, Chile.
E-mail address: luis.cisternas@uantof.cl (L.A. Cisternas).
offers an opportunity to simultaneously evaluate the performance
of all alternatives and automatically generate the optimal flotation
circuit. This method is limited by the complexity and quality of the
mathematical formulation. However, in the early stage of flotation
circuit design, superstructure optimization can be substantially
useful to provide initial flotation circuit configuration from a num-
ber of promising alternatives.
The optimization of flotation systems is usually a balance
between recovery and concentrate grade. Many studies have
focused on the physical and chemical aspects of pulp, particle size,
and froth performance. These studies have led to improved designs
and operating conditions. However, all of these improvements and
studies have been conditioned by the circuit used, i.e., the number
and type of stages and their interrelationship. Optimal flotation cir-
cuit design is a complex task because it is necessary to predict the
recovery of each species in each stage, but the recovery of each
stage depends on several variables, including the circuit structure
and operational conditions. Most of the flotation models available
are empirical (Savassi et al., 1998), and they are not able to predict

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2016.06.010
0892-6875/ 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article in press as: Calisaya, D.A., et al. A strategy for the identification of optimal flotation circuits. Miner. Eng. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.mineng.2016.06.010
2 D.A. Calisaya et al. / Minerals Engineering xxx (2016) xxxxxx

the behavior according to the operating conditions and circuit the process. With these two steps, real data are included in flota-
structure that are used. On the other hand, models based on first tion circuit design.
principles are too complex for use in design systems based on opti-
mization (Hu et al., 2013). Even the use of first-order kinetics can 2.1. Step one: Experimental kinetics
be a challenging problem if many flotation circuit stages are used
or many species are considered (Cisternas et al., 2015). The first step of the methodology requires experimental flota-
There are several methodologies for flotation circuit design tion tests. Different metallurgical conditions are tested, depending
using superstructure and optimization methods. Examples of these on the mineral of interest to be floated. For instance, different
procedures are the works of Schena et al. (1997), Cisternas et al. frothers, collectors or dispersants can be tested. It is important to
(2004, 2006, 2014), Mndez et al. (2009), Hu et al. (2013), and consider the different types of flotation stages. For instance, in
Pirouzan et al. (2014). These procedures are difficult to solve; thus, the rougher stage it will be more important to test the concentra-
in the literature, most authors use first-order models for banks (not tions of the collector and frother. However, in the cleaner stage the
cells) and consider few species. There are cell models that can be pyrite depressant can be more important. Performing many tests
used in optimization problems, but because these problems are will increase laboratory and computational costs; therefore, tests
combinatorial, the use of the bank approach permits the dimension must be chosen carefully. Flotation tests are performed to consider
of the mathematical problem to be maintained within a more rea- recovery at different times. The objective is to obtain kinetic mod-
sonable size (Schena et al., 1997). In addition, this problem is a els based on the experimental data. For example, the experimental
non-convex mixed integer nonlinear programming model, which data for each laboratory condition can be adjusted using a fast-
is difficult to solve using commercial software (Jamett et al., slow flotation model (Pirouzan et al., 2014) to represent the behav-
2015). For example, Hu et al. (2013) used a cell model, but few cells ior of particles with different levels of liberation.
were included in the case study with two species because of the

computational cost. Another example is the procedure proposed T T 1   1  eK f t 1   1  eK s t 1
by Ghobadi et al. (2011), which considered true flotation and
where T is the recovery and T 1 is the maximum recovery that can
entrainment. Nevertheless, the computation costs were very high,
be achieved. The parameter is the fraction of fast particles, and t
with a CPU time of 1 h for 10,000 generations of a two-stage flota-
is the residence time. For the definition of , the recovery can be
tion circuit with three species using genetic algorithms. First-order
analyzed as a function of particle size, and the fraction of fast par-
models with few species have been extensively used in the design
ticles can be assumed to be equal to the fraction of intermediate
of flotation circuits using optimization (Schena et al., 1997; Abu-Ali
particle size. Then, the fraction of slow species, 1  , corresponds
and Sabour, 2003; Cisternas et al., 2004; Guria et al., 2005, 2006;
to the fraction of coarse and very fine particles. The others param-
Maldonado et al., 2011 amongst several other works). In these
eters, K f and K s , representing the kinetics of fast and slow species,
works, it is assumed that the flotation rate constants for a particu-
respectively, as well as T 1 can be determined by fitting the exper-
lar species are identical in each cell. This assumption may be an
imental values to the model of Eq. (1) using a non-linear regression
oversimplification, but is commonly used in industrial practice
procedure.
(Guria et al., 2005).
In addition, the feed grade and metal price have stochastic
2.2. Step two: Optimization process
uncertainties, and the kinetic model has epistemic uncertainty
(lack of knowledge of the correct value of the kinetic parameters).
The second step concerns process design based on mathemati-
Thus, several studies have been developed to evaluate the effects of
cal optimization using the kinetic models obtained in step one. A
uncertainties in flotation process design (Montenegro et al., 2013,
model is developed to calculate the optimal circuit configuration,
2015; Jamett et al., 2015; Cisternas et al., 2015). These studies have
operation conditions and cell design. This work uses a superstruc-
noted that the optimal flotation circuit structure is not very sensi-
ture of stages that represent different flotation circuit configura-
tive to the stage recovery values. In fact, it has been recently
tions. The superstructure is based on the generic representation
demonstrated that for a given flotation circuit design problem,
of a stage, which is used to represent all stages that are to be
there are few structures that are optimal for a wide range of spe-
included in the design.
cies stage recovery values (Cisternas et al., 2015).
Fig. 1 shows the superstructure representing a flotation stage,
The aim of this paper is to propose a strategy for the identifica-
tion of a set of optimal flotation circuits based on the fact that few where the triangle represents a feed mixer that enables streams
(concentrations or tails) from other stages or flotation feeds to be
flotation circuit structures are optimal for a given problem and
fed to stage i. The triangles in the output streams represent split-
based on the knowledge of existing ones and experimental results.
ters and allow the concentrate and tail streams from stage i to be
The method includes two steps: first, testing under different oper-
send to other stages. The connection of all stages is unrealistic.
ating conditions, which are used to model recovery at each stage,
For instance the concentrate of the cleaner stage cannot be send
and second, an optimization procedure that is used to obtain a
set of optimal flotation circuit designs. This paper is divided into
four parts; the first is the introduction. The second part describes
the methodology used, which includes the experimental section
Feed Tail
and the optimization process. The third section reports a study M stage i s
case of the design of a zinc flotation circuit. Finally, the conclusions
are given.

Concentrate

2. Methodology
s

The proposed strategy consists of two steps. The first entails

obtaining data from laboratory experiments. The second step of
the methodology uses the data from the laboratory to optimize Fig. 1. Representation of the superstructure.

Please cite this article in press as: Calisaya, D.A., et al. A strategy for the identification of optimal flotation circuits. Miner. Eng. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.mineng.2016.06.010
 D.A. Calisaya et al. / Minerals Engineering xxx (2016) xxxxxx 3

to the rougher stage as feed; therefore, an origin-destination to circuit Ff k is a parameter, so the values are known. The mass
matrix is used to represent the feasible connection between flota- balances are considered in the splitters:
tion stages. This approach is very important because it allows the X
optimization problem to remain a reasonable size. CCi; k F c i; j; k; 8k 2 K i 2 I 2
j2LC
The mathematical model allows optimizing the flotation circuit,
metallurgical conditions, cell volumes and residence times. The X
last two are considered elements of cell design. The metallurgical CTi; k F w i; j; k; 8k 2 K i 2 I 3
j2LT
conditions are the conditions from the experimental kinetic test
in step one. The optimization is very challenging because the where CCi; k and CTi; k are the mass flow rates of concentrate
model is a non-convex mixed-integer nonlinear programming and tails, respectively, from stage i and species k. The concentrate
problem (MINLP). Our experience is that the use of commercial streams from stage i can be sent to other stages j (including the final
software such as BARON does not converge to the optimal solution product or tail); however, only one destination is allowed. That is,
after several days for medium size problems (e.g., three species and 2 yci;j
3
four stages) using a PC with specifications such as i7 processor and _ X
4CCi F c i; j; k5 4
8 GB of RAM. Others techniques based on metaheuristics (e.g., i; j 2 LC k2K
genetic algorithms) have very high computational costs and there-
fore cannot be applied. Thus, here the optimization process is where yci;j is a binary variable indicating the choice of destination of
divided in three phases. the concentrate stream. This equation can be converted using the
The first phase of the optimization considers that each flotation convex hull method in:
stages has the same residence time, which is a fixed value. There- X
fore, the recoveries at each stage are parameters that make the yci;j F LO
c 6 F c i; j; k 6 yci;j F UP
c 8i; j 2 LC 5
model a mixed-integer linear programing problem (MILP). By k2K

doing this, the cell volume becomes easier to calculate, as do the X

metallurgical conditions and flotation circuit structure. The out- yci;j 1 8i 2 I 6
puts of this phase are the flotation circuit structure, metallurgical j2LC

conditions and volumes for each flotation stage. The second phase yci;j is a binary variable, so it can be 1 if destination j is selected or 0
of the optimization calculates the optimum residence time at each
otherwise. F LO
c and F c
UP
are the lower and upper boundaries of the
flotation stage using the flotation circuit structure, cell volumes
and operational conditions calculated in the previous phase. This mass flow rate of species k in the concentrate stream. The upper
is a MINLP that is easy to solve because the structure is fixed and mass flow rate can be estimated as three times the feed to the
the operational conditions are known. The outputs of this phase circuit. The tail streams are considered in a similar way to the
are the optimum residence times at each flotation stage. The third concentrate streams:
2 3
phase of the optimization achieves an optimal flotation circuit yw
_ Xi;j
based on the same principle as phase one. The input for this phase 4CTi F w i; j; k5 7
is the residence time at each flotation stage from phase two. The i; j 2 LT k2K
model is a MILP. The outputs are an optimum flotation circuit, met-
allurgical condition and cells volumes. where yw
i;j is a binary variable indicating the choice of destination of

This procedure is realized for several residence times, as shown the tail stream.
in Fig. 2. If the flotation circuit structure obtained at the end of X
yw LO
i;j F w 6 F w i; j; k 6 yw UP
i;j F w 8i; j 2 LT 8
phase three is new, this structure is saved. The operational condi-
k2K
tions and cell design are updated if a better solution is identified.
The final product is a set of optimal flotation circuit design (struc- X
i;j 1
yw 8i 2 I 9
ture, operational condition and cell design). The procedure does j2LT
not ensure that the best alternative in the set of optimal solutions
LO UP
is the global solution, however based on the results of Cisternas The binary variable yw i;j can be 0 or 1. F w and F w are the lower and
et al. (2015) it is very likely that the global solution is reached. upper boundaries for the tail flow rate of species k. The superstruc-
ture in Fig. 1 shows that the feed of each stage is a mixer and its out-
puts are two splitters, one for the concentrate and another for the
2.2.1. Mathematical model
tail. The feed to stage j is given by the sum of the streams, concen-
The model is designed to calculate the best structure and to
trate and tail, from other stages:
select operational conditions and cell design. For this purpose, it X X
is necessary to define sets, parameters and variables. The sets are FSj; k F c i; j; k F w i; j; k 8k 2 K; j 2 I 10
as follows: II = {i/i is a flotation stage, circuit feed, final tail or final i2LC i2LT
concentrate}; I = {i/i is a flotation stage, i 2 II}; L = {(i,j)/(i,j) is a
The final concentrate is defined by the sum of all the concentrate
stream from stage i to stage j i,j 2 L}; k = {k/k is a species}; LC =
streams going to the final product (P):
{(i,j)/(i,j) is a concentrate stream (i,j) 2 L}; LT = {(i,j)/(i,j) is a tail X
stream (i,j) 2 L}; D = {d/d is a disjunction}; DI = {(i,d)/(i,d) is a CFk F c i; P; k; 8k 2 K 11
disjunction d or operational condition for stage i, d 2 D i 2 I}; and i2LC

DV = {dv/dv is a volume disjunction}. The final tail is the sum of all tail streams going to the final tail (W):
X
Each streami; j is associated with the variable Fi; j; k WFk F w i; W; k; 8k 2 K 12
 
Fc i; j; k wherei; j 2 LC i2LT

Fw i; j; k wherei; j 2 LT CFk and WFk are the final flow rates of concentrate and tail,
respectively. The mass balance of the whole circuit is the relation-
where F(i,j,k) represents the mass flow rate of species k in the ship among the feed to the process, the final concentrate and the
stream from stage i to stage j. The mass flow rate of species k fed final tail:

Please cite this article in press as: Calisaya, D.A., et al. A strategy for the identification of optimal flotation circuits. Miner. Eng. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.mineng.2016.06.010
4 D.A. Calisaya et al. / Minerals Engineering xxx (2016) xxxxxx

Fig. 2. Optimization process representation.

X X
F f k CFk WFk; 8k 2 K 13 WFkgk; ms 6 g UP
w WFk 16
X X X k k

F f k CFk WFk 14 where gk; ms is the ms mineral grade of species k. The circuit
k2K k2K k2K
optimization must be completed with the recovery values for each
Until this part of the model, the mass balances have been ana- stage. The model uses the recovery values to calculate which
lyzed. However, in a flotation stage, it is necessary to determine metallurgical parameter will be chosen. Each stage has different
the concentrate and tail requirements. The minimum concentrate alternatives depending on the laboratory experiments. For instance,
grade is determined according to the mineral of study (ms). A cleaner stages can have more alternatives because they include
c 0:54).
boundary for the final concentration is assigned (e.g., g LO milling. All operational alternatives are defined by the disjunction
This limit is also applied to the tail, which must not exceed the d. Then, the recovery Ti; k; d is considered to calculate the mass
grade of the mineral of study (e.g., g UP w 0:1). The following
balance at each stage:
equations are used: 2 3
di; k
X X _ 6 7
CFkgk; ms P g LO CFk 15 4 CCi; k Ti; k; d  FSi; k 5 8i 2 I; k 2 K 17
c d 2 DI
k k CTi; k 1  Ti; k; d  Si; k

Please cite this article in press as: Calisaya, D.A., et al. A strategy for the identification of optimal flotation circuits. Miner. Eng. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.mineng.2016.06.010
 D.A. Calisaya et al. / Minerals Engineering xxx (2016) xxxxxx 5

P
V dLOv yVdv ;i 6 Vddv 6 V dUPv yVdv ;i , and
In Eq. (17), the value of Ti; k; d is selected using a disjunction for i V
dv 2DV ydv ;i 1
different values of Ti; k; d given by the operational conditions X i
defined by laboratory tests. In other words, the optimization algo- IF i adv  yVdv ;i bdv  Vddv 24
rithm selects the disjunction that performs best for each stage. dv 2DV

The value of the recovery of species k in flotation stage under the

Eq. (24) is an approximation to Eq. (22), and in this work two dis-
condition of disjunction d, Ti; k; d, is calculated by Eq. (18), which
junctions were used to discretize Eq. (22). The values of V dLOv in the
correspond to the model for a bank with n cells
Xh i first disjunction and V dUPv in the last disjunction correspond to the
ni1
Ti; k; d Tci; k; d Tci; k; d  1  Tci; k; d minimum and maximum volumes in which Eq. (22) is valid model.
ni2 Eq. (25) determines the volume of each cell in stage i; Vi.
8i 2 I; k 2 K; d 2 DI 18 X
FSi; k  ti  Eg
k2K
And Tci; k; d is the cell recovery, which is calculated using Eq. (19) Vi 25
   qp
K f i; k; dti
Tci; k; d T 1 i; k; d where FSi; k is the feed stream of species k at stage i, ti is the cell
1 K f i; k; dti
   residence time qp , is the pulp density, and Eg is a factor of increase
K s i; k; dti
1  8i 2 I; k 2 K; d 2 DI of volume due to the effect of aeration.
1 K s i; k; dti
The working capital is calculated similarly to the fixed capital,
19
using the same fixed capital per stage IF i. However, this calcula-
where the parameters K f , K s , T 1 must be scaled up from laboratory tion uses a working Lang factor FLw , which is included in Eq. (26).
to plant conditions (see Yianatos et al., 2010; Gorian et al., 1997,
X
Iw FLw  IF i  Ni 26
1998 for more information on scale-up). Eq. (19) assumes that the i2I
cells in the bank behave as a perfect mixer.
Then, the capital cost is calculated using both fixed capital and
2.2.2. Objective function working capital,
Based on the study by Cisternas et al. (2014), a good objective Capital Cost IF Iw 27
function is the NPV. The NPV is calculated using Eq. (20).
The profit estimation is performed using the calculated revenue and
NPV IF Iw F A  F N 20 total costs.
where IF Iw is the capital cost, F N is the net cash flow and F A is the Profit Rev enue  Total Costs 28
annuity factor. The annuity factor is a function of the number of
lifespan years and discount rate. The net cash flow is a function of The revenue is the value of the concentrate, and it is a function of
profit and depreciation. the fraction of metal paid (p), the metal price of the mineral of study
The estimation of the capital cost involves fixed capital (IF ) and (q), and the treatment charge (Trc). The revenue equation is
working capital (Iw ). Fixed capital represents a one-time invest- expressed by the net smelter return for zinc.
ment in the project and includes the total cost of the flotation plant " #
X X
ready for start-up. Working capital represents the investment Rev enue CFk  gk; ms  p  q  CFk  Trc  H
needed to start the flotation plant up and operate it to the point k2K k2K

when income is earned. Eq. (21) represents the fixed capital. This 29
value is directly related to the fixed capital at each stage. The fixed
capital is volume dependent. where H represents annual operational hours.
X Eq. (30) describes the total cost, where C op i is the operational
IF FL  IF i  Ni 21 cost at stage i, MCM is the cost implied in the Mine-Crushing-
i2I Milling operation and FSi; k is the feeding stream.
X X
where FL is the Lang factor for fixed capital, N(i) is the number of Total Cost C op i MCM  FSi; k 30
cells at stage i and IF i is the fixed capital per cell described in i2I k2K
Eq. (22). This cost function was updated from the model given by
Ruhmer et al. (1991). The operational cost at stage i was calculated using Eq. (31)
(Cisternas et al., 2004)
2
IF i 105:7 10:72  Vi  149:1  Vi 22
C op i H  Vi  Ni  E  Pk 8i 2 I 31
However, Eq. (22) is a quadratic equation and in order to simplify
where E is the energy per cubic meter, and P k the cost per kW h.
the model and obtain a linear mathematical model for phase I in
the optimization process, Eq. (22) is approximated by a series of line
segments, as shown in the following disjunction: 3. Case study
2 3
yVdv ;i 3.1. Case study description
_ 6 7
6 I i a b  Vdi 7 8i 2 I 23
dv 2 DV 4 F dv dv dv 5
The study case considers a plant that concentrates zinc. The
V dLOv 6 Vddv 6 V dUPv
i
flotation stages considered are the same stages currently utilized
The linear equations are represented by adv and bdv depending on in the plant (Fig. 3): Rougher (R), Cleaner (C), two Cleaner-
Scavenger (CS1, CS2), two Scavenger-Cleaner (SC1, SC2), and two
the disjunction dv , where yVdv ;i is the binary variable that selects
Scavenger (S1, S2). The process was sampled five times, from
the disjunction, V dLOv and V dUPv are the boundaries of the linear equa- which the following values were determined: feed stream mass
i
tions and Vddv is the volume of the cell according to the disjunction. flow rate to the circuit, 71.2 t/h, and zinc feed grade, 6.95%. The
Using the convex hull method, Eq. (23) is represented by Eq. (24), number of cells considered at each stage is one for rougher and

Please cite this article in press as: Calisaya, D.A., et al. A strategy for the identification of optimal flotation circuits. Miner. Eng. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.mineng.2016.06.010
6 D.A. Calisaya et al. / Minerals Engineering xxx (2016) xxxxxx

Table 2
Concentrate streams (X) and tail streams (O) allowed.

R C CS1 CS2 SC S1 S2 P W
R X O
C O O O X
CS1 X O X O X
CS2 X X O X O
SC X O O O X
S1 X X X O O
S2 X X X O

were considered for the rougher, cleaner-scavenger, scavenger-

Fig. 3. Current concentration plant (Mine Design).
scavenger 1; two for scavenger 2; three for cleaner-scavenger 1,
cleaner-scavenger 2 and scavenger-cleaner; and four for cleaner.
The methodology first requires testing different operational
conditions according to the flotation stages. Table 1 gives the dif-
ferent operational conditions studied at the laboratory scale. These
conditions include tests with and without frother, milling and
dispersant. Six, sixteen, three, six and sixteen different conditions
cleaner, scavenger and cleaner stages, respectively.
In these experiments, the sodium isopropyl xanthate and NaCN
were prepared at 5%. The CuSO4 and Na6(PO3)6 were prepared at
10%, and frother CC-530 was prepared at 1%. The pH was regulated
to between 8.5 and 9 with lime. Different samples were taken at
specific times. The samples were dried and filtered for chemical
analysis. The percentages of Pb, Zn, Cu and Fe were determined
by atomic absorption. Flotation experiments were carried out in
the absence and presence of dispersant to determine the effect of

Table 1
Laboratory test conditions.

Key Stage Condition

dr1 Rougher Without frother 50 scrapes per min
dr2 40 scrapes per min
dr3 30 scrapes per min
dr4 With frother 10 g Frother/t ore
dr5 12 g Frother/t ore
dr6 15 g Frother/t ore
dcs1 Cleaner scavenger Without milling Without dispersant 0 g Xanthate/t ore
dcs2 10 g Xanthate/t ore
dcs3 20 g Xanthate/t ore
dcs4 40 g Xanthate/t ore
dcs5 With 2 kg dispersant/t ore 0 g Xanthate/t ore
dcs6 10 g Xanthate/t ore
dcs7 20 g Xanthate/t ore
dcs8 40 g Xanthate/t ore
dcs9 With milling Without dispersant 0 g Xanthate/t ore
dcs10 10 g Xanthate/t ore
dcs11 20 g Xanthate/t ore
dcs12 40 g Xanthate/t ore
dcs13 With 2 kg dispersant/t ore 0 g Xanthate/t ore
dcs14 10 g Xanthate/t ore
dcs15 20 g Xanthate/t ore
dcs16 40 g Xanthate/t ore
dsc1 Scavenger cleaner With 2 kg dispersant/t ore 40 g Xanthate/t ore and 40 g/t NaCN
dsc2 40 g Xanthate/t ore and 60 g/t NaCN
dsc3 40 g Xanthate/t ore and 80 g/t NaCN
ds1 Scavenger Without frother 50 scrapes per min
ds2 40 scrapes per min
ds3 30 scrapes per min
ds4 With frother 10 g Frother/t ore
ds5 12 g Frother/t ore
ds6 15 g Frother/t ore
dc1 Cleaner Without milling Without dispersant 0 g Xanthate/t ore
dc2 10 g Xanthate/t ore
dc3 20 g Xanthate/t ore
dc4 40 g Xanthate/t ore
dc5 With 2 kg dispersant/t ore 0 g Xanthate/t ore
dc6 10 g Xanthate/t ore
dc7 20 g Xanthate/t ore
dc8 40 g Xanthate/t ore
dc9 With milling Without dispersant 0 g Xanthate/t ore
dc10 10 g Xanthate/t ore
dc11 20 g Xanthate/t ore
dc12 40 g Xanthate/t ore
dc13 With 2 kg dispersant/t ore 0 g Xanthate/t ore
dc14 10 g Xanthate/t ore
dc15 20 g Xanthate/t ore
dc16 40 g Xanthate/t ore

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 D.A. Calisaya et al. / Minerals Engineering xxx (2016) xxxxxx 7

Table 3 In step two of the methodology, it is necessary to define the

Parameters used in the mathematical model. possible flotation circuit structures. The alternative structures that
Parameter VALUE the circuit can have been described in Table 2. This Table is con-
Annual working hours of operation (H) 7200 h structed based on the design objectives, in this case all potential
Treatment charge (Trc) 226 $/ton of mineral modification to the real plant identified by the designer were con-
Fraction of metal paid (p) 85% sidered. This table shows two matrices with the allowed concen-
Mineral of study price (q) 2029 $/ton of Zn trate and tail streams. In the table, the row stages represent the
Gas effect in the cell (Eg) 75% pulp25% air
Lang factor (FL) 3.9
origin of the stream, and the column stages represents the destina-
Pulp density (qp) 0.27 ton/m3 tion of the stream. The total number of feasible flotation circuits
Project lifespan 10 years represented by the matrices of Table 2 corresponds to 11,664
Discount rate 10% structures. Note that options in bold is the current flotation circuit
Mine-Crushing-Milling cost (MCM) 5 $/ton of mineral
and some streams are fixed.
Several parameters were used in the model for the case study,
which are given in Table 3.
slime coating on the zinc recovery and grade. With the dispersant,
in principle, better zinc recovery and grade should be attained. 3.2. Results and discussion
Regrinding was performed in a 20  25 cm mill with 16 mm
stainless steel balls using 1.5 kg of concentrate. The F80 of the con- 3.2.1. Step one: Experimental kinetics
centrate was 60 lm, and a grinding time of 60 min was needed for The experimental data were adjusted to the model of Eq. (1) for
a P80 of 28 lm. all experimental condition given in Table 1. Table 4 gives the

Table 4
Kinetic constants obtained from experimental data and non-linear regression at the condition given in Table 1.

Stage Key Pb Zn Cu Fe
K f , h1 K s , h1 T1 K f , h1 K s , h1 T1 K f , h1 K s , h1 T1 K f , h1 K s , h1 T1

Rougher dr1 9.6 9.6 55.9 238.7 39.5 89.7 28.9 4.4 79.1 3.9 2.7 49.0
dr2 8.8 8.8 54.8 68.5 23.9 86.5 26.0 1.0 99.5 4.6 4.6 34.6
dr3 9.0 9.0 30.0 18.8 18.8 73.6 15.0 15.0 57.3 9.1 0.0 28.3
dr4 13.7 13.7 25.0 52.9 11.1 61.4 28.6 4.2 40.8 3.2 3.2 16.5
dr5 16.5 16.5 30.9 55.8 1.4 100.0 33.7 4.0 40.7 8.6 0.2 26.1
dr6 80.4 2.3 51.0 110.9 16.8 66.4 72.5 7.6 42.8 10.4 10.4 12.7
Scavenger ds1 7.6 7.6 44.7 191.0 31.6 71.8 23.1 3.5 63.3 3.1 2.1 39.2
ds2 7.1 7.1 43.8 54.8 19.1 69.2 20.8 0.8 79.6 3.7 3.7 27.7
ds3 7.2 7.2 24.0 15.0 15.0 58.9 12.0 12.0 45.8 7.3 0.0 22.7
ds4 11.0 11.0 20.0 42.3 8.9 49.1 22.8 3.3 32.6 2.6 2.6 13.2
ds5 13.2 13.2 24.7 44.6 1.1 80.0 26.9 3.2 32.6 6.9 0.1 20.9
ds6 64.3 1.9 40.8 88.8 13.5 53.1 58.0 6.1 34.2 8.3 8.3 10.1
Cleaner scavenger dcs1 112.4 5.0 9.9 161.5 1.7 12.8 150.1 5.2 9.6 15.1 15.1 7.3
dcs2 2.0 0.2 42.3 13.3 2.5 36.2 4.2 0.0 36.0 3.4 3.4 11.2
dcs3 11.6 2.1 16.1 15.0 2.6 46.0 5.3 5.3 21.5 6.4 6.4 8.9
dcs4 4.8 4.8 32.1 12.3 2.3 60.7 2.4 2.4 51.7 0.0 0.0 29.5
dcs5 11.0 11.0 24.2 52.4 9.2 26.5 11.3 11.3 22.7 10.6 0.0 30.6
dcs6 9.5 9.5 22.5 78.4 1.8 100.0 58.2 2.2 69.7 13.2 2.6 25.0
dcs7 9.0 9.0 25.6 186.2 25.2 69.7 97.6 3.3 47.9 24.3 3.6 18.6
dcs8 50.1 1.9 100.0 144.0 28.4 96.3 52.4 9.3 70.1 35.4 4.3 43.9
dc9 16.8 16.8 27.8 19.9 3.2 21.4 60.0 9.0 44.9 10.9 10.9 15.6
dc10 5.3 1.1 39.1 17.7 2.9 63.8 3.8 0.0 54.5 2.1 0.0 59.5
dc11 18.2 2.7 47.8 43.1 4.3 58.4 41.2 3.5 69.1 0.7 0.7 100.0
dc12 11.2 11.2 31.6 57.4 5.7 65.8 71.8 6.6 52.6 7.3 7.3 13.1
dc13 18.7 3.9 22.7 41.4 4.7 47.3 43.1 9.8 28.5 2.8 0.0 54.4
dc14 28.1 3.3 17.4 52.6 4.2 77.3 44.2 1.4 35.2 2.6 2.6 23.9
dc15 54.8 4.7 44.1 76.5 11.9 68.7 65.8 11.3 60.0 3.9 3.9 21.7
dc16 64.3 1.7 61.7 100.2 10.3 95.0 71.2 2.1 100.0 10.5 10.5 15.8
Scavenger cleaner dsc1 29.2 29.2 60.5 83.3 28.6 83.3 46.7 6.4 86.0 25.5 1.4 62.0
dsc2 35.8 35.8 53.2 46.3 46.3 79.1 38.9 38.9 68.4 26.5 0.0 59.5
dsc3 33.3 4.1 65.6 49.6 5.7 83.1 18.3 3.1 64.4 10.7 2.2 39.7
Cleaner dcs1 112.4 5.0 9.9 161.5 1.7 12.8 150.1 5.2 9.6 15.1 15.1 7.3
dcs2 2.0 0.2 42.3 13.3 2.5 36.2 4.2 0.0 36.0 3.4 3.4 11.2
dcs3 11.6 2.1 16.1 15.0 2.6 46.0 5.3 5.3 21.5 6.4 6.4 8.9
dcs4 4.8 4.8 32.1 12.3 2.3 60.7 2.4 2.4 51.7 0.0 0.0 29.5
dcs5 11.0 11.0 24.2 52.4 9.2 26.5 11.3 11.3 22.7 10.6 0.0 30.6
dcs6 9.5 9.5 22.5 78.4 1.8 100.0 58.2 2.2 69.7 13.2 2.6 25.0
dcs7 9.0 9.0 25.6 186.2 25.2 69.7 97.6 3.3 47.9 24.3 3.6 18.6
dcs8 50.1 1.9 100.0 144.0 28.4 96.3 52.4 9.3 70.1 35.4 4.3 43.9
dc9 16.8 16.8 27.8 19.9 3.2 21.4 60.0 9.0 44.9 10.9 10.9 15.6
dc10 5.3 1.1 39.1 17.7 2.9 63.8 3.8 0.0 54.5 2.1 0.0 59.5
dc11 18.2 2.7 47.8 43.1 4.3 58.4 41.2 3.5 69.1 0.7 0.7 100.0
dc12 11.2 11.2 31.6 57.4 5.7 65.8 71.8 6.6 52.6 7.3 7.3 13.1
dc13 18.7 3.9 22.7 41.4 4.7 47.3 43.1 9.8 28.5 2.8 0.0 54.4
dc14 28.1 3.3 17.4 52.6 4.2 77.3 44.2 1.4 35.2 2.6 2.6 23.9
dc15 54.8 4.7 44.1 76.5 11.9 68.7 65.8 11.3 60.0 3.9 3.9 21.7
dc16 64.3 1.7 61.7 100.2 10.3 95.0 71.2 2.1 100.0 10.5 10.5 15.8

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8 D.A. Calisaya et al. / Minerals Engineering xxx (2016) xxxxxx
Fig. 4. Experimental data and model representation of Zn, Cu, Pb and Fe recovery at different conditions.
kinetic constants obtained. The fast fraction was determined by the
fraction of particles between 74 and 10 lm. From the values shown
in Table 4, it is clear that operational conditions can affect the val-
ues of the kinetic model and, therefore, the recovery in each stage.
For example, the maximum recovery of Pb changes from 9.9% to
100% based on the operational conditions. The fit was generally
very good, and Fig. 4 shows four examples for the recovery of Zn,
Cu, Pb and Fe under different conditions. More information on
the experimental tests is found in Appendix A. In some cases the
fast and slow kinetic constants obtained have the same value,
which means that all particles sizes have similar behavior.
3.2.2. Step two: Optimization process
The procedure was realized using 46 initial residence times
between 1.5 and 5.5 min. A set of five optimal flotation circuits
was identified, and for comparison, the problem was solved using
the current circuit of the plant (the circuit configuration was fixed
as shown in Fig. 2), but operational conditions were allowed to
change (we will call this result the mine solution). CPLEX and
BARON solvers were used for the MILP and MINLP respectively,
both were run using GAMS. The CPU time for each optimization
process described in Fig. 2 was about 2 using a laptop with an i7
processor and 8 GB of RAM. Fig. 5 shows the flotation circuit struc-
tures obtained, where alternative 1 gives the best result, alterna-
tive 2 gives the second best results, etc. The NPVs for these
alternatives are shown in Fig. 6. It is clear that alternatives 1, 2, 3
and 4 give good results and can be considered for further study.
Alternative 5 and the current plant structure give NPV on the order
of 4000 MUS$ below alternative 1. It is important to remember
that, based on Table 2, the total number of feasible flotation
circuits is 11,664. Thus, the identification of only five flotation
structures after running the program is surprising but very consis-
tent with results obtained by Cisternas et al. (2015).
It can be argued that the five circuit alternatives can be identi-
fied based on experience. For example, all alternatives avoid the
Please cite this article in press as: Calisaya, D.A., et al. A strategy for the identification of optimal flotation circuits. Miner. Eng. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.mineng.2016.06.010
loop on S2 concentrate, while one alternative avoids the loop on
CS2 concentrate. However, the alternatives identified also consider
three options to send the concentrate from stage S1 (stages CS1, SC,
and C) and two alternatives to send the tail from stage CS2. If only
these alternatives are considered, and not all ones identified in
Table 2, combinations deliver a total of 24 circuits. The sequential
simulation of these 24 alternatives is possible, but will require a
great effort when considering the operational conditions. For one
circuit the number of combinations of operating conditions is
2,654,208, based on the alternatives identified in Table 1. There-
fore, for 24 circuits there are 63,700,992 alternatives. The analysis
of all alternatives, using sequential simulation, is not possible. In
fact, the optimization procedure has considered a total of
30,958,682,112 alternatives when both the selection of operational
condition and circuit structure are considered.
Fig. 7 shows the flotation structure obtained based on the initial
residence time. Alternative 5 was identified when low initial resi-
dence times were used in phase 1 of the optimization procedure.
Alternative 4 was obtained when high residence times were used
in phase 1. The best option, alternative 1 was obtained using resi-
dence times from 1.7 to 2.4 min and from 2.9 to 3.9 min. Alterna-
tive 3 was identified for residence times between 2.5 and
2.8 min. Finally, alternative 2 was identified for initial residence
times of 45 min. The best operational conditions and cell design
were identified using initial residence time of 3.5, 4.0, 2.7, 5.1
and 1.7 min for alternatives 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, respectively.
The optimal metallurgical conditions are given in Table 5 and
the optimal cell size and residence time in Table 6. The optimal
metallurgical conditions are almost the same for all flotation struc-
tures. That is, 50 scrapes per min and without frother for rougher
stage; 20 g xanthate/ t ore, 2 kg dispersant/t ore and with milling
for cleaner stage; 20 g xanthate/ t ore, 2 kg dispersant/t ore and
without milling for cleaner scavenger 1 stage; 40 g xanthate/ t
ore, 2 kg dispersant/t ore and without milling for cleaner scavenger
2 stage; 40 g xanthate/ t ore, 2 kg dispersant/t ore for scavenger
 D.A. Calisaya et al. / Minerals Engineering xxx (2016) xxxxxx 9

(a) Mine (b) Alternative 1

(c) Alternative 2 (d) Alternative 3

(e) Alternative4 (f) Alternative 5

Fig. 5. Mine flotation circuit compared with the alternative circuits. (a) Mine circuit, (b) best alternative, from (c) to (f) alternatives in decreasing order.

Fig. 6. NPV for the mine and the alternatives.

cleaner stage; and 50 scrapes per min and without frother for
scavenger 1 and 2 stages.
Fig. 8 compares the recovery and concentrate grades for all
alternatives. All the good alternatives, alternatives 1, 2, 3 and 4,
have high values of recovery and concentrate grade. Alternative 5
has a high concentrate grade but a low recovery. On the other
hand, the current flotation circuit structure (mine) gives high
recovery but low concentrate grade.
Fig. 7. Zinc recovery and grade comparison between model and mine solutions.
Fig. 9 gives the operational cost for all alternatives. The differ-
ence between the highest and lowest operating costs is not very
significant. If these costs are compared with revenue associated
with recovery and concentrate grade, it can be concluded that they
do not play a role in selecting the structure of the flotation circuit.

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10 D.A. Calisaya et al. / Minerals Engineering xxx (2016) xxxxxx

Table 5
Optimal metallurgical conditions for mine and model (see Table 1 for description of the operational conditions).

Set of operational conditions

R C CS1 CS2 SC S1 S2
Mine dr1 dc15 dcs8 dcs8 dsc2 ds1 ds1
Alt. 1 dr1 dc15 dcs7 dcs8 dsc2 ds1 ds1
Alt. 2 dr1 dc15 dcs7 dcs8 dsc2 ds1 ds1
Alt. 3 dr1 dc15 dcs7 dcs8 dsc2 ds1 ds1
Alt. 4 dr1 dc15 dcs7 dcs8 dsc2 ds1 ds1
Alt. 5 dr1 dc15 dcs8 dcs8 dsc2 ds1 ds1

Table 6
Volumes and residence times for mine and the alternatives.

Volumes, m3 Residence times, minutes

R C CS1 CS2 SC S1 S2 R C CS1 CS2 SC S1 S2
Mine 26.40 1.75 1.41 0.68 1.45 26.16 25.64 4.5 1.7 1.5 1.3 1.3 4.5 4.6
Alt. 1 20.52 1.39 1.57 1.22 1.30 19.77 20.43 3.5 1.6 1.4 1.3 1.3 3.6 3.5
Alt. 2 23.48 1.43 1.91 1.46 1.15 22.62 23.47 4.0 1.6 1.4 1.4 1.4 4.2 4.0
Alt. 3 15.84 1.26 1.16 0.90 0.92 15.26 15.69 2.7 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.3 2.8 2.7
Alt. 4 32.49 1.42 1.45 1.15 0.63 30.82 30.22 5.1 1.7 1.5 1.5 1.5 5.4 5.0
Alt. 5 9.96 1.07 0.86 0.50 1.29 9.60 9.80 1.7 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.7 1.7

increased from 102,587 million dollars (the optimized current

flotation circuit) to 106,777 million dollars for a 10-year project.
The new design gives both better recovery and concentrate grade.
Additionally, the operational cost is reduced.

Acknowledgements

Financial support from CSIRO ICE Chile and CICITEM

(R10C1004) and the Antofagasta Regional Government is gratefully
acknowledged.

Fig. 8. Representation of Zn recovery and grade for the mine and the alternatives.
Appendix A. Supplementary material

This appendix shows plots of experimental values of recovery of

Zn, Cu, Pb and Fe under different conditions. The data and plots are
also available as Interactive Plot in the online version. Supplemen-
tary data associated with this article can be found, in the online
version, at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2016.06.010.

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