On the separation of fine particles by centrifugation

An investigation of recovering finely divided mineral particles by centrifugal forces has been carried out.A theoretical analysis of the separation efficiency for various heavy minerals with density ranging between 5 and 19.3 g/cm³ against silica particles has been made initially. The size range considered in this study was 1–5 microns. The separation efficiency of these heavy minerals from silica was found to show typically a recovery over 95% with 80% purity.A system containing cassiterite and silica particles with 1–5 microns has been chosen as a model system in experiments. The experimental results were in good agreement with the theoretical predictions. Better separations were observed at higher pH's than pH 4 due to better dispersion of these minerals at the higher pH range.