Study on the Relation between Tailing Particle Size and Tailing Slurry Underflow Concentration

Abstract

In order to study the effect of the physical properties of tailings on the concentration of tailing slurry underflow, the median particle size, control particle size, and density of the tailings of 9 typical mines were measured. Besides, static settlement test and dynamic thickening test of the tailing slurry of these 9 mines were separately conducted. The test results show that the underflow concentration of the tailing slurry is unrelated to the tailing density but is related to the tailing particle size. The finer the tailing particle size, the lower the underflow concentration. Through the nondimensional regression analysis, 3 relation equations were obtained: number 1 relation equation between the median particle size of tailings and the underflow concentration in the static settlement test, number 2 relation equation between the control particle size of tailings and the change in concentration in the static settlement test, number 3 relation equation between the underflow concentration in the static settlement test and the underflow concentration in the dynamic thickening test under different overflow water solid content conditions. Comparing the calculation results with the test results, it is found that the relative error between the predicted value and the test value does not exceed 6.1%, which has proved that the relation equations derived are convenient and feasible. The underflow concentration of the deep cone thickener can be predicted by merely measuring the particle size of the tailings, which means that the relation equations are highly recommended for wider use and application.