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Gold beneficiation process includes gravity beneficiation method，froth flotation method, CIL, CIP, etc. No matter which method is used to extract gold, the washing process is necessary to make the gold separate from the sludge and then enter the separation operation. So it's inseparable from the gold washing.
So what is gold washing? What are the commonly used gold washing machines? This article will take you to know more about these questions!
Let’s dive in!
Cylinder Washing Machine to be Shipped
The process of removing clay materials from gold ore is called gold washing. This process actually consists of two steps: fragmentation and separation. The whole process is carried out in the action of water flow and corresponding machinery. Crushing is to make the clay material crumbling and dispersing by water immersion, impact and agitation; separation is the use of water to separate the clay fine particles and sludge suspended in the water from the coarse materials.
From the history of the application of gold washing process, initially just simply washing with water on the ordinary screen, gradually evolved to the use of special gold washing machine. Due to the complexity of different types of gold ore, gold washing machine and washing units that combine fragmentation and separation operations have emerged.
According to the method of dispersing muddy materials, gold washing machine can be divided into two categories: one is to use the power of high-pressure water to break up mud-bearing materials, such as washing chutes, vibrating washing screen, etc.; the other is to use the friction between the gold ore blocks or the ore blocks and the mechanical surface to break up muddy materials in the low-pressure water stream, which is completely completed by the mechanical action of the gold washing machine, such as cylinder washing machine, trough washing machine, scrubbing machine, etc.
Washing chute is suitable for easy to wash and medium washable gold ore. Mostly used for alluvial gold ore washing, in actual production, often used in combination with cylinder washing machine or vibrating washing screen.
The difference in structure from ordinary chute is that a grille is installed at the bottom of the entire chute length, and a fixed bar screen is installed at the end of the chute. Nozzles are arranged on the head of the chute (or the upper part of the entire chute). When the material moves along the chute in the high-speed water jet from the nozzle, the coarse-grained gold ore blocks slide and turn, so that the sludge is washed away in the jet.
The vibrating washing screen is used for gold ore that are easy to wash or have been broken. The sludge can be separated from the coarse-grained gold ore by using a vibrating washing screen with a common structure equipped with a water spray device. In order to spray water evenly along the width of the screen, special shaped nozzles can be used. The inclination angle between the center line of the nozzle and the surface of the material on the screen should be 100°~110°, and the distance from the nozzle to the surface of the material should be 300 mm.
The nozzle can be made in the form of a cyclone (water enters from the tangential direction), or it can be made into a vortex sleeve (water enters from the center). The use of these two nozzles can reduce the amount of water and improve the washing efficiency.
The cylinder washing machine is actually an extended cylinder screen. The tube with nozzle is installed inside the cylinder screen to wash the gold ore containing clay moving along the cylinder screen. The cylinder washing machine has strong mechanical and hydraulic effects, and is suitable for processing medium washable and hard-to-wash gold ore with a particle size of 200-300 mm.
In order to avoid blockage of the screen holes, the cylinder washing machine is preferably made into a conical shape, with the larger diameter side facing the discharge end. For difficult-to-wash gold ore, a chain and ring-shaped rake teeth should be installed on the inner wall of the circular screen.
Inclined trough washing machine is the most common type of washing machine, which is further divided into two types of inclined spiral trough washing machine and inclined blade trough washing machine. The former is similar to the spiral classifier and is used to process easily washable and medium washable gold ore materials with particle size 0~10mm. The latter is used for processing medium washable and difficult to wash gold ore materials with particle size up to 100mm.
Production practice shows that the tilting trough washer is particularly effective in breaking up and dispersing sticky mud masses because of its good scrubbing and rubbing ability in the washing process. But due to the maximum size of the ore into the limit, it is most suitable for the processing hard-to-wash gold ore with a small amount of large gold and a lot of mud. It is not suitable for processing brittle materials, because it will cause serious muddy phenomenon.
The scrubbing machine is suitable for medium washable and difficult to wash gold with particle size up to 300 mm. The scrubbing machine has a non-porous barrel，the feeding and discharging ends have end cover plates, which can make the material get good crushing and dispersion, and ensure the movement of material to the discharging end. The diameter of the discharge port should be larger than the diameter of the feed port, and the discharge port has an adjustable height of the ring dam. In this way, a fixed layer of material is formed in the scrubbing machine.
In actual production, scrubbing machines are often used in conjunction with washing vibrating screens and spiral classifiers. The large gold ore is washed and sent to the crusher. The fine-grained gold ore and sludge flow to the classifier for dewatering and desliming, and then drained away in the form of overflow.
The above is an introduction to the common gold washing machine
Washing chute
Vibrating washing screen
Cylinder washing machine
Trough washing machine
Scrubbing machine
The gold washing plant requires reasonable washing procedures and steps. It is recommended that gold mine owners determine the gold washing process and gold washing machines according to the type and characteristics of the gold mine. Xinhai is a professional manufacturer of gold washing equipment. We have rich practical experience in the washing and purification of gold; more importantly we can carry out gold beneficiation tests for customers, design the process and equipment configuration of gold washing.
If you want to know more about the gold washing machines, please leave a message or consult online customer service for more information.
