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In addition to the selection of process and equipment, the site selection of a concentrator is also very important. In order to achieve the best economic and environmental benefits, we often need to carefully consider the location of the concentrator.
So what are the points for attention that need to be considered when selecting a site for a concentrator? Below we will introduce the 11 factors one by one.
The concentrator site should be as close as possible to the mine in general.
However, for a polymetallic ore dressing plant that processes rich ores or concentrates with a high productive rate, when the user is very close to the mine, or limited to water, electricity, fuel supply and other reasons, it can also be close to the user, or built in the user's factory area, so that the mine storage bin of the factory can be integrated with the user's storage bin to save investment.
For some precious metal concentrators, in order to avoid the loss of the concentrate during bulk transportation, or when the concentrate of some concentrators must be dried and the user has waste heat available, the concentrator can also be placed close to the user, even the selected concentrate pulp can be pumped directly to the smelter for dehydration treatment.
When mine resources are scattered and we need to build one concentrator to process these resources, it is advisable to reasonably choose the site between mines and users, so as to achieve the lowest comprehensive freight cost for both raw ore and concentrate.
When building plants close to mines, concentrators should avoid being built on ore bodies, magnetic anomalies zones, slump boundaries and blasting danger zones.
The topography of the site should be as suitable as possible for the needs of the process flow of the concentrator.
The topographical conditions of the concentrator must meet the site area requirements, and it is best to enable the concentrator slurry to flow automatically, followed by semi-artesian flow, and the last choice is pressure conveying.
Generally, the suitable natural slope of the crushing workshop is about 25 degrees, and the main plant is about 15 degrees. Without such ideal topographical conditions, even if the plant must be built on flat ground, considering the drainage of the plant area, the plant site should still have a natural slope of 4-5%. The terrain slope required by the slurry semi-artesian concentrator is between the above two.
We should implement the principle of saving land.
Whether building a factory on a hillside or on a flat land, under the premise of meeting production needs, it is necessary to occupy as little land as possible, especially to occupy less or no good land. For tailings ponds, appropriate consideration shall be given to reclamation when conditions permit.
The volume of the tailings pond should be adapted to the service life of the concentrator. A valley or depression with a concave shape should be selected to minimize earthwork and maximize storage capacity. The location of the tailings pond should be as close to the concentrator as possible to save the cost of tailings transportation. It should also prevent the harm or pollution of tailings to the environment, rivers, agricultural and fishery production and residential areas.
Concentrators consume a lot of water, and some operations require water quality.
Therefore, under the premise of ensuring that the quality and quantity of water meet the needs of production and living, the site of the concentrator should be as close to the water source as possible to avoid raising a large amount of water to high places, and special attention should be paid not to compete with agriculture for water.
The concentrator should not only have reliable power supply, but also shorten the transmission line as much as possible. Where there is a condition to use the power grid to supply power, try to use it as much as possible, so as not to increase investment and operation and management costs by building a power plant alone.
There must be suitable transportation conditions. The raw ore, various consumables and the output concentrate from the concentrator should have convenient transportation conditions.
Railway transportation should be convenient to connect with the national trunk line to reduce the construction of special lines. Road transportation should be convenient to connect with the national highway trunk line. And waterway transportation should facilitate the sharing of existing wharfs or choose suitable locations for new wharfs.
The site should have good engineering geological conditions.
The site of the plant should be avoided to be built on faults, landslides and under the flood level, and should avoid unfavorable areas such as karst caves, silt, humus, potholes, ancient wells, or cultural relics protection areas.
The soil bearing capacity of the plant area is generally required to be greater than 100kN/㎡. The requirements for heavy construction sites such as crushing workshops, main mineral processing workshops and mine silos are not less than 200kN/㎡.
It is not advisable to build a plant in an earthquake area of magnitude 9 or above or a collapsible loess layer area of magnitude 3 or above. The groundwater level of the plant site should not be too high to reduce the complexity of the foundation project and the cost of capital construction.
Pay attention to environmental protection. The concentrator site should be selected as far as possible in the downwind direction of towns or residential areas to minimize the pollution of dust, flue gas and other emissions to the environment.
The location of the living area of the concentrator should be selected based on the principles of favorable production, convenient living and full cooperation. The residential area should not be too far from the factory area, and the traffic connection should be convenient.
For promising mines, concentrators should have room for expansion.
The above are the 11 factors you should care about for the location of the concentrator, I hope it will help you in the location of the concentrator.
If you have any questions about the content of the article, or want to know more information about the site selection and construction of the mineral processing plant, you are welcome to inquire online or leave a message for more information.
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111 Considerations for Concentrator Site Selection
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