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Influence of the Suspension Chemical Property on the Differential Settling Behaviour of Copper Tailings Suspension

Tailings and Mine Waste Conference (2023 : Vancouver, B.C.); University of British Columbia. Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering

This paper presents a comprehensive investigation into the differential settling of a copper tailings suspension under varying pH conditions. Batch settling tests and interruptive settling tests were conducted to analyze settling velocities, solids content profiles, and particle size distributions (PSDs) along the settling direction. The results of the conventional batch settling tests revealed that increasing the pH of the suspension influenced the settling velocity of fine particle species contained in the suspension. Solids content profiles and the PSD profiles provided insights into the differential settling behaviour of the suspension. Coarse particles settled at higher velocities, accumulating at the bottom, resulting in higher solids content and larger PSDs in the sediment. The study established a clear link between the suspension’s pH condition and differential settling behaviour. The discussion showed that increasing the pH value enhanced the aggregation degree of the copper tailing suspension, leading to the result that the difference in settling velocities among particle species was reduced, and the segregation of coarse particles was suppressed. Future research should focus on the detailed influence of the pH condition on the settling velocities of coarse particle species, which can be achieved by performing force balance analyses on coarse particle species.

Text

2024-02-15

Attribution-NonCommercialNoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/87440

Unreviewed

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/