Beach mining beneficiation process plant

Sea sand and beach ore contains a variety of valuable minerals, such as ilmenite, tantalite, zircon, monazite, and rutile. To effectively separate these minerals, a variety of beneficiation equipment is usually required, including drum screens, spiral chutes, shaking tables, three-disc belt magnetic separators, and high-voltage electric separators.

1. Trommel Screen

The raw ore first enters the drum screen for pre-processing. The primary function of the drum screen is screening, classifying the raw ore by particle size through the mesh, removing oversized gravel and debris. Furthermore, during the screening process, water flushing and the rotation of the drum effectively remove surface impurities such as dirt and oversized waste rock, creating favorable conditions for subsequent sorting operations. The qualified material after the drum screen is fed to the next process.

2. Spiral Chute

The ore slurry after classification is conveyed to the spiral chute for roughing. The spiral chute consists of a vertically mounted, multi-turn spiral flume. After the slurry is fed from the top, as it flows down the spiral chute, the mineral particles are affected by a combination of gravity, centrifugal force, friction, and the force of the water flow. Heavy minerals with higher densities (such as ilmenite and zircon) tend to move toward the inner side of the spiral chute, while lighter minerals with lower density (such as quartz) are carried outward by the water flow. Skimmers are installed at the bottom of the chute to initially concentrate and collect the heavy mineral product, thereby separating most of the gangue and light minerals.

3. Shaking Table

The heavy sand concentrate obtained from the spiral chute requires further concentrating in a shaking table. During operation, the shaking table's bed performs an asymmetrical reciprocating motion while a horizontal water flow flows through it. The combined effects of the bed's vibration and the horizontal water flow separate the mineral particles into layers and zones based on density and particle size. The heaviest mineral particles are concentrated at the end of the concentrate, while medium-density minerals are in the middle, and the light minerals are swept away by the water flow. This shaking table concentrating process produces a higher-grade heavy sand concentrate. 

4. Three Disc Belt Magnetic Separator

After gravity separation, the concentrate is a mixture of various heavy minerals. Next, the minerals need to be separated based on their magnetic properties. A three-disc belt magnetic separator is key to this task. It features three magnetic separation discs with adjustable strength. When the dried heavy sand is evenly fed onto the belt and passed beneath the discs, the different magnetic susceptibilities of the different minerals cause them to be sequentially attracted to the belt surface by the discs in the different magnetic fields. They are then brushed or scraped off as they exit the magnetic field. This process allows ilmenite and tantalite to be separated from the mixed concentrate.

5. High-Voltage Electrostatic Separator

Separating non-magnetic materials such as rutile and zircon requires a high-voltage electrostatic separator. When dry mineral particles pass through the electric field between the drum and the electrodes, highly conductive minerals are instantly charged with an opposite charge to that of the electrodes. They are attracted to the drum surface and rotate for a distance before falling under gravity. Non-conductive minerals, on the other hand, are less likely to be charged and may adhere to the drum due to polarization, but are quickly brushed off. High-voltage electric separators are key equipment for obtaining high-purity products such as zircon sand and rutile.