Benefication of Minnesota's Copper-Nickel Ore deposits

The CMRL is assisting mining companies interested in exploiting precious metal containing Cu-Ni deposits scattered around northern Minnesota. Currently, several companies are carrying exploration studies as well as testing and developing a cost effective process for separation of valuable minerals from the ore. In the past, the lab was involved in bench scale testing and process development for this ore deposits. Most recently, a 5 t/h pilot scale flotation plant testing was performed at the lab’s facilities. The flow sheet of this pilot operation is shown in the figure. The objective was produce sufficient amount of concentrate for testing subsequent steps of processing to produce purified products of valuable elements, as well as confirming bench scale results in a near- to-plant-scale operation. Results were beyond the expectations.