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The centrifugal concentrator can also recover the tailings of gold, chromite, scheelite and other heavy minerals.
Many mines lose tiny valuable metal particles. These particles are too small for traditional gravity methods. Gold, silver, and platinum can be lost this way. These metals end up in waste piles, called tailings. You are leaving money in your tailings if this happens. A Centrifugal Concentrator can help you recover these lost fine particles. It is a powerful machine. It uses strong forces to catch even the smallest heavy minerals. This article will tell you how this machine works. It will show you how it can get more value from your ore.
Traditional gravity separation methods work because heavy things fall faster than light things in a fluid. This is like panning for gold. Gold is heavy. Sand is lighter. When you shake the pan with water, the gold stays at the bottom. Sand washes away. Simple gravity works well for bigger heavy particles. Think of a nugget of gold. It settles fast. But mineral particles come in many sizes. Grinding breaks ore into small pieces. This helps separate the valuable minerals from the waste rock. This is called liberation. Some valuable mineral particles become very, very small after grinding. These tiny particles might be free (not attached to waste). But they are so light by themselves. They do not settle fast enough in water using simple gravity.
Machines like s or Shaking Tables use gravity. They separate minerals based on density and size. They do a good job with medium to fine particles. But when particles are extremely fine, simple gravity force is not strong enough. The water’s resistance and other forces become more important. The tiny heavy particles behave more like light particles. They get carried away with the water and lighter waste materials. This means valuable metals like fine gold, platinum, or silver can end up in the tailing stream. They go to the tailings pond instead of being collected as concentrate. Studies and experience show significant amounts of fine free gold are often lost this way. This represents lost revenue. You already spent money to mine and grind this ore. Recovering those lost fines adds directly to your profit.
A Centrifugal Concentrator uses a different principle. It uses enhanced gravity. This means it creates a force much stronger than normal Earth gravity. It does this by spinning. Think of a centrifuge in a lab. It spins fast. It separates things based on density by using centrifugal force. A Centrifugal Concentrator for mining works like a super-powered centrifuge for slurries (rock particles mixed with water). The machine has a cone-shaped bowl. This bowl spins at high speed. Slurry containing the ground ore and water is fed into the center of the spinning bowl.
As the slurry spins, the centrifugal force acts on the particles. This force is many times stronger than Earth’s gravity. Heavy particles feel a much stronger outward force than light particles. The heavy particles are thrown to the outside wall of the spinning bowl. They get trapped in special grooves or riffles in the bowl wall. Lighter waste particles are not affected as strongly by the centrifugal force. They stay in the center of the bowl. They are carried upwards by the incoming water and overflow out of the machine as tailings. The heavy particles collect in the riffles. After a certain time (for a batch machine) or in a continuous way (for a continuous machine), these collected heavy particles are flushed out as a rich concentrate. This force is so strong. It can separate even very fine heavy particles from lighter particles. It overcomes the water resistance that hinders simple gravity methods. It can “squeeze out” those tiny valuable minerals that would normally wash away. This process effectively concentrates the valuable heavy minerals from a large volume of ore into a much smaller volume of high-grade concentrate. It’s like concentrating a large, dilute sample into a small, rich one, similar in concept to how some lab processes concentrate substances for analysis, although the physical method here is enhanced gravity on solid particles, not evaporation.
Centrifugal Concentrators are famous for recovering fine gold and platinum group metals (PGMs). This is because gold and platinum are very heavy. They have high densities. This makes them respond well to centrifugal force separation. But these machines are not just for gold and platinum. They can recover other heavy minerals too. The key factor is density difference. The bigger the density difference between the valuable mineral and the waste material, the easier they are to separate.
Many sulfide minerals contain valuable metals like copper, lead, and zinc. Examples are chalcopyrite (copper), galena (lead), and sphalerite (zinc). Pyrite (iron sulfide) is also common. While these sulfides might be recovered by Flotation Machines, if they are present as free particles and are significantly heavier than the surrounding waste rock (gangue), a Centrifugal Concentrator can recover them. It is especially useful for sulfides that might float poorly because they are too coarse or too fine, or if you want to remove a portion of heavy sulfides before flotation. High-density minerals like cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), and some heavy mineral sands (like ilmenite, rutile, zircon) can also be recovered. So, if your ore contains valuable minerals that are much heavier than the waste rock, a Centrifugal Concentrator might be suitable. You need to know the densities of your valuable minerals and waste rock. You also need to know how free the valuable minerals are at the size you are grinding to. This machine works best when the valuable minerals are liberated (free) particles.
Centrifugal Concentrators come in different types. The main difference is how they discharge the heavy concentrate. There are batch type machines and continuous type machines. The type you need depends on your ore characteristics and how much material you need to process.
Batch type Centrifugal Concentrators collect the heavy concentrate in the bowl riffles over a period of time. After a set time (maybe 15 minutes to an hour or more), the feed is stopped. The bowl is slowed down. Then, the collected heavy concentrate is washed out with water into a separate collection bin. This is called flushing. The machine then starts the next batch cycle. Batch concentrators are known for producing a very high-grade concentrate in the first pass. They are widely used for recovering primary gold in grinding circuits (Ball Mill), where the goal is to get a very rich gold product early in the process. Examples include Knelson and Falcon Semi-continuous concentrators. Continuous type Centrifugal Concentrators discharge the heavy concentrate constantly while the machine is running and being fed. They do not stop for flushing. The concentrate comes out continuously from a separate outlet. Continuous machines typically produce a lower-grade concentrate than batch machines in the first pass. But they can handle very large volumes of material. They are often used for pre-concentration or scavenging applications. This is where you process a large stream (like flotation tails) to recover any remaining heavy minerals. Examples include Falcon Continuous concentrators.
Your ore’s valuable mineral content matters. If you have high-grade ore with coarse free gold, a batch machine might give you a super-rich concentrate quickly. If you have large volumes of low-grade material with fine heavy minerals in the tailings, a continuous machine might be better suited for scavenging.
| Feature | Batch Type | Continuous Type |
|---|---|---|
| How Concentrate Collected | Collected in bowl, flushed periodically | Discharged continuously while running |
| Concentrate Grade | High grade in single pass | Lower grade in single pass |
| Capacity | Medium to High | Very High |
| Operation | Stop feed for flushing cycle | Continuous feed and discharge |
| Best Use | Primary gold recovery, high-grade concentrate | High volume processing, scavenging fines |
| Examples | Knelson, Falcon Semi-continuous | Falcon Continuous |
Placing the Centrifugal Concentrator in the right spot in your mineral processing plant is important. Its location affects how well it works and how it impacts the rest of your process. It can be placed in several key positions.
One common place is in the grinding circuit (Ball Mill loop). Specifically, it is often placed to treat a portion of the cyclone underflow or the screen undersize. The cyclone underflow is the coarse material that goes back to the Ball Mill for more grinding. Free heavy minerals, especially gold, tend to report to this stream because they are heavy. Catching them here removes them from the grinding loop. This prevents them from being over-ground into even finer sizes where they might be harder to recover later. It also reduces the amount of heavy minerals recirculating in the mill, which can sometimes improve grinding efficiency. Another spot is before Flotation Machine. If you have free heavy minerals that float poorly or interfere with flotation, you can remove them first. This can sometimes improve flotation performance and recovery of other minerals. A third common place is in the tailings stream from other processes, like flotation tails. This is called scavenging. The Centrifugal Concentrator acts as a final catcher for any heavy valuable minerals that escaped the main recovery circuits. This helps recover value that would otherwise be lost to the tailings pond.
The best location depends on your ore’s characteristics, the liberation size of your valuable minerals, and your existing plant flowsheet. You need to think about where the free heavy minerals are likely to be found and where recovering them causes the least disruption and offers the most benefit. A complete process design includes integrating the Centrifugal Concentrator smoothly with feeding systems (Vibrating Feeder), pumps, pipes, and downstream processing of the concentrate (like cleaning using a Shaking Table).
Getting the best results from your Centrifugal Concentrator means adjusting its settings correctly. You want to recover as much valuable mineral as possible. You also want the concentrate you collect to be as rich (high grade) as possible. These two goals can sometimes work against each other. You need to find the right balance.
The main parameters you can adjust are the G-force, the feed rate, and the amount of fluidization water (sometimes called “wash water”). The G-force is the strength of the centrifugal force. It is controlled by the bowl’s spinning speed. Higher G-force generally helps recover finer and lighter heavy particles. But too high a G-force might also trap more lighter waste particles, lowering your concentrate grade. The feed rate is how much slurry goes into the machine per hour. If you feed the machine too fast, particles might not have enough time inside to separate properly. Heavy fines could be swept away. Feeding too slowly might reduce your plant’s overall throughput. The fluidization water is injected through holes in the bowl wall. It helps keep the material bed in the riffles loose. This allows lighter trapped particles to be washed out, while keeping the heavier ones trapped. Adjusting the fluidization water flow controls the sharpness of the separation. More water tends to improve concentrate grade (washes out more lights) but can lower recovery (might wash out some fines). Less water can increase recovery (traps more) but might lower concentrate grade (traps more lights).
Finding the optimal settings usually involves testing. You run the machine with different settings. You take samples of the feed, concentrate, and tailings. You analyze these samples to measure recovery and concentrate grade. You repeat this until you find the settings that give you the best economic result for your specific ore. Material properties (particle size distribution, density difference) also affect these settings.
Getting the best results from your Centrifugal Concentrator means adjusting its settings correctly. You want to recover as much valuable mineral as possible. You also want the concentrate you collect to be as rich (high grade) as possible. These two goals can sometimes work against each other. You need to find the right balance.
The main parameters you can adjust are the G-force, the feed rate, and the amount of fluidization water (sometimes called “wash water”). The G-force is the strength of the centrifugal force. It is controlled by the bowl’s spinning speed. Higher G-force generally helps recover finer and lighter heavy particles. But too high a G-force might also trap more lighter waste particles, lowering your concentrate grade. The feed rate is how much slurry goes into the machine per hour. If you feed the machine too fast, particles might not have enough time inside to separate properly. Heavy fines could be swept away. Feeding too slowly might reduce your plant’s overall throughput. The fluidization water is injected through holes in the bowl wall. It helps keep the material bed in the riffles loose. This allows lighter trapped particles to be washed out, while keeping the heavier ones trapped. Adjusting the fluidization water flow controls the sharpness of the separation. More water tends to improve concentrate grade (washes out more lights) but can lower recovery (might wash out some fines). Less water can increase recovery (traps more) but might lower concentrate grade (traps more lights).
Finding the optimal settings usually involves testing. You run the machine with different settings. You take samples of the feed, concentrate, and tailings. You analyze these samples to measure recovery and concentrate grade. You repeat this until you find the settings that give you the best economic result for your specific ore. Material properties (particle size distribution, density difference) also affect these settings.
Buying a Centrifugal Concentrator means an upfront cost. You need to buy the machine. You need to install it. But this cost must be compared to the value you will gain. The value comes from recovering metals that you are currently losing. For many mines, especially gold mines, the amount of fine gold lost in tailings is significant. Recovering even a small percentage of this lost gold can quickly add up.
To evaluate the investment, you need to estimate how much valuable mineral the machine can recover from your ore or tailings. You can do this through test work. Send samples of your ore or tailings to a lab or a supplier’s test facility. They can run tests using a Centrifugal Concentrator to measure the potential recovery and concentrate grade. Once you have these numbers, you can calculate the extra amount of valuable metal you would produce per year. Then, use the current market price of that metal to find the extra revenue. Compare this extra revenue to the operating costs of the Centrifugal Concentrator (power, water, maintenance, wear parts) and the initial capital cost. Calculate how long it takes for the extra revenue to pay back the initial investment. This is the payback period. Centrifugal Concentrators are known for having relatively short payback periods, especially in gold operations where fine gold losses are high. They can significantly increase your overall recovery. This directly improves your bottom line. It turns waste into revenue.
| Model | Capacity (t/hr) | Feeding Size(mm) | Feeding Density(%) | Power Requirement (kw) | Cone Rotate Speed | Back Water Required(m3/h) | Dimension(mm) |
| STLB20 | 0.5-1 | 0-2.5 | 20-50 | 1.1 | 800 | 15 | 800*560*710 |
| STLB30 | 2-3 | 0-4 | 20-50 | 2.2 | 600 | 20 | 1280*1030*1135 |
| STLB60 | 8-12 | 0-6 | 20-50 | 7.5 | 460 | 50 | 1850*1550*1600 |
| STLB80 | 10-20 | 0-6 | 20-50 | 15 | 400 | 80 | 2300*1800*2200 |
| STLB100 | 40-60 | 0-6 | 20-50 | 18.5 | 360 | 100 | 2400*2400*2250 |
ZONEDING MACHINE has been making mineral processing equipment since 2004. We have experience in various gravity separation methods (Shaking Table, Jigging Separator Machine). We offer complete plant solutions. We can test your ore and design a solution including the right Centrifugal Concentrator for your precious metal recovery needs.
Q 1: Can a Centrifugal Concentrator recover all the gold in my ore?
A: No single machine recovers everything. It is very good at recovering fine free gold. Gold locked inside sulfide particles or other minerals cannot be recovered until it is liberated by grinding.
Q 2: How fine can particles be for this machine?
A: Centrifugal Concentrators are effective down to very fine sizes, often below 50 microns, sometimes even down to a few microns, depending on the mineral density and machine settings.
Q 3: Does it replace Flotation Machines or Shaking Tables?
A: Not usually. It complements them. It is often used with flotation or shaking tables, either before or after them, to recover particles they might miss, especially the fine ones.
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