Equipment
What it is for
The palette gathers the usual equipment of mineral processing flowsheets, with symbols following the Brazilian convention. Each unit has a calculation model, which defines how what comes in is split among the outlets.
Palette groups
| Group | Examples |
|---|---|
| Feed and product | Feed, Water feed, Product |
| Crushing | jaw, gyratory, cone, vertical shaft impactor, hammer, roll |
| Grinding | Ball mill, autogenous/SAG, vertical, roller |
| Screening and classification | Vibrating screen, inclined, dewatering, DSM, static, fixed grizzly, trommel, rotary screen, mobile screen, Hydrocyclone, cyclone, hydrosizer |
| Concentration | Magnetic separators (WHIMS and VHGMS), magnetic drums (wet, dry, double), flotation cells and column, spiral concentrator, jig |
| Dewatering | Thickener, lamella settler, Disc filter, filter press, belt filter, centrifuge |
| Tanks, vessels and mixing | Tank, Pump box, Agitated tank, Stream junction, conditioner, vessels, Water addition… |
| Pumps | Slurry pump, vertical, progressive cavity, diaphragm, paste… |
| Conveyors | Belt conveyor, screw, drag chain, bucket elevator… |
| Feeding and storage | feeders, silo, hopper, stockpile, big bag filler… |
| Chutes, diverters and splitting | chute, gate, trouser chute, diverter, splitter box, Slurry distributor, Splitter, Distributor, Mass split (2 and 3 outlets) |
| Sampling and weighing | sampler, belt scale |
| Vehicles | trucks, front-end loader, train, rail car, ship… |
| Utilities | cooling tower, heat exchangers, boiler, spray nozzle… |
Only the "Feed and product" group starts open. Click the group name to open or close it.
Feed and Product close the process
Only the Feed, the Water feed and the Product are process boundaries. Everything else receives and passes on. To end a line (product, tailings, big bags for shipping), connect it to a Product and give it any name you like.
What each family calculates
| Family | Equipment | What you enter | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pass-through | crushers, mills without particle size, conveyors, feeders, silos, stockpile, chutes, gates, pumps, vessels, vehicles, utilities | nothing | what comes in goes out unchanged (solids and water) |
| Mixing | Tank, Pump box, Agitated tank, Stream junction | number of inlets; on tanks, number of outlets and split | adds everything that arrives; with several outlets, all have the same composition |
| Flow split | Splitter, Distributor, trouser chute, bifurcated chute, diverters, splitter box, slurry distributor | % per outlet or number of outlets | same composition in all outlets; only the flow rate changes |
| Mass split (2 outlets) | Mass split, catalog screens, cyclone, hydrosizer, flotation, magnetic drums, jig, sampler | % of mass to one outlet; % solids of one of the outlets; spray per t/h or fixed | splits solids by mass; water follows the requested % solids |
| Mass split (3 outlets) | Mass split (3 outlets), spiral, double magnetic drum, mobile screen | % of mass to two outlets; % solids of up to two | the third outlet takes the rest |
| Magnetic separator (WHIMS and VHGMS) | Magnetic separator (WHIMS), Magnetic separator (VHGMS) | mass recovery (or from grades), magnetics % solids, entrainment moisture, middlings wash, middlings product option | M, NM and, optionally, MD |
| Vibrating screen | Vibrating screen | 1 to 3 decks; per deck, aperture and efficiency (with particle size) or % retained; oversize % solids; spray per t/h or fixed | one oversize per deck and one undersize |
| Hydrocyclone | Hydrocyclone | by the curve: corrected d50, sharpness (α) and d50 reference density (optional); or by mass split to the underflow or the overflow; underflow % solids (65 % when blank) | overflow and underflow (by the curve, per size class) |
| Ball mill | Ball mill | product P80, distribution modulus, discharge % solids (optional) | product with the requested particle size |
| Thickener | Thickener, lamella settler | underflow % solids, solids lost to overflow | underflow and overflow |
| Filter | Disc filter, press, belt, centrifuge | cake moisture, solids lost to filtrate | cake and filtrate |
| Water addition | Water addition | to a % solids or fixed flow rate (m³/h) | the stream with the added water |
When the unit uses the family's generic model, the panel says so: "Generic model for now…". The unit type is already correct in the project; when it gets its own model, the project keeps opening.
Outlets and labels
Every unit with more than one outlet shows a label next to each port, on screen and in the PDF. The panel, the connections and the warnings use the same label.
| Equipment | Labels |
|---|---|
| Screens | O (oversize) / U (undersize); with several decks, O1, O2, O3 and U |
| Mobile screen | C (coarse) / M (medium) / F (fine) |
| Hydrocyclone, cyclone, classifier, thickener, settler | OF (overflow) / UF (underflow) |
| Magnetic separation | M (magnetics) / NM (non-magnetics); with middlings, MD; double drum, M1 / M2 / NM |
| Flotation | F (float) / S (sink) |
| Spiral | C (concentrate) / MD (middlings) / T (tailings) |
| Jig | H (heavy) / L (light) |
| Sampler | S (sample) / R (sampler reject) |
| Filters and centrifuge | C (cake) / F (filtrate) |
| Generic splits | A, B, C |
| Splitter, distributor, tank outlets | 1, 2, 3… |
In magnetic separation, flotation and jigs the names are neutral (magnetics / non-magnetics, float / sink, heavy / light) because the product of interest depends on the ore.
Tanks, boxes and junction
- Number of inlets: 1 to 6 nozzles on top, over the rim. Each nozzle accepts more than one stream. In the panel of the incoming stream, Arrives at inlet chooses the nozzle.
- Number of outlets: 1 to 4 (tank, agitated tank and pump box). With more than one, choose the Flow split in % or by slurry flow rate (m³/h) of the first outlets; the last one takes the rest. 100 % / 0 % represents a circuit on standby.
- Attached pump: tanks and boxes come with a pump on the outlet, with its own tag (BP-01, BP-02…). The stream leaves from the pump discharge, with a single number, without repeating the tank → pump stream. Untick it in the panel if you do not want it.
- Stream junction (triangle): adds streams so they enter a unit as a single line. 2 to 6 inlets. It rotates instead of flipping. It shows no name on the drawing.
Reducing the number of inlets moves the streams from the nozzles that go away to the last one that remains. Reducing the number of outlets requires the outlet that will go away to be disconnected.
Magnetic separator (WHIMS)
- Mass recovery: magnetics mass ÷ feed mass, whatever the product of interest. It can be specified or calculated from the grades (see Grades).
- With middlings product (MD): turns on the third outlet. Enter the mass of two of the three outlets (magnetics, middlings, non-magnetics); the third is calculated by difference and appears in grey.
- Water: see Water, WHIMS section.
- Turning off middlings is refused while the MD outlet has a stream connected.
Magnetic separator (VHGMS): the vertical-ring, high-gradient separator with pulsation (the SLon type). On the drawing, the ring with the matrix, the yoke underneath and the magnetics launder on top; the feed comes in from the left and the water intake from above. In the calculation it is the same as the WHIMS: the same fields, the same single intake and the same optional middlings.
Vibrating screen
- Decks: 1 to 3. Each deck has its own aperture and its own oversize; the undersize of one deck feeds the deck below; there is a single undersize.
- Calculation: by particle size (aperture and undersize efficiency of each deck; the panel shows the Cut calculated) or by % retained (the % of the screen feed mass that stays on each deck). A project without particle size always uses % retained.
- Aperture: in mm, inches or mesh, with a selector next to the field. Inches accept fractions ("1/4", "1 1/2"). By % retained, the aperture is optional and only identifies the deck on the drawing.
- Oversize % solids per deck; the undersize takes the rest of the water.
- To remove a deck, first disconnect its oversize.
The other screens (inclined, dewatering, DSM, static, grizzly, trommel, rotary, mobile) calculate by mass split; their aperture is optional and only identifies the screen deck on the drawing, without entering the calculation.
Water in screens (vibrating and catalog): the water that comes in (feed + spray) minus the water that leaves with the oversize is the water in the undersize. Each oversize leaves at its % solids — in catalog screens, 85 % when the field is left blank — and the undersize takes the rest, with one or several decks. The rotary screen follows the same rule.
Hydrocyclone and ball mill
Hydrocyclone, in two modes (Cut calculated):
- by the partition curve (d50c): classic curve from the corrected d50 and the sharpness; correcting the d50 for the mineral density is optional. Requires particle size data.
- by mass split: the % of the solids mass that goes to the underflow or to the overflow (the other is the difference), the same for all size classes. It is the only mode in projects without particle size.
In both, enter the underflow % solids (65 % when blank); the overflow takes the remaining water. By the curve, the fraction of fines that follows the water to the underflow (the bypass) is calculated so the underflow leaves at that %.
Cyclone and hydrosizer (from the catalog): mass split to the underflow or the overflow and underflow % solids (65 % when blank); the overflow takes the remaining water.
Ball mill: only calculates in projects with particle size (without it, it appears dimmed in the palette). The product comes out with the P80 and the distribution modulus you enter. The mill can top up the water to a discharge % solids.
Common warnings and limits
- Mill: the product particle size is specified, not predicted. It does not change with the circulating load or with the cyclone. It is meant to close the balance, not to simulate grinding.
- Hydrocyclone: the d50 is specified, not calculated from the dimensions and the pressure.
- Crushers: for now they are pass-through (they do not reduce size).
- Magnetic separator: recovery is the same in all size classes.
- Equipment with no ore or water flow (overhead cranes, compressors, fans, etc.) is not in the palette.
