Trials That Matter: Testing a Mechanically Agitated Flotation Cell on Your Ore
A buyer's guide to planning a demonstration of a mechanically agitated flotation cell using the buyer's own ore slurry, with practical questions for the trial protocol and acceptance criteria.
Before committing to a mechanically agitated flotation cell for mineral separation, insist that the demonstration use your own ore slurry rather than a supplier's reference feed. A cell that performs on a familiar sample may behave differently on your grind, pulp density, or reagent scheme, so the trial should reproduce your intended circuit conditions as closely as practical.
Ask the supplier to state how the demonstration will be run: what feed volume and solids content will be used, how reagent addition and conditioning will be controlled, and how concentrate and tailings will be sampled. Compare results against your existing recovery and grade targets, and request a mass balance rather than a single assay. For scale-up, treat catalog values as reference only: an effective cell volume of 4 m³, capacity range of 2–4 m³/min, impeller diameter of 650 mm, and 15 kW agitation motor are indicative, not guaranteed for a supplied unit. Ask how impeller speed, air rate, and froth depth will be varied, and whether the trial can include a residence-time check near the low and high ends of the stated capacity range.
Define acceptance criteria in advance: minimum recovery, concentrate grade, and permissible variability across repeat runs. Request that the same instrumentation and sampling method be used in the acceptance test as in the demonstration.
Before requesting a quote, confirm with the supplier what feed preparation and volume the trial requires, who supervises sampling and assaying, how results are reported, and which parameters can be adjusted on the offered configuration.