Grinding circuit inside a molybdenum concentrator

Molybdenum: many cleaner stages, and often the mine as well

Molybdenite floats readily but needs repeated cleaning to reach concentrate grade. On several projects Xinhai also carries the underground development and the operation.

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Process route

The technical work is in the cleaner circuit and the reagent regime. The commercial work is often in the mine, where development rate governs the ramp-up.

Crushing and grinding

Crushing and closed circuit grinding, controlled to avoid overgrinding molybdenite.

Rougher flotation

Bulk molybdenum rougher flotation with collector and frother suited to the ore.

Regrind and multi-stage cleaning

Rougher concentrate is reground and cleaned repeatedly to reach concentrate grade.

Copper separation where present

In copper-molybdenum ores, the bulk concentrate is separated into copper and molybdenum products.

Dewatering and drying

Concentrate thickening, filtration and drying before dispatch.

Equipment in this circuit

Manufactured at our own bases and matched to the circuit capacity, not bought package by package.

Jaw crusher

PE series for primary crushing and PEX series for secondary and fine crushing.

Ball mill

Wet grid mills for primary grinding and overflow mills for secondary grinding.

Hydrocyclone

XC, XHCV and XN series for classification, desliming and thickening duty.

Flotation cells

SF, JJF, XCF, KYF and BF machines up to 320 m3, plus flotation columns.

Thickener

Deep cone and high efficiency thickeners up to 100 m diameter.

Filter press

Plate and frame and membrane presses for concentrate and tailings dewatering.

Reference projects

Figures are those reported for these projects in the Xinhai project and test brochures.

Hebei, China

4,000 t/d molybdenum mine, fully mechanised development fleet, key milestones brought forward

C+M+O

Shandong, China

2,000 t/d molybdenum and tungsten processing plant

Plant scope

Common questions

What did Xinhai do on the Hebei molybdenum project?

Construction, mine construction management and operation. The scope covered accelerating ramp and ventilation shaft construction and deploying a fully mechanised line for development, mucking, support and ventilation across multiple working faces.

Why does molybdenum need so many cleaner stages?

Molybdenite is soft and floats easily, but so do some gangue minerals, and concentrate specifications are demanding. Repeated cleaning with regrinding is the standard answer.

Can Xinhai take the mining contract alone?

Yes. Contract mining is available separately from processing, under any of the eight cooperation models.

Send the assay and the tonnage target for your Molybdenum project.

We start with test work on your sample, then size the circuit around the result. Tell us where the project stands and what you need next.