Positron emission particle tracking inside a laboratory batch jig
WP Roux, N Naudé
Owing to decreasing high-grade ore reserves, there is a need for better
understanding of the jigging process to improve the recovery efficiency of
finer, lower grade material. The use of positron emission particle tracking
(PEPT) was examined as a technique to study the motion of iron ore
particles inside a laboratory batch jig. PEPT is a non-invasive method that
can provide three-dimensional kinetic data on a particle in laboratory-scale
processing units and has been successfully used to study mills, hydrocyclones,
and flotation. Experiments were conducted to determine whether
PEPT would be a viable technique to study iron ore jigging and what
valuable information could be obtained. The results indicated that detailed
information on the stratification rate of a particle could be obtained, with
adequate resolution to track the particle’s movement through an individual
jig pulse.
Keywords: positron emission particle tracking, PEPT, jigging, gravity separation,
modelling.