Mining & Mineral Processing

Mining and mineral processing involve the production of raw minerals for use in everyday products. Mining involves a number of processes to get the raw ore into a finished state. It starts with the extraction of the mineral-bearing ore from the earth. Then, the ore undergoes a variety of processes to separate the valuable mineral from the gangue material.

How Filter Presses Are Used in Mining & Mineral Processing

Filter presses can be used a number of different ways in the mining industry. They can be directly involved in the processing of the minerals and/or they can be used to dewater the waste material generated as part of the process.

Tailings disposal

Filter presses are used in the mining industry to dewater the waste tailings containing the gaunge material and process water. Filter presses generate an immediately reusable process water and drip-free solid cakes that are easy to manage and store, decreasing the volume and risks of the Tailings Storage Facility (TSF).

When filter presses are used to dewater tailings, the need for tailings ponds can be eliminated, along with eliminating their associated risks. 

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Concentrates

Mineral concentrates

Filter presses can be used for liquid-solid separation in mineral concentrates applications. They remove the solids from the liquid, purifying the dissolved mineral-rich filtrate. 

Washing and dewatering in hydrometallurgical processes

Filter presses are relied on heavily in hydrometallurgical processes to dewater and concentrate feeds coming from upstream thickeners.

Hydromet

Explore Diefenbach's range of filter presses for the mining and minerals processing industry.

How Thickeners Are Used In Mining & Mineral Processing

Diefenbach thickeners are designed to recover as much valuable liquor as possible while thickening the waste solids for easier downstream handling.

Tailings

Thickeners are used in almost all mineral processing plants to both recover process water for reuse and to minimize the volume of tailings waste going to the Tailings Storage Facility (TSF).  They form a critical part of obtaining the required permits for both water use and tailings management.

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Concentrates

Concentrates

Mineral concentrates are typically filtered prior to dispatch to the mine site. Thickeners are used prior to filter presses to concentrate the feed going to the filter press and to maximize the process efficiency.

Washing and thickening in hydrometallurgical processes

Thickeners are used extensively in hydrometallurgical processes such as the Bayer process for alumina, HPAL (high-pressure acid leaching) for lateritic nickel or cyanide leaching in gold. 

They are required for diverse duties, such as volume reduction prior to leaching to conserve leach reagents (leach feed), washing in counter current configuration (CCD)to reduce water requirements, clarification (clarifiers) to increase grade recoveries, filter press feed duties to optimize equipment size and for tailings in hydrometallurgical processes.

Hydromet

Explore Diefenbach's range of thickeners for the mining and minerals processing industry.

Resources

About Us

For more than a century, Diefenbach has been providing liquid-solid separation equipment around the world.

 

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Our History

Diefenbach was founded in 1907 as a manufacturer of presses for the production of olive oil.

 

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Lab Testing

Diefenbach tests the feed material for each application to design the best filter press for the job. 

 

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