Discards beneficiation in South Africa
- Univ. of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (South Africa)
The intergrown nature of most South African coals means that in beneficiating them, the preparation engineer rarely has the easy task of carrying out a simple separation between good coal and high density shale or stone. Apart from de-shaling operations, all beneficiation entails rejecting, not only adventitious stone but a large percentage of high ash but strongly combustible middlings material. Typically, a coal preparation plant can only recover about 70-80% of the heat in the run-of-mine coal. The other 20-30% ends up on the discard heap. Over the last decade, extensive studies were carried out to establish the extend to which that discarded heat may be recoverable in marketable grades of coal. Detailed washability studies were carried out on four mines which between them produce almost 60% of the total make of discards. Computer simulations allowed different flowsheet configurations to be assessed to give rewashed coal of various calorific values. The flowsheets were also subjected to factorial establishment of budget capital and operating costs. Finally some initial work was carried out on the potential markets for such products. This paper is concise account of the results of the study for one major mine. Please note that the paper is based almost wholly on the evaluation carried out for the Energy Branch of the Department of Mineral and Energy Affairs (DMEA). The actual work was executed by the van Eck and Lurie Division of E L Bateman and Co. The writer chaired the Beneficiation Sub-Committee set up by the DMEA to oversee and guide the work, and in that capacity was closely connected with the study as it evolved. Other acknowledgements are given at the end of the paper.
- OSTI ID:
- 81490
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-950579-; TRN: 95:004726-0018
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: COAL PREP `95: 12. international coal preparation exhibition and conference, Lexington, KY (United States), 2-4 May 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of Coal prep `95; PB: 322 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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