Figure 1.
Industrial
test of a cluster with
six Cavex® 2 CVD 500
hydrocyclones at Vale
Vargem Grande 2.
Vale and Weir Minerals recently partnered to optimise the desliming stage at
the Vargem Grande iron ore mine in Brazil. This article documents the trial results.
T
he rising demand for steel, combined with the
depletion of high-grade iron ore reserves, means the
efficient processing of low-grade iron ore – which
contains a large amount of gangue components – is
increasingly important. As the liberation degree decreases,
more fine grinding is required in the beneficiation plants to
ensure sufficient ore release or product suitability. These
processing requirements produce significantly more
ultrafine particles – otherwise known as slimes and typically
smaller than 10 μm.
The presence of slimes can present some challenges
when processing low-grade itabirite ores through reverse
flotation of quartz. The slimes negatively impact recovery,
selectivity, and reagent composition as a result of their
small mass, high specific surface area, and high
surface energy. Therefore, slimes are typically removed
prior to the flotation stage. In many flowsheets, this is
achieved through the use of hydrocyclones.
Despite the fact that hydrocyclones have been used in
this application since the 1940s, there are often significant
iron metal loses in the desliming stage. According to some
research, these losses may amount to around 20% by
weight of the total iron ore mined. These slimes are
discarded and end up in tailings dam, posing environmental
risks and representing a not insignificant amount of
lost value.
At Vale’s Vargem Grande 2 Plant (VRGR2) in Brazil,
approximately 1.9 million t of iron was being lost every year
in the desliming overflow, representing 18% of the run of
mine (ROM) mass. In an effort to increase its mass recovery,
global mining review // REPRINTED FROM September 2023
Vale set out to improve the desliming stage by replacing its In an effort to enhance the VGR2 desliming separation
first-generation Cavex® CVX hydrocyclone. performance, Weir Minerals conducted an industrial trial to
Weir Minerals introduced the Cavex CVX cyclone range in compare the CVX and CVD hydrocyclones.
1996 and, at the time, its 360° laminar spiral inlet geometry
represented a step change in hydrocyclone performance; it Material and methods
reduced turbulence within the feed chamber, which led to a Six Cavex 2 CVD modules were installed in the VGR2
sharper classification, lower bypass, and a decreased desliming stage. The retrofitted components comprised a lid
misplacement of coarse particles. and a chamber with dimensions of 888 mm x 1054 mm x
Since then, Weir Minerals has continued its optimisation 775 mm (width x length x height), with the LIG+ inlet.
research, development, and trials to improve the Several comparative industrial tests, as well as the former
structural form and parameters of its Cavex hydrocyclones. hydrocyclone unit and sampling campaigns, were carried
This has led to the development of Cavex 2 CVD out to evaluate possible improvements when using the CVD
hydrocyclone, which has a new LIG+™ inlet and feed modules. Samples were characterised using X-ray
chamber design. This improved design guides the slurry fluorescence, as well as particle size distribution (PSD)
into the cyclone feed, achieving a stabilised flow pattern through gravimetry and wet sieving (0.045 mm), followed by
and reducing turbulence in the cyclone, resulting in up to laser diffraction and percentage of solids analysis in feed,
30% additional capacity. underflow, and overflow.
Experimental industrial
testing was carried out on
CVX and CVD hydrocyclone
clusters. During testing,
three variables were
manipulated: pressure
(kgf/cm²), as well as vortex
and apex diameters (mm).
Based on Weir Minerals’
insights, the mass recovery
improvement was expected
to be achieved by using the
same diameter for CVD
hydrocyclones and larger
Figure 2. Comparison of CVX vs CVD partition curves. vortex, compared to the
original cyclones (170 mm).
Table 1. Mass recovery for the first desliming stage VGR2
Therefore, tests initially
Hydrocyclone cluster Mass recovery (%) considered a 200 mm vortex
CVX 47.0 for the CVD modules and,
CVD 56.0
based on the observed
results, the vortex diameter
CVD gain (p.p.) 9.0
was reduced to 170 mm,
which was the same as the
CVX cyclone.
Tests were supported by
static processing
simulations. The mass
flowrate, granulometry,
percentage of solids, and
iron content constituted
data input for USIM PAC, a
software used for
performing mass balancing,
hydrocyclone model
calibration and simulating
Figure 3. CVX cyclone battery simulation changing apex to 100 mm. operating conditions.
Given the industrial
Table 2. Mass recovery for the first desliming stage VGR2, considering a 100mm CVX apex
results obtained, a scenario
Hydrocyclone battery Mass recovery (%) for the same CVX and CVD
CVX 100mm apex 50.3 cyclone and vortex
diameters was considered
CVD 56.0
in USIM PAC. The partition
CVD gain (p.p.) 5.7 curves are shown in

REPRINTED FROM September 2023 // global mining review

Figure 2. In general, a higher bypass was expected for the remained lower for the CVD cyclone. In terms of underflow
CVD (blue curve) due to the larger apex installed in the new partition, a slightly higher mass recovery was still observed
hydrocyclones – 9.4% against 7.0% for the CVX. Moreover, for the cluster of the new cyclones (Table 4).
the smaller d50 delivers the promise of the CVD’s improved
design to achieve a finer cut, reducing the quantity of Conclusion
misclassified particles to the overflow and maximising In summary, simulations demonstrated that apex and
mass recovery (Table 1). vortex adjustments in the CVX hydrocyclones are not
Following those simulations, the CVX apex was increased sufficient to reach the CVD model’s separation
to 100 mm – the same as the CVD cyclone cluster performance. The Cavex® 2 CVD hydrocyclone presents a
configuration – to evaluate whether adjustments in the finer granulometric cut, leading to an improvement in mass
geometric configurations of CVX cyclones could deliver the separation to the underflow by 9%.
same results as those obtained for CVD. The black curve An increased volumetric capacity of up to 30% was also
(Figure 3) represents an 11.3% increase in fines bypass, observed, which allows for the demobilisation of assets.
surpassing the one observed for CVD (blue curve). Weir Minerals provided Vale with a transformative solution
Furthermore, a higher mass recovery to the underflow that can now be replicated across the miner’s
remained for the CVD hydrocyclone cluster (Table 2). other plants.
Another desliming
evaluation addressed the
fine product generation in
the CVX cluster. The
simulation calculated the
effects of reducing the CVX
vortex finder to the
diameter installed in the
CVD (155 mm) (Figure 4).
The fine particle bypass
(black curve) increased to
9.4%, similar to the one
achieved by the new cluster.
Vortex reduction reduced Figure 4. CVX cyclone cluster simulation changing vortex to 155 mm.
d50, but not enough to
match the reduction Table 3. Mass recovery obtained for the first stage VGR2 desliming, considering CVX cluster
achieved by the simulation with 155 mm vortex
CVD cyclone. Hence, a Hydrocyclone cluster Mass recovery (%)
superior mass recovery was CVX 155 mm vortex 50.2
observed for the
CVD 56.0
new-generation
hydrocyclone (Table 3). CVD gain (p.p.) 5.8
Finally, the simulation of
both combined apex and Table 4. Mass recovery obtained for the first stage VGR2 desliming, considering CVX cluster
simulation with 100 mm apex and 155 mm vortex
vortex modifications was
conducted (Figure 5), Hydrocyclone cluster Mass recovery (%)
showing a superior bypass CVX 100mm apex and 155mm vortex 54.9
of fines (14.2%) and a CVD 56.0
10 point decrease in the
CVD gain (p.p.) 1.1
percentage of solids
directed to the underflow
(67.9% of solids for the CVD
cluster vs 57.9% simulated
for the CVX cyclone cluster
with 155 mm vortex and
100 mm apex), which
represents a
non-recommended
condition for the
subsequent operation
flotation. In this case, a real
approximation of the d50 for
both curves was observed,
but even so this parameter Figure 5. CVX cyclone cluster simulation changing apex to 100 mm and vortex to 155 mm.

global mining review // REPRINTED FROM September 2023