What is a mineral processing plant?

A mineral processing plant

including metal ores, non-metallic ores, clay minerals, building materials and energy minerals.

    Metallic ores: Gold ore, silver ore, Crusher, lead ore, zinc ore, tin ore, and more.
  • Non-metallic ores: Quartz, Crusher, feldspar, fluorite, limestone, and others.
  • Clay minerals: Such as kaolin and bentonite.
  • Building materials: Marble, granite, sand, and gravel.
  • Energy minerals: Such as coal and uranium ore.

Understanding the four stages of mineral processing

comminution, sizing, concentration, and dewatering.


1. Comminution

2. Sizing/Screening

3. Concentration

The most common concentration methods in mineral processing include gravity separation, flotation separation, and magnetic separation.


    Gravity concentration: This method separates minerals based on their differences in specific gravity. It is effective for separating heavier minerals like tungsten, tin, titanium, gold, platinum group metals, as well as iron and manganese.
  • Froth flotation: This technique separates minerals based on their ability to attach to air bubbles. It is commonly used for the separation of copper, lead, gold, graphite, sulfur, and other minerals.
  • Magnetic separation: Magnetic separation leverages differences in magnetic properties of minerals. As the slurry passes through a magnetic field, magnetic minerals are attracted, while non-magnetic minerals remain unaffected. It is often used for separating minerals such as iron ore, titanium ore, and chromite.

4. Dewatering

What equipment do mineral processing plants need?

1. Crushing equipment

Equipment Parameters Jaw crusher Max. feed size: 1,200 mm, capacity: 105每1,590 t/h Cone crusher Max. feed size: 450 mm, capacity: 85每2,181 t/h Impact crusher Max. feed size: 800 mm, capacity: 60每2,000 t/h Mobile crusher 50 t/h, 100 t/h, 150每200 t/h, and 300 t/h

2. Grinding equipment

Grinding equipment Applicable materials Advantages Energy Consumption Crusher Various ores, from hard to soft Widely used for fine grinding; can operate in dry or wet modes based on process requirements. High Crusher Larger-sized ores Ideal for coarse ore grinding, preventing over-grinding. Low Autogenous mill Very hard, highly abrasive large ores Uses the ores impact for grinding, reducing wear on equipment and grinding media. Low

3. Mineral processing equipment

Flotation machine: Crusher separates minerals by using mechanical agitation and the buoyancy of bubbles. Minerals attach to the bubbles and float to the surface of the liquid for separation. Although flotation machines require fine grinding and can be costly, they are efficient and can process most types of ore.