Zimbabwe 1,200 t/d Pollucite Beneficiation Plant & Tailings Direct Discharge Retrofit Project

Run-of-Mine (ROM) Ore Feeding and Pre-treatment: Upon arrival at the processing plant, raw pollucite undergoes screening and impurity removal to eliminate large debris and coarse materials detrimental to flotation. This initial step ensures a stable and controlled feed for the subsequent flotation circuit.

Desliming and Pulp Conditioning: The screened pulp is then directed to a desliming system to remove fine slimes and impurities that hinder flotation selectivity. Concurrently, the pulp density is adjusted to create an optimal slurry environment for the flotation of pollucite and associated lithium-bearing minerals.

Reagent Dosing and Conditioning: Following desliming, the conditioned pulp enters a mixing and reagent dosing system. Specific flotation reagents are added based on the ore characteristics and separation targets. The pulp is thoroughly agitated to ensure optimal reagent-mineral surface interaction, thereby enhancing flotation selectivity and process stability.

Flotation Separation: The conditioned pulp is then channeled into dedicated pollucite and lithium flotation circuits. Within the flotation cells, the target minerals are effectively separated from the gangue, producing respective concentrate products. The resulting tailings are then directed to the tailings management system.

Direct Tailings Discharge System: The flotation tailings bypass the conventional thickening process and are discharged directly into tailings launder boxes. They are then pumped via a tailings pump station to the designated storage facility. To accommodate the parallel operation of the new 1,200 tpd plant with the existing 2 million t/a spodumene concentrator, the tailings pump station and slurry transport system have been upgraded and expanded. The tailings pipeline diameter has been increased to 660mm, significantly boosting discharge capacity and operational safety.

Tailings Water Return and Closed-Circuit System: A floating barge pump station is installed at the tailings storage facility (TSF) to consistently return clarified water to the plant's process water system. This setup enables the synergistic operation of tailings disposal and water recycling, ensuring the system's long-term, continuous, and stable production.