A method and an arrangement for removing amine(s) from a thickener overflow of a mineral processing plant. The method includes supplying the thickener overflow to an electrocoagulation unit and subjecting the thickener overflow to electrocoagulation in order to separate at least some of the amine(s) as an electrocoagulation overflow and in order to form a residual process water as an electrocoagulation underflow, and removing the electrocoagulation overflow. The method is free of all of the following: a coagulant, a flocculant, an adsorbent and an additional flotation chemical.

An apparatus for removing mineral particles from loaded engineered collection media includes one or more solvents with sufficiently low surface tension. The engineered collection media are made of a synthetic material and have a surface coated with a hydrophobic material to provide a chemical bond between the mineral particles and the surface. The solvents together with a releasing mechanism are arranged to disrupt the chemical bond. Preferably, a surfactant or a nonionic surfactant is also added to the solvents.

An engineered collection medium for use in mineral separation is described. The engineered collection medium has a solid phase body configured with a three-dimensional open-cell structure like foam or sponge to provide collection surfaces. The surfaces are functionalized with a hydrophobic chemical having molecules with a functional group for attaching mineral particles to the collection surfaces. The engineered collection medium can be a foam block, a filter or conveyor belt to be placed in a slurry to collect mineral particles in the slurry. The engineered collection medium carrying the mineral particles is provided to a release apparatus where the mineral particles can be released by using mechanical agitation, sonic agitation and so forth.

An engineered collection medium for use in mineral separation is described. The engineered collection medium has a solid phase body configured with a three-dimensional open-cell structure like foam or sponge to provide collection surfaces. The surfaces are functionalized with a hydrophobic chemical having molecules with a functional group for attaching mineral particles to the collection surfaces. The engineered collection medium can be a foam block, a filter or conveyor belt to be placed in a slurry to collect mineral particles in the slurry. The engineered collection medium carrying the mineral particles is provided to a release apparatus where the mineral particles can be released by using mechanical agitation, sonic agitation and so forth.

Processes of extracting mineral deposits in ore include treating a saline source, e.g., seawater, to reduce a concentration of one or more multivalent ions (e.g., Ca.sup.2+, Mg.sup.2+, SO.sub.4.sup.2−) dissolved in the saline source by passing the seawater through one or more nanofilters to produce treated saline water while maintain a certain concentration of dissolved monovalent ions (e.g., (Na.sup.+, K.sup.+ and Cl.sup.−) in the treated saline water. The treated saline water can be used in an operation to extract minerals from ore such as in a flotation operation to extract minerals from ore, or to consolidate tailings generated from an extraction of minerals from ore, or both.

Processes of extracting mineral deposits in ore include treating a saline source, e.g., seawater, to reduce a concentration of one or more multivalent ions (e.g., Ca.sup.2+, Mg.sup.2+, SO.sub.4.sup.2−) dissolved in the saline source by passing the seawater through one or more nanofilters to produce treated saline water while maintain a certain concentration of dissolved monovalent ions (e.g., (Na.sup.+, K.sup.+ and Cl.sup.−) in the treated saline water. The treated saline water can be used in an operation to extract minerals from ore such as in a flotation operation to extract minerals from ore, or to consolidate tailings generated from an extraction of minerals from ore, or both.

A method of recovering gold from gold-containing sulphide minerals in an ore that has a recovery-oxidation curve in a graph of % recovery of gold versus % oxidation of the minerals that has a slope of less than 1:1 in a higher % oxidation part of the curve, includes operating at least one oxidation unit to achieve a target % oxidation for sulphur in the ore that is in a higher oxidation part of the curve and producing an output having liberated gold as a consequence of sulphur oxidation in the oxidation unit and allowing variations of the % oxidation in the oxidation unit during the method.

A method of recovering gold from gold-containing sulphide minerals in an ore that has a recovery-oxidation curve in a graph of % recovery of gold versus % oxidation of the minerals that has a slope of less than 1:1 in a higher % oxidation part of the curve, includes operating at least one oxidation unit to achieve a target % oxidation for sulphur in the ore that is in a higher oxidation part of the curve and producing an output having liberated gold as a consequence of sulphur oxidation in the oxidation unit and allowing variations of the % oxidation in the oxidation unit during the method.

A process for cleaning and dewatering hydrophobic particulate materials is presented. The process is performed in in two steps: 1) agglomeration of the hydrophobic particles in a first hydrophobic liquid/aqueous mixture; followed by 2) dispersion of the agglomerates in a second hydrophobic liquid to release the water trapped within the agglomerates along with the entrained hydrophilic particles.

The present invention relates to functionalized hollow glass microspheres for recovering fine hydrophobic particles, and to their preparation method. The invention also relates to a system for carrying out the method for preparing the functionalized microspheres, to a method for selectively recovering fine material and, lastly, to the use of the microspheres in the separation of, inter alia, minerals, micro drops of organic materials, plastics, and pollutants.