Mandume Ya Ndemufayo University (UMN, Lubango, Angola):

Vega Almaguer M., Adviser, Candidate of Engineering Sciences

St. Petersburg Mining University (St. Petersburg, Russia):
Nikolaev A. K., Professor, Doctor of Engineering Sciences, Associate Professor, aleknikol@mail.ru
Bazhin V. Yu., Head of Chair, Doctor of Engineering Sciences, Professor, dekanat-MF@spmi.ru

Guantanamo University (Guantanamo, Republic of Cuba):
Turro Breff A., Rector, Doctor of Science

Limonite ores of the Republic of Cuba are the main source of raw materials for the production of nickel and cobalt concentrates through respective concentration operations. The multicomponent structure and periodic variations in mix densities complicate their transportation between processes. The article substantiates the process flow design and parameters for the transportation of highly concentrated limonite slurries with a significant content of the finest particles of down to 0.0004 mm. A mobile facility is proposed for ore transportation from the Moa–East deposit, using a mobile slurry pumping unit in combination with a bucket unit designed for preliminary concentration of the slurry to the given mass concentrations. It is established that respective rheological curves may be described by the Bingham–Shvedov equation. The analysis of the dependences obtained of τ = f (x) shows that limonite slurry with the mass concentration of 35–39 % acquires the properties of non-Newtonian fluids. The mathematical models developed enable designing special engineering methods for calculating the main parameters for the hydraulic transportation of ore in the turbulent and structural conditions. The reliability of the theoretical results is confirmed by the data of laboratory and pilot-scale experiments. Practical regularities are established for changes in the coefficient of hydraulic resistance depending on the slurry density in the interval of various motions of the slurry flow in the structural regime, as well as the laws of pressure loss for the slurry in the turbulent condition.

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