Patent Publication Number: US-2003226788-A1

Title: Method of decontaminating soil

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] The present invention relates to a method of decontaminating soil. More particularly, the present method concerns a method for decontaminating soil not only in the fine fraction of the material but also in intermediate and coarse fractions thereof.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002] In urban area, past industrialisation projects have contaminated the soil in many zones. Some of these zones are highly polluted by mixed contaminants. The terms mixed contaminants refer to two general components: the organic contaminants and the inorganic contaminants. The organic contaminants are usually water-insoluble and adsorbed on the surface of mineral grains or solids. The organic contaminants are often concentrated in the fine grain-size fraction of the material (“fines”). The inorganic contaminants, which include among others: arsenic, copper, mercury, selenium, zinc are found in the soil as: metal complexes adsorbed on the surface of minerals grains, mineral phases carrying the contaminants, metals alloys and metallic debris. According to various literature reviews (US-EPA, 1994; WASTECH, 1993), the inorganic contaminants are also largely confined in the fines. Because many of these polluted zones are currently being redeveloped by estate agency, the contaminated soil must be dealt with. Usually, the contaminated soil is excavated and disposed in a regulated landfill or decontaminated. However, for mixed contaminants, the number of decontamination processes available is limited. The available processes include: vitrification ex situ or in situ, soil washing, stabilisation/solidification and electro-remediation (for review, see US-EPA Internet site: www.clu-in.com). With the exception of soil washing and perhaps stabilisation/solidification the applications of-these processes are restricted by their high costs.  
       [0003] Many commercial decontamination technologies for mixed contaminants operate on soil washing principles. All of these processes envision the soil contaminants as residing in the fines. Hence, the fines are isolated for the coarse fraction and submitted to different treatments using specially adapted washing fluids and froth flotation to recover contaminants from solids or from the washing solution. The coarse fraction is often treated by attrition scrubbing to remove the adsorbed fines. The latter being redirected to the fines treatment circuit.  
       [0004] In Canada, Tallon Technology, Environment Canada, technological fact sheet F1-04-95, Tallon Technology reports a soil washing process for mixed contaminants where a preliminary straightforward treatment involving washing, separation by particle size and magnetic separation recovers contaminants in the coarse fraction. A hydrometallurgical process treats the fines, rich in contaminants.  
       [0005] According to its final report, Pilot project report for the treatment of contaminated properties in the City of Montreal, CINTEC-ART has operated a soil washing pilot plant targeting the decontamination of soil from the Montreal area. Basically, the sand fraction was submitted to froth flotation while the coarse and fine fractions were separated by screening and hydrocycloning. The coarse fraction was used as backfill while the fines were routed towards a specialised landfill at high cost. The results were not conclusive and the project was eventually abandoned.  
       [0006] U.S. Pat. No. 5,268,128 teaches the treatment of contaminated particulate material were the material is first washed with a suitable contaminant mobilising solution. The coarse fraction, typically larger than 5 mm, is mechanically separated and returned to the site as backfill. The intermediate size fraction is abraded in an attrition scrubber for liberation of the fines. The contaminants dissolved from the particulate matter in the washing solution are adequately precipitated, concentrated and disposed.  
       [0007] U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,125 teaches a process for the purification of soil contaminated solely by organic material. Scrubbing, attrition and classification isolate the slow settling highly contaminated fines. The coarse fraction is treated by froth flotation for the removal of residual organic contaminants.  
       [0008] WASTECH, a U.S. multiorganization cooperative project, has reviewed available soil washing techniques (WASTECH, Soil washing, soil flushing, Innovative site remediation technology, 1993). The process used by Harbauer GMBH of Germany employs blade washers to blast off contaminants from sands and gravel fractions. The contaminants from the fines are then dissolved in the process water by a chemical extraction. The water is later treated by flocculation and coagulation. The U.S. EPA mobile soil washing system (MSWS) consists in a series of screens, hydrocyclones and froth flotation cells that isolate contaminated fines and a clean soil fraction. Waste-Tech Services Inc., has developed a similar technology based on froth flotation. The contaminants are collected in the froth while the cleaned soil is obtained from the flotation underflow. The Deconterra process is more complex. Basically the contaminated soil is separated in three fractions. A fraction smaller than 63 μm is not treated and routed towards the contaminated concentrate obtained from the process. An intermediate grain-size fraction is decontaminated by froth flotation and a coarse fraction by jigging.  
       [0009] From all of these descriptions, it is apparent that existing technologies are directed to the treatment of fines without or with only preliminary treatments of the coarse fractions.  
       [0010] Investigations of the contaminants distribution versus grain-size fractions in soils of certain areas have shown that the contaminants are not restricted in the fines, they are instead distributed in all grain-size fractions (FIG. 1).  
       [0011]FIG. 1 graphically illustrates the distribution of contaminants in contaminated soil from the site St-Ambroise/St-Paul in the City of Montreal according to grain size. It shows that the contaminants are limited to two main zones in that soil. A first zone below 12 μm contains 10 to 25% of contaminants. A second zone, corresponding to the grain-size interval from plus 38 μm to minus 11 mm, includes the prime portion of contaminants. The previously described technologies are not appropriate for treating this heterogeneous soil.  
       [0012] There thus remains a need to develop an effective treatment method for heterogeneous soil where contaminants are dispersed in fines, intermediate and coarse fractions.  
       [0013] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved method for treating the fines, intermediate and coarse fractions of contaminated soil.  
       [0014] Other objects and further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. It should be understood, however, that this detailed description, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, is given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0015] In the appended drawings:  
     [0016]FIG. 1 shows grain-size fractions of contaminated soils from the Montreal region versus distribution of various contaminants (prior art);  
     [0017]FIG. 2 illustrates a flow diagram of the inorganic contaminants treatment according to specific embodiments of the method of the present invention; and  
     [0018]FIG. 3 illustrates a flow diagram of the organic contaminants treatment according to specific embodiments of the method of the present invention. 
    
    
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
     [0019] The present invention concerns a method for removing inorganic contaminants in particulate form from contaminated soil wherein the inorganic contaminants have a degree of liberation of at least 60%. The present method may decontaminate soil from a contaminated land so that the soil reaches satisfactory inorganic contaminants levels. In particular, MENVIQ environmental norms for soils applicable in the province of Quebec may be reached with the methods of the present invention.  
     [0020] In a specific embodiment, organic contaminants are also removed from the soil so contaminated. In a more specific embodiment, metallurgical characterisation of the soil is performed prior to decontamination in order to reduce the volume of soil subjected to treatment.  
     [0021] According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for decontaminating soil containing inorganic contaminants having a degree of liberation of at least 60%, comprising the steps of removing from a coarse fraction at least a portion of inorganic contaminants in particulate form contained therein with a jig to produce a treated coarse fraction, removing from an intermediate fraction at least a portion of inorganic contaminants in particulate form contained therein with a separator selected from the group consisting of a spiral and a classifier to produce a treated intermediate fraction; removing from a fine fraction at least a portion of inorganic contaminants in particulate form contained therein with a separator selected from the group consisting of a flotation cell and a multi-gravity separator to produce a treated fine fraction, whereby the combined treated coarse, intermediate and fine fractions are impoverished in inorganic contaminants. In a specific embodiment, the method may further comprise a step of removing a non-contaminated portion of the coarse fraction. According to other specific embodiments, the coarse fraction consists essentially in particles having a size within the range 1,7 mm and 6,4 mm, inclusively; the intermediate fraction consists essentially in particles having a size within the range of 106 μm to 1.7 mm, inclusively; and the fine fraction consists essentially in particles having a size equal to or smaller than 106 μm.  
     [0022] According to an other aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method comprising not only inorganic contaminants removal steps as described above but also a step of removing from an organically contaminated portion of the soil at least a portion of the organic contaminants contained therein with an attrition cell. This method is applied when excessive organic contaminants levels are identified in the contaminated soil as defined by the application that is intended for the soil or by applicable environmental norms. In a particular embodiments the steps of removing inorganic contaminants comprise the substeps of identifying the at least one organically contaminated grain-size fraction; b) isolating the at least one contaminated fraction identified in step a); c) washing the at least one contaminated fraction isolated in step b) in an attrition cell, whereby at least a portion of organic contaminants contained therein are solubilised in a liquid phase; d) separating from a solid phase, the liquid phase of step c) containing solubilised organic contaminants; e) flocculating at least a portion of the solubilised organic contaminants to produce a flocculated phase, whereby the solid phase of step d) is soil impoverished in organic contaminants.  
     [0023] According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for decontaminating soil containing inorganic contaminants having a degree of liberation of at least 60%, comprising the steps of a) screening the soil to remove a non-contaminated fraction of the soil, wherein said non-contaminated fraction consists essentially in particles larger than those of the coarse fraction; b) screening the undersize from step a) to obtain a coarse fraction, and a coarse fraction undersize; c) removing at least a portion of the inorganic contaminants from the coarse fraction, with a jig; d) screening the coarse fraction undersize from step b) to obtain an intermediate fraction, and an intermediate fraction undersize; e) removing at least a portion of the inorganic contaminants from the intermediate fraction, with a separator selected from the group consisting of a spiral and a fluidised bed classifier; f) screening the intermediate fraction undersize from step d) to obtain a fine fraction; and g) removing at least a portion of the inorganic contaminants from the fine fraction, with a separator selected from the group consisting of an enhanced gravity concentrator and a flotation cell. According to other specific embodiments, the coarse fraction consists essentially in particles having a size within the range 1,7 mm and 6,4 mm, inclusively; the intermediate fraction consists essentially in particles having a size within the range of 106 μm to 1.7 mm, inclusively; and the fine fraction consists essentially in particles having a size equal to or smaller than 106 μm. In a particular embodiment, the method further comprises a step of removing from an organically contaminated portion of the soil at least a portion of the organic contaminants contained therein with an attrition cell. In a more specific embodiment, the removal of organic contaminants is performed by a) identifying the at least one organically contaminated grain-size fraction; b) isolating the at least one contaminated fraction identified in step a); c) washing the at least one contaminated fraction isolated in step b) in an attrition cell, whereby at least a portion of organic contaminants contained therein are solubilised in a liquid phase; d) separating from a solid phase the liquid phase of step c) containing solubilised organic contaminants; e) flocculating at least a portion of the solubilised organic contaminants to produce a flocculated phase, whereby the solid phase of step d) is soil impoverished in organic contaminants.  
     [0024] As used herein, the terminology “inorganic contaminants” is meant to refer to Pb, Cu and Zn.  
     [0025] As used herein, the terminology “organic contaminants” is meant to refer to C10-C50 petroleum hydrocarbons.  
     [0026] As used herein the terminology “degree of liberation” is meant to refer to the percentage of minerals occurring as free particles in the soil in relation to the total content of minerals.  
     [0027] As used herein, the terminology “particulate form” is meant to define the state of inorganic contaminants that are not adsorbed on soil particles or dissolved in the soil.  
     [0028] As used herein the terminology “soil” is meant to refer to soil particles and embankment material particles.  
     [0029] As used herein, the terminology “inorganic contaminants” refers to Pb, Cu and Zn individually or collectively. The terminology “at least a portion of inorganic contaminants” is meant to refer to at least a portion of any one of Pb, Cu and Zn or of a combination thereof.  
     [0030] As used herein, the terminology “impoverished” is used herein to refer to the reduced content of contaminants in a sample of soil after being subjected to the method of the present invention (“treated soil”) as compared to its content prior to being so subjected. In particular, it may refer to the reduced content in any one of or a combination of Zn, Pb and Cu.  
     [0031] As used herein, the terminology “consists essentially in” is meant to reflect the fact that the means according to specific embodiments used for isolating a specific soil fraction are by nature imprecise so that the fraction may contain particles larger than the specified threshold.  
     [0032] As used herein, the terminology “large debris” is meant to refer to material in the soil to be decontaminated that has a size equal or larger than 6 cm. It includes material such as rocks and large pieces of metals.  
     [0033] As used herein, the terminology “coarse fraction” is meant to refer to the fraction of the soil from which large debris have been removed and constituted of particles of a size within the functional range of the separator used to decontaminate the coarse fraction, namely a jig. Jigs are recognised as being functional with particles larger than 170 μm.  
     [0034] As used herein, the terminology “intermediate fraction” is meant to refer to a fraction of the soil and having a particulate size that is smaller than that of the coarse fraction and that is within the functional range of the separator used to decontaminate the intermediate fraction, namely a separator selected from the group consisting of spiral and fluidised bed classifier. Hence, the spiral and the fluidised bed classifier are recognised as being functional with particles within the size range 60 μm and 2000 μm.  
     [0035] As used herein, the terminology “fine fraction” is meant to refer to a fraction of the soil having a particulate size that is smaller than that of the intermediate fraction and that is within the functional range of the separator used to decontaminate the fine fraction, namely a separator selected from the group consisting of a multi-gravity separator (“MGS”) and a flotation cell. Hence, the MGS and the flotation cells are recognised as being functional with particles within the size range 1 μm to 300 μm, and 10 μm to 300 μm, respectively.  
     DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS  
     [0036]FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate various steps included in a specific embodiment of the present invention. The present invention describes a method for the removal of contaminants from soil. A specific embodiment of the method comprises two general steps. The first step consists in the removal of inorganic contaminants from the soil. In the second step, organic contaminants are removed from soil impoverished in inorganic contaminants. If required, for recycling purpose, organic contaminants can also be isolated from the inorganic concentrates. In a further specific embodiment, the method includes complete dehydration of the decontaminated material, yielding final products ready for disposal. This is advantageous for the following reasons:  
     [0037] a) versatility: the method can thus be used in cases where the soil carries only either one of inorganic or organic contaminants;  
     [0038] b) reduction of volume treated: only the most contaminated grain-size fraction(s) of the material is subjected to organic contaminants removal;  
     [0039] c) to facilitate the treatment, the operator can choose to use the dehydrated form of the contaminated material. This can be of interest when surfactant agents are added to the solid for removal of organic contaminants.  
     [0040] The inorganic and organic concentrates obtained from the process can be used as feedstock to other industries.  
     Inorganic Contaminants Removal  
     [0041] Referring to FIG. 2, the contaminated soil  101 , is first pre-treated on a triple decks vibrating screen, EQ-01, where the non-contaminated fraction and large debris are separated out and routed on a belt conveyor to the impoverished soil pile. Water is also added in order to produce a pulp for the subsequent operations and to facilitate the screening of the material. In a specific embodiment where the soil used had the contaminants distribution illustrated at FIG. 1, the apertures of the three screens were set to 18 mm, 6,4 mm and 1,7 mm respectively. In this non-limiting example, the fraction +6,4 mm was directed to the decontaminated material pile because globally, the resulting material (+6,4 mm and decontaminated material) satisfied the province of Quebec C norms for Pb, Zn and Cu. The apertures of the screens is therefore adjusted to the required grain-size depending of the grain-size distribution of the contaminants in the targeted material and the environmental norms of the contaminated soil&#39;s jurisdiction.  
     [0042] The contaminated fraction −6,4 mm +1,7 mm, namely here the coarse fraction,  102 , obtained from the previous screening procedures was transported by a belt conveyor to the jigs section. Water was added to the pulp to obtain a pulp % weight ratio solid/pulp of 11%. The contaminated pulp was fed to two jigs set in line. The action of the first jig produced a concentrate of heavy minerals and materials containing mainly the inorganic contaminants and a lighter material impoverished in contaminants. The lighter material was fed to a second jig for a supplementary gravimetric separation. This second separation was conducted to reach Quebec inorganic contaminants regulation limits for soil decontamination and may therefore not be desirable for decontaminating soils in other jurisdictions. The jigs&#39; highly contaminated concentrates,  103 , were combined and dehydrated using a vibrating screen of 106 μm aperture. Likewise, the partly decontaminated soil,  104 , was dehydrated by a similar procedure. These screens were employed solely for dehydration purpose. The resulting water was free of solid and therefore returned to the water process reservoir. Screw conveyors transported the concentrates to a container and the partly decontaminated material to the stocking pile.  
     [0043] The undersize,  105 , −1,7 mm was fed to two vibrating screens with cut off apertures of 106 μm, EQ-02. The resulting grain-size fraction −1,7 mm+106 μm, namely the intermediate fraction,  106 , was diluted with wash water to a weight ratio of 30% and then directed to spirals (Reichert MG-4). The products obtained from the spirals, a dense fraction rich in inorganic contaminants,  107 , and light fraction partly decontaminated,  108 , were sent to dehydration vibrating screens, aperture 106 μm. The water was pumped to the water process reservoir. Screw conveyors directed the contaminated concentrate to containers and the partly decontaminated phase to the stocking pile.  
     [0044] The undersize,  109 , −106 μm, namely the fine fraction was pumped to a clarifier. The overflow was returned to the water process reservoir. The underflow,  110 , adjusted to a weight ratio of 30%, with dilution water, was directed to a MegaSep MGS Mozley unit, EQ-03. The centrifugal force combined to the vibrating action of this equipment permitted a gravimetric separation of the fines based on volumetric mass differences. Two flows were obtained from the MegaSep, a dense one and a light one. The dense fraction rich in inorganic contaminants,  111 , was pumped to a thickener. The underflow was returned to the water process reservoir while the underflow was pumped to the containers receiving the highly contaminated concentrates. The light fraction,  112 , was submitted to a similar set of operations with the underflow water returning to the water process reservoir and the underflow to the partly decontaminated pile.  
     [0045] The water surplus exiting the water process reservoir was clarified before being rejected in the municipal water collecting system.  
     Organic Contaminants Removal  
     [0046] Although the specific embodiment described hereafter is applicable to material where only the −106 μm fraction is contaminated by organic products, the organic process disclosed generally herein is applicable to any grain-size fraction. Also, in this particular embodiment, the material used was not contaminated by inorganic contaminants so that the material was subjected to the organic decontamination step only. However, had it been contaminated also by inorganics, the inorganic removal step would have first been performed, and then, the fraction(s) of the partially decontaminated material containing the contaminants would have been subjected to the organics removal step.  
     [0047] In some cases, other equipment adapted to the grain-size fraction of the material can replace the centrifuges for the dehydration steps. Referring to FIG. 3, after the screening procedures, the −106 μm flow was directed to a thickener to increase its weight ratio to 45%. The thickener underflow,  201 , was pumped to two in line attrition cells. Before the attrition step, the surfactant agent Hostapur™ SAS 60 was added to the pulp,  202 . This surfactant solubilizes hydrophobic organic contaminants during attrition. The solid was then separated from the pulp by centrifugation, centrifuge-01. The solid, 70% weight ratio, centrifuge underflow, substantially free from the organic contaminants,  203 , was accumulated in a reservoir. The centrifuge overflow,  204 , mainly water containing the dissolved organic contaminants, was pumped to a reservoir. The reservoir exit flow was routed to a water treatment process in order to flocculate/coagulate the organic contaminants. The exit flow was pumped to a second centrifuge, centrifuge-02. At the entry of the centrifuge, a coagulating agent,  205 , (Alum™, Al2(SO4)3) and a flocculating agent,  206 , (Percol™, 338) were added to the flow. The organic concentrate  207 , obtained from the centrifuge underflow was disposed in a reservoir. The centrifuge overflow,  208  was directed to a clarifier where fines sunk at the bottom. The clarifier underflow,  209 , was combined with the organic contaminants concentrate. The clarifier underflow was pumped to the water process reservoir. Water surplus,  210 , could be returned if necessary to the municipal sewer.  
     [0048] For all samples studied, the water rejected from the processes illustrated at FIGS. 2 and 3 showed no sign of contamination either by organic or inorganic contaminants.  
     [0049] Any means for routing and transferring the soil, material or pulp is within the scope of these inventions.  
     [0050] The following inventions are described in further details by the following non-limiting examples.  
     [0051] The implementation and results of Examples 2 to 6 provided herein are summarised in Tables 1 and 37 to 43.  
     [0052] Optimisation results are presented in Tables 3 to 36 below.  
               TABLE 1                          Removal of inorganic and organic contaminants according to the methods described.                         Contaminants                             Inorganics   Organics                                             Examples   Source of   Inorganics treatment   organics treatment   initial   removal   initial   removal       No   sample   equipments used   equipments used   (ppm) -3     (%)   (ppm) -4     (%)               1   Montreal   +6.4 mm, screens       2544   NA   ND   NA           Soil -1     −6.4 + 1.7 mm, jigs, 2 in line       2768   75   ND   NA               −1.7 mm + 106 μm, spirals       3196   65   ND   NA               −106 μm, MGS Mozley       5190   70   ND   NA       2   Montreal   +106 μm same as example 1       8508   70   ND   NA           Soil -1     −106 μm, froth flotation cell       5190   55   ND   NA       3   Montreal   +6.4 mm, screens       2544   NA   ND   NA           Soil -1     −6.4 + 1.7 mm, jigs, 2 in line       2768   75   ND   NA               −1.7 mm + 106 μm, fluidized bed classifier       3196   45   ND   NA               −106 μm, MGS Mozley       5190   70   ND   NA       4   Montreal       −45 μm only, attrition cells, 2, in line   NA       29 935   90           Harbour -2         surfactant addition: Hostapur ™ SAS 60,   NA                   surfactant concentration, 5 000 ppm   NA                   floculation agent: Percol ™ 338   NA                   coagulation agent: Alum ™                   dewatering by centrifugation   NA       5   Montreal       −45 μm only, attrition cells, 2, in line   NA       28 921   90           Harbour -2         surfactant addition: Aerosol OT ™,   NA                   surfactant concentration, 10 000 ppm   NA                   floculation agent: Percol ™ 338   NA                   coagulation agent: Alum ™   NA                   dewatering by centrifugation   NA                                                                  
 
     [0053] The chemical analyses for the inorganic contaminants were performed by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (“ICP-AES”). The organic contaminants were determined by an extraction in hexane with a finish by either a gravimetric method or gas chromatography. The samples were also submitted to a complete mineralogical and grain-size analysis.  
     EXAMPLE 1  
     Optimization Assays and Results  
     [0054] Assays were performed to determine the inorganic contaminants removal efficiency of various separators on samples of contaminated soil of the Montreal region. Each separator was tested with various granulometric fractions of soil. The efficiency of the present method was analysed in terms of environmental norms applicable in Montreal, namely the MENVIQ norms (Table 2). Tables 3 to 10 below provide the optimisation parameters and results for the jig. Tables 13 to 22 below provide the optimisation parameters of the spiral. Tables 23 to 24 below provide the optimisation parameters of the fluidised bed classifier. Tables 25 to 34 below provide the optimisation parameters of the multi-gravity separator. Tables 35 to 36 below provide the optimisation parameters of the flotation cells. The results presented in these tables that all the separators used were able to generate soil impoverished in inorganic contaminants. The operation parameters presented in these tables are those that varied during the assays. The feed contents were calculated along with light and heavy fraction contents of inorganic contaminants. Most cleaning coefficients were calculated with the following formula (1−(output concentration/feed concentration)*100 because the output is normally constituted of the light fraction and the concentrate of the heavy fraction. The MGS cleaning coefficients were calculated with the following formula: (1−(output heavy fraction concentration/feed concentration)*100 because in the optimisation trials, the contaminants were concentrated in the light fraction for an unknown reason. In the pilot/long-term trials, no such aberration occurred: the contaminants were concentrated in the heavy fraction.  
     EXAMPLE2  
     Inorganics Removal in Soil Divided in Four Fractions Comprising the Use of Spirals  
     [0055] Assays were performed to determine the consistency in inorganic contaminants removal efficiency of a method of decontamination according to a specific embodiment of the method of the present invention, namely one using jigs, spirals and MGS. Samples of the most contaminated zone of a contaminated land of the region of Montreal. More than 50% of the mass was localised in the grain-size fraction superior to 106 μm. The +106 μm fraction contained about 75% of the inorganic contaminants. This soil is typical of the Montreal contaminated areas. This method permitted the removal of 70% of the inorganic contaminants. For this Example, samples were taken from the most contaminated zone of a Montreal contaminated soil, Table 37 below provides operation parameters and cleaning coefficients for each of Pb, Cu and Zn separately. Because the organic contaminants concentrations were below the targeted decontamination values, they were not treated.  
     EXAMPLE 3  
     Inorganics Removal in Soil Divided in 2 Fractions  
     [0056] For the fraction −106 μm, a froth flotation cell replaced the MGS Mozley gravimetric separator. Results indicated a slight decrease in the removal of the inorganic contaminants, for this specific grain-size fraction, from 70% to 55%. This reduction in the removal of contaminants was not detrimental to the overall targeted decontamination values.  
     EXAMPLE 4  
     Inorganics Removal in Soil Divided in 4 Fractions Comprising the Use of Fluidised Bed Classifier  
     [0057] In this example, the spirals were replaced by a fluidised bed classifier for the decontamination of the grain-size fraction −1,7 mm+106 μm. Removal of the inorganic contaminants dropped from 65% to 45%.  
     EXEMPLE 5  
     Organics Removal in −45 μm Fraction of Harbour Comprising Hostapur SAS60™ 
     [0058] The starting material consisted in a highly contaminated sediment obtained form the Montreal Harbour. Sixty percent of this material showed a grain-size distribution below 45 μm and contained 30 000 ppm of C10-C50 petroleum hydrocarbons. The surfactant used Hostapur™ SAS 60, at the concentration of 5 000 ppm, is manufactured by Hoechst Inc. After the attrition steps, the C10-C50 concentration in the sediment dropped by 90%.  
     EXAMPLE 6  
     Organics Removal in −45 μm Fraction of Harbour Comprising Aerosol OT™ 
     [0059] The surfactant used was Aerosol OT™ also at the 5 000 ppm level. Decontamination results achieved were similar to those reached with Hostapur™.  
               TABLE 2                          Inorganic contaminant norms applicable in the province       of Quebec, Canada                                 Cu   Pb   Zn           Ppm   Ppm   Ppm                                                 Criteria B,   100   500   500           MENVIQ           Criteria C,   500   1000   1500           MENVIQ                      
 
     [0060]               TABLE 3                          Operation parameters, and ppm contents of the −50 + 1.7 mm (crushed to −6.4 mm) fraction of the soil                                     Parameters   Calculated feed   Light fraction   Heavy fraction                                                                                     Solid   water   % solid   frequency   amplitude   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn       Trial   kg/min   l/min   %   cp/min   mm   ppm   ppm   ppm   kg   ppm   ppm   ppm   kg   ppm   ppm   ppm                                                                                         1   2   23   8   275   16   160   364   290   52   140   160   280   2.57   570   4500   490       2   2   20   9   275   16   204   431   535   45.2   150   290   460   2.71   1100   2800   1800       3   2   13   13   275   16   171   447   267   58.5   100   240   260   3.98   1200   3500   380       4   2   13   13   350   16   225   479   537   35.5   220   200   520   3.65   280   3200   710                    
     [0061]               TABLE 4                          Cleaning coefficients of the jig on the soil fraction defined in Table 3                                 Light Fraction   Heavy Fraction   Cleaning                                                                 Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Cu   Pb   Zn       Trial   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %                                                                     1   95.29   83.3   41.8   92.04   4.71   16.8   58.2   7.96   13   56   3       2   94.34   69.5   63.3   81   5.66   30.5   36.6   19   26   33   14       3   93.63   55.1   50.2   90.96   6.37   45   49.8   9.04   42   46   3       4   90.68   88.4   37.8   87.69   9.32   11.6   62.2   12.31   2   58   3                    
     [0062]               TABLE 5                          Operation parameters, and ppm contents of the −12.7 + 6.4 mm fraction of the soil                                     Parameters   Calculated feed   Light fraction   Heavy fraction                                                                                     Solid   water   % solid   frequency   amplitude   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn       Trial   kg/min   l/min   %   cp/min   mm   ppm   ppm   ppm   kg   ppm   ppm   ppm   kg   ppm   ppm   ppm               5(1) d     2   40   5   275   16   217   175   840   17.1   210   110   570   1.34   200   680   1900       5(2) d     2   40   5   275   16   217   175   840   17.1   210   110   570   1.36   320   500   3200                            
     [0063]               TABLE 6                          Cleaning coefficients of the jig on the soil fraction defined in Table 5                                 Light fraction   Heavy fraction   Cleaning                                                                 Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Cu   Pb   Zn       Trial   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %                                                                     5(1) c     86.3   83.6   49.7   58.6   6.76   6.24   35.4   15.3   3   37   32       5(2) c     86.3   83.6   49.7   58.6   6.86   10.1   19.6   26.1   3   37   32                            
     [0064]               TABLE 7                          Operation parameters, and ppm contents of the −12.7 + 1.7 mm fraction of the soil                                     Parameters   Calculated feed   Light fraction   Heavy fraction                                                                                     Solid   water   % solid   frequency   amplitude   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn       Trial   kg/min   l/min   %   cp/min   mm   ppm   ppm   ppm   kg   ppm   ppm   ppm   kg   ppm   ppm   ppm                                                                                         6   2   23   8   275   16   1547   1800   1825   16.8   1500   1800   1800   0.745   2600   1800   2400       7   2   18   10   275   16   1174   359   2013   18.9   400   200   1900   0.745   20830    4400   4900       8   2   10   16.67   275   16   2798   448   1229   17.7   2700   250   1100   0.828   4900   4700   4000       9   2   10   16.67   330   16   675   320   842   17.7   440   190   750   1.293   3900   2100   2100                    
     [0065]               TABLE 8                          Cleaning coefficients of the jig on the soil fraction defined in Table 7                                 Light fraction   Heavy fraction   Cleaning                                                                 Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Cu   Pb   Zn       Trial   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %                                                                     6   95.76   92.9   95.8   94.42   4.24   7.13   4.24   5.58   3   0   1       7   96.21   32.8   53.6   90.78   3.79   67.2   46.4   9.22   66   44   6       8   95.54   92.2   53.2   85.47   4.46   7.82   46.8   14.53   4   44   10       9   93.18   60.7   55.3   83   6.82   39.3   44.7   17   35   41   11                    
     [0066]               TABLE 9                          Operation parameters, and ppm contents of the −6.4 + 1.7 mm fraction of the soil                                     Parameters   Calculated feed   +HC,34/ Light fraction   Heavy fraction                                                                                     Solid   water   % solid   frequency   amplitude   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn       Trial   kg/min   l/min   %   cp/min   mm   ppm   ppm   ppm   kg   ppm   ppm   ppm   kg   ppm   ppm   ppm                                                                                         10   2   23   8   275   16   668   545   1573   19.23   440   410   1500   0.398   11700    7100   5100       11   2   18   10   275   16   492   574   3243   16.51   260   430   3200   0.227   17400   11100   6400       12   2   10   16.67   275   16   355   984   1636   16.65   260   840   1600   0.222    7500   11800   4400       13   2   10   16.67   330   16   2855   1009   2265   16   2500   510   2100   0.329   20100   25300   10300                     
     [0067]               TABLE 10                          Cleaning coefficients of the jig on the soil fraction defined in Table 9                                 Light fraction   Heavy fraction   Cleaning                                                                 Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Cu   Pb   Zn       Trial   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %                                                                     10   97.97   64.5   73.6   93.4   2.3   35.5   26.4   6.57   34   25   5       11   98.64   52.1   73.8   97.3   1.36   47.9   26.2   2.68   47   25   1       12   98.68   72.2   84.2   96.5   1.32   27.8   15.8   3.54   27   15   2       13   97.99   85.8   49.5   90.8   2.01   14.2   50.5   9.16   12   49   7                    
     [0068]               TABLE 11                          Operation parameters and ppm contents of the −6.4 + 1.7 mm fraction of the soil, sequentially                                     Parameters −1     Calculated feed   Light fraction   Heavy fraction                                                                                     Solid   water   % solid   frequency   amplitude   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn       Trial   kg/min   l/min   %   cp/min   mm   ppm   ppm   ppm   kg   ppm   ppm   ppm   kg   ppm   ppm   ppm                                                                                         14 d     2   17   10.5   330   16   1121   793   2880   14.67   470   230   2600   0.936   11335   9620   7277       15 d     2   17   10.5   330   16   286.9   284   1032   12.84   220   250   980   0.223    4138   2264   4038                            
     [0069]               TABLE 12                          Cleaning coefficients of the jig on the soil fraction defined in Table 11                                 Light fraction   Heavy fraction   Cleaning                                                                 Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Cu   Pb   Zn       Trial   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %                                                                     14 d     94   39.4   27.3   64.9   6   60.6   72.7   15.2   58   71   10       15 d     98.64   75.4   88.4   93.3   1.71   24.7   13.6   6.7   23   12   5       com 4     92.4               7.71               80   68   15                            
     [0070]               TABLE 13                       Operation parameters and ppm contents of the −1.7 mm + 0.3 mm fraction of the soil                                                    Parameters   Calculated feed   Light fraction                                                                 Solid   Pulp water   % solid   washing water   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn       Trial   kg/min   l/min   %   (l/min)   ppm   ppm   ppm   kg   ppm   ppm   ppm               1   25   37   40.32   0   1718   755   1907   1.46   820   410   1800       2   25   37   40.32   0   1162   746   1747   1.5   720   490   1700       3   25   37   40.32   0   1523   748   1931   1.48   720   430   1900       4   25   58   30.12   0   1496   713   1776   1.5   4880   450   1800       5   25   58   30.12   0   1596   783   1508   1.41   870   430   1400       6   25   58   30.12   0   1510   904   1440   1.57   850   560   1400       7   25   75   25   0   1918   1030   1908   2.03   1300   520   1800       8   25   75   25   0   1522   964   1818   1.51   490   390   1600       9   25   75   25   0   1608   1224   1589   0.72   660   540   1400                                     Middling   Heavy fraction                                                             Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn           Trial   kg   ppm   ppm   ppm   kg   ppm   ppm   ppm                       1   1.012   2500   870   2000   0.128   5800   3800   2400           2   0.858   1400   510   1700   0.250   300   3100   2200           3   0.712   1500   690   1800   0.379   4700   2100   2300           4   0.905   2200   740   1700   0.101   4600   4500   2100           5   0.829   2100   580   1600   0.195   4700   4200   1900           6   0.699   1400   930   1300   0.349   4700   2400   1900           7   0.373   2000   1300   1900   0.205   7900   5600   3000           8   0.935   1200   570   1900   0.198   10900   7200   3100           9   1.658   1300   1000   1500   0.217   7100   5200   2900                        
     [0071]               TABLE 14                          Cleaning coefficients of the spiral on the soil fraction defined in Table 13                             Parameters                                                                     wash-                                       ing           Solid   Pulp   %   water   Light fraction   Middling   Heavy fraction   Output cleaning                                                                                                 kg/   water   solid   (l/   weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Cu   Pb   Zn       Trial   min   l/min   %   min)   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %                                                                                                     1   25   37   40.32   0   56.2   26.83   30.5   53.04   38.88   56.57   44.77   40.77   4.92   16.6   24.73   6.19   52   46   6       2   25   37   40.32   0   57.48   35.6   37.71   55.91   32.92   39.65   22.48   32.02   9.59   24.75   39.84   12.07   38   34   3       3   25   37   40.32   0   57.53   27.19   33.05   56.6   27.72   27.29   25.55   25.83   14.75   45.42   41.39   17.57   53   43   2       4   25   58   30.12   0   60.5   35.58   38.15   61.31   35.53   52.23   36.84   34   3.97   12.19   25   4.69   41   37   1       5   25   58   30.12   0   57.86   31.52   31.75   53.7   34.12   44.86   25.25   36.19   8.02   23.62   43.01   10.11   45   45   7       6   25   58   30.12   0   59.92   33.71   37.1   58.26   26.73   24.77   27.48   24.13   13.35   41.52   35.41   17.61   44   38   3       7   25   75   25   0   77.85   52.74   39.28   73.42   14.3   14.9   18.03   14.23   7.86   32.35   42.69   12.35   32   50   6       8   25   75   25   0   57.07   18.37   23.07   50.2   35.43   27.92   20.93   37.01   7.50   53.71   56   12.79   68   60   12       9   25   75   25   0   27.66   11.35   12.2   24.36   63.97   51.7   52.24   60.36   8.37   36.95   35.56   15.27   59   56   12                    
     [0072]               TABLE 15                          Operation parameters and ppm contents of the −300 + 106 μm fraction of the soil                             Parameters                                                                     wash-                                       ing           Solid   Pulp   %   water   Calculated feed   Light fraction   Middling   Heavy fraction                                                                                             Tri-   kg/   water   solid   (l/   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn       al   min   l/min   %   min)   ppm   ppm   ppm   kg   ppm   ppm   ppm   kg   ppm   ppm   ppm   kg   ppm   ppm   ppm                                                                                                     10   12   60   16.67   0   983   693   2079   0.91   880   510   2000   0.279   920   510   2000   0.180   1600   1900   2600       11   12   60   16.67   0   906   649   1927   0.7   820   530   1800   0.513   850   440   1900   0.180   1400   1700   2500       12   12   60   16.67   0   914   644   1934   1.19   860   560   1800   0.683   860   450   2000   0.172   1500   2000   2600       13   20   50   28.57   0   811   607   1879   1.82   740   490   1800   0.276   870   480   1900   0.191   1400   1900   2600       14   20   50   28.57   0   870   752   1906   1.27   730   480   1700   0.818   80   560   2000   0.233   1600   2900   2700       15   20   50   28.57   0   850   702   1926   0.85   720   490   1700   0.678   810   470   2000   0.211   1500   2300   2600       16   25   60   29.41   0   921.7   668.3   2004   2.5   829   495   1940   0.348   1000   584   2140   0.228   1820   2700   2510       17   25   60   29.41   0   937.8   710   2044   1.8   823   514   1980   0.78   916   518   2010   0.219   1960   3020   2700       18   25   60   29.41   0   932.7   720.6   2006   1.55   835   525   1940   1.147   885   501   1960   0.218   1880   3270   2730                    
     [0073]               TABLE 16                       Cleaning coefficients of the spiral on the soil fraction defined in Table 15                                                    Parameters   Light fraction   Middling                                                                     Solid   Pulp water   % solid   washing water   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn       Trial   kg/min   l/min   %   (l/min)   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %               10   33.3   50   39.98   0   66.47   59.51   48.92   63.95   20.38   19.074   15   19.61       11   33.3   50   39.98   0   50.25   45.48   41.04   46.94   36.83   34.551   24.97   36.31       12   33.3   50   39.98   0   58.19   54.75   50.6   54.16   33.4   31.425   23.34   34.54       13   33.3   50   30.47   0   79.58   72.61   64.24   76.23   12.07   12.946   9.543   12.2       14   33.3   50   30.47   0   54.91   46.07   35.05   48.97   35.02   35.422   26.08   36.75       15   33.3   50   30.47   0   48.88   41.4   34.12   43.14   38.99   37.153   26.1   40.49       16   25   60   29.41   0   81.27   73.1   60.2   78.68   11.31   12.275   9.887   12.08       17   25   60   29.41   0   64.31   56.44   46.56   62.3   27.87   27.221   20.33   27.4       18   25   60   29.41   0   53.17   47.6   38.74   51.42   39.35   37.336   27.36   38.45                                     Heavy fraction   Outpuut cleaning                                                         Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Cu   Pb   Zn           Trial   %   %   %   %   %   %   %                       10   13.15   21.4   36.05   16.44   10   26   4           11   12.92   19.97   33.85   16.76   9   18   7           12   8.41   13.8   26.12   11.31   6   13   7           13   8.35   14.42   26.14   11.56   9   19   4           14   10.07   18.53   38.85   14.27   16   36   11           15   12.13   21.41   39.75   16.38   15   30   12           16   7.41   14.64   29.95   9.284   10   26   3           17   7.82   16.35   33.28   10.34   12   28   3           18   7.48   15.07   33.94   10.18   10   27   3                        
     [0074]               TABLE 17                          Operation parameters and ppm contents of the −300 + 38 μm fraction of the soil                             Parameters                                                                     wash-                                       ing           Solid   Pulp   %   water   Calculated feed   Light fraction   Middling   Heavy fraction                                                                                                 kg/   water   solid   (l/   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn       Trial   min   l/min   %   min)   ppm   ppm   ppm   kg   ppm   ppm   ppm   kg   ppm   ppm   ppm   kg   ppm   ppm   ppm                                                                                                     19   33.3   50   39.98   0   1306   1025   2849   3.19   1300   920   3000   0.735   1100   780   2300   0.217   2100   3400   2500       20   33.3   50   39.98   0   1307   1019   2833   3.07   1300   910   3000   0.568   1100   690   2200   0.355   1700   2500   2400       21   33.3   50   39.98   0   1324   1016   2826   2.86   1300   890   3000   0.376   1100   660   2300   0.563   1600   1900   2300       22   33.3   50   30.47   0   1307   1007   2750   2.91   1300   880   2900   0.739   1100   660   2200   0.175   2300   4600   2600       23   33.3   50   30.47   0   1298   1022   2822   2.9   1300   900   3000   0.564   1000   610   2100   0.330   1800   2800   2500       24   33.3   50   30.47   0   1391   1089   2923   2.94   1400   930   3100   0.433   1100   590   2200   0.487   1600   2500   2500                    
     [0075]               TABLE 18                       Cleaning coefficients of the spiral on the soil fraction defined in Table 17                                                    Parameters   Light fraction   Middling                                                                     Solid   Pulp water   % solid   washing water   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn       Trial   kg/min   l/mm   %   (l/min)   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %               19   33.3   50   39.98   0   77   76.63   69.11   81.07   17.75   14.95   13.51   14.33       20   33.3   50   39.98   0   76.91   76.49   68.62   81.44   14.21   11.96   9.61   11.04       21   33.3   50   39.98   0   75.27   73.87   65.81   79.88   9.9   8.22   6.43   8.06       22   33.3   50   30.47   0   76.07   75.66   66.42   80.21   9.351   6.28   12.67   15.47       23   33.3   50   30.47   0   76.41   76.48   67.27   81.22   14.88   11.46   8.88   11.07       24   33.3   50   30.47   0   76.17   76.63   64.99   80.77   11.22   8.87   6.07   8.44                                             Output   Middling           Heavy fraction   cleaning   cleaning                                                                     Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Cu   Pb   Zn   Cu   Pb   Zn           Trial   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %                       19   5.24   8.43   17.38   4.6   0   10   −5   16   24   19           20   8.88   11.55   21.77   7.52   1   11   −6   16   32   22           21   14.83   17.91   27.7   12.06   2   12   −6   17   35   19           22   4.58   8.06   20.91   4.33   1   13   −5   16   34   20           23   8.71   12.07   23.85   7.71   0   12   −6   23   40   26           24   12.62   14.51   28.94   10.79   −1    15   −6   21   46   25                        
     [0076]               TABLE 19                          Operation parameters and ppm contents of the −106 + 38 μm fraction of the soil                             Parameters                                                                     wash-                                       ing           Solid   Pulp   %   water   Calculated feed   Light fraction   Middling   Heavy fraction                                                                                                 kg/   water   solid   (l/   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn       Trial   min   l/min   %   min)   ppm   ppm   ppm   kg   ppm   ppm   ppm   kg   ppm   ppm   ppm   kg   ppm   ppm   ppm                                                                                                     25   25   60   29.4   0   1300   1106   3025   2.41   1300   1000   3000   0.116   1100   890   3000   0.236   1400   2300   3300       26   25   60   29.4   0   1286   1097   3014   2.2   1300   990   3000   0.198   1000   800   2700   0.245   1400   2300   3400       27   25   60   29.4   0   1278   1087   2915   2.12   1300   990   2900   0.265   1000   790   2700   0.236   1400   2300   3300                    
     [0077]               TABLE 20                          Cleaning coefficients of the spiral on the soil fraction defined in Table 19                             Parameters                                                                     washing                           Solid   Pulp   %   water   Light fraction   Middling   Heavy fraction   Output cleaning                                                                                                 kg/   water   solid   (l/   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Cu   Pb   Zn       Trial   min   l/min   %   min)   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %                                                                                                     25   25   60   29.4   0   77   76.63   69.11   81.07   17.75   14.95   13.51   14.33   5.24   8.43   17.38   4.6   0   10   1       26   25   60   29.4   0   76.91   76.49   68.62   81.44   14.21   11.96   9.61   11.04   8.88   11.55   21.77   7.52   −1    10   0       27   25   60   29.4   0   75.27   73.87   65.81   79.88   9.9   8.22   6.43   8.06   14.83   17.91   27.7   12.06   −2    9   1                    
     [0078]               TABLE 21                          Operation parameters and ppm contents of the −1.7 + 106 μm fraction of the soil                             Parameters                                                                     wash-                                       ing           Solid   Pulp   %   water   Calculated feed   Light fraction   Middling   Heavy fraction                                                                                                 kg/   water   solid   (l/   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn       Trial   min   l/min   %   min)   ppm   ppm   ppm   kg   ppm   ppm   ppm   kg   ppm   ppm   ppm   kg   ppm   ppm   ppm                                                                                                     28   25   70   26.32   0   1625   970   1752   0.92   932   521   1580   1.291   1560   858   1780   0.217   4970   3550   2320       29   25   70   26.32   0   1477   814   1622   1.73   882   461   1470   1.103   1460   679   1540   0.255   5590   3800   3010       30   25   70   26.32   0   1631   856   1647   2.56   1200   624   1550   0.338   3880   897   2030   0.202   3340   3740   2240                    
     [0079]               TABLE 22                          Cleaning coefficients of the spiral on the soil fraction defined in Table 21                                                         Output           Parameters   Light fraction   Middling   Heavy fraction   cleaning                                                                                                 Solid   Pulp water   % solid   washing water   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Cu   Pb   Zn       Trial   kg/min   l/min   %   (l/min)   %   %   %   %       %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %                                                                                                     28   25   60   29.4   0   38   22   20   34   53.2   51   47   54   9   27   33   12   43   46   10       29   25   60   29.4   0   56   33   32   51   35.7   35   30   34   8   31   39   15   40   43   9       30   25   60   29.4   0   83   61   60   78   10.9   26   11   13   7   13   28   9   26   27   6                    
     [0080]               TABLE 23                          Operation parameters and ppm contents of the −1.7 + 300 μm fraction of the soil                             Parameters                                             Pulp       Calculated feed   Heavy fraction   Light fraction                                                                                     Solid   water       Washing water   Bed density   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn       Trial #   kg/min   l/min   % solid   l/min   g/cm 3     ppm   ppm   ppm   kg   ppm   ppm   ppm   kg   ppm   ppm   ppm                                                                                         1   3.33   3.33   50   35   1.72   402   1199   677   1.44   758   2416   934   2.45   193   484   526       2   3.33   3.33   50   38   1.68   1870   1363   3455   1.349   6600   4000   4000   4.723   520   610   3300       3   3.33   3.33   50   41   1.68   834   735   2646   0.64   3200   1600   3000   4.809   520   620   2600       4   3.33   3.33   50   44   1.68   1125   1154   2200   1.648   2200   2100   2200   3.501   620   710   2200       5   3.33   3.33   50   46   1.72   2089   834   1270   2.025   4200   1500   1600   3.92   1000   490   1100                    
     [0081]               TABLE 24                          Cleaning coefficients of the fluidised bed classifier on the soil fraction defined in Table 23                                     Parameters   Heavy fraction   Light fraction   Cleaning                                                                                     Speed   Pulp water       Washing water   Bed density   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Cu   Pb   Zn       Trial #   rpm   l/min   % solid   l/min   g/cm 3     %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %                                                                                         1   200   1   6   5   15   37   70   75   51   63   30   25   49   52   60   22       2   250   1   6   5   15   22   78   65   26   78   22   35   74   72   55   4       3   300   1   6   5   15   12   45   26   13   88   55   74   87   38   16   2       4   300   3   6   5   15   32   63   58   32   68   37   42   68   45   38   0       5   250   3   6   5   15   34   68   61   43   66   32   39   57   52   41   13                    
     [0082]               TABLE 25                          Operation parameters and ppm contents of the −300 + 106 μm fraction of the soil                             Parameters                                                         Wash-   An-                                   ing   gle   Fre-   Ampli-       Calculated feed   Light fraction   Heavy fraction                                                                                         Trial   Speed   l/   de-   quency   tude   Feed   %   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn       #   rpm   min   gree   cps   mm   l/min   solid   ppm   ppm   ppm   g   ppm   ppm   ppm   g   ppm   ppm   ppm                                                                                                 1   175   1   6   5   15   3   30   822   569   1809   237   997   890   2170   611.7   755   445   1670       2   200   1   6   5   15   3   30   854   627   1854   376   917   737   2050   214.5   745   434   1510       3   250   1   6   5   15   3   30   875   610   1909   774   889   634   1980   108.1   782   442   1400       4   175   3   6   5   15   3   30   921   715   1945   300   1180   1180   2320   638.9   800   497   1770       5   200   3   6   5   15   3   30   890   626   1934   355   1020   827   2260   367.2   766   432   1620       6   250   3   6   5   15   3   30   875   611   1851   456   930   685   2010   175.3   732   421   1440       7   175   5   6   5   15   3   30   896   604   1820   27.7   1510   3020   2530   634.4   869   499   1790       8   200   5   6   5   15   3   30   866   618   1898   364   1000   816   2220   451.8   757   460   1640       9   250   5   6   5   15   3   30   862   609   1835   442   910   684   2000   175.2   744   422   1420                    
     [0083]               TABLE 26                          Cleaning coefficients of the multi-gravity separator on the soil fraction defined in Table 25                                     Parameters   Light fraction   Heavy fraction   Cleaning                                                                                             Speed   Washing   Angle   Frequency   Amplitude   Feed       Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Cu   Pb   Zn       Trial #   rpm   l/min   degree   cps   mm   l/min   % solid   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %                                                                                                 1   175   1   6   5   15   3   30   28   34   44   33   72   66   56   67   8   22   8       2   200   1   6   5   15   3   30   64   68   75   70   36   32   25   30   13   31   19       3   250   1   6   5   15   3   30   88   89   91   91   12   11   9   9   11   28   27       4   175   3   6   5   15   3   30   32   41   53   38   68   59   47   62   13   30   9       5   200   3   6   5   15   3   30   49   56   65   57   51   44   35   43   14   31   16       6   250   3   6   5   15   3   30   72   77   81   78   28   23   19   22   16   31   22       7   175   5   6   5   15   3   30   4   7   21   6   96   93   79   94   3   17   2       8   200   5   6   5   15   3   30   45   52   59   52   55   48   41   48   13   26   14       9   250   5   6   5   15   3   30   72   76   80   78   28   25   20   22   14   31   23                    
     [0084]               TABLE 27                          Operation parameters and ppm contents of the −106 + 38 μm fraction of the soil                             Parameters                                                         Wash-   An-                                   ing   gle   Fre-   Ampli-       Calculated feed   Heavy fraction   Light fraction                                                                                         Trial   Speed   l/   de-   quency   tude   Feed   %   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn       #   rpm   min   gree   cps   mm   l/min   solid   ppm   ppm   ppm   g   ppm   ppm   ppm   g   ppm   ppm   ppm                                                                                                 10   150   1   6   5   15   3   30   1332   1006   2991   52   1200   2390   3750   958   1340   931   2950       11   200   1   6   5   15   3   30   1540   1107   3200   615   854   808   2540   406   2580   1560   4200       12   250   1   6   5   15   3   30   1235   962   2919   671   854   791   2570   296   2100   1350   3710       13   150   3   6   5   15   3   30   1360   1054   3035   176   1190   1460   3450   760   1400   960   2940       14   200   3   6   5   15   3   30   1396   1085   3116   463   890   907   2710   424   1950   1280   3560       15   250   3   6   5   15   3   30   1497   1144   3214   596   843   876   2570   414   2440   1530   4140       16   150   5   6   5   15   3   30   1411   1052   3160   15   1490   3520   4680   1134   1410   1020   3140       17   200   5   6   5   15   3   30   1432   1114   3229   471   898   905   2690   562   1880   1290   3680       18   250   5   6   5   15   3   30   1438   1106   3142   613   847   867   2620   416   2310   1460   3910                    
     [0085]               TABLE 28                          Cleaning coefficients of the multi-gravity separator on the soil fraction defined in Table 27                                     Parameters   Heavy fraction   Light fraction   Cleaning                                                                                             Speed   Washing   Angle   Frequency   Amplitude   Feed       Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Cu   Pb   Zn       Trial #   rpm   l/min   degree   cps   mm   l/min   % solid   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %                                                                                                 10   150   1   6   5   15   3   30   5   5   12   6   95   95   88   94   10   −138   −25       11   200   1   6   5   15   3   30   60   33   44   48   40   67   56   52   45   27   21       12   250   1   6   5   15   3   30   69   48   57   61   31   52   43   39   31   18   12       13   150   3   6   5   15   3   30   19   16   26   21   81   84   74   79   13   −39   −14       14   200   3   6   5   15   3   30   52   33   44   45   48   67   56   55   36   16   13       15   250   3   6   5   15   3   30   59   33   45   47   41   67   55   53   44   23   20       16   150   5   6   5   15   3   30   1   1   4   2   99   99   96   98   −6   −235   −48       17   200   5   6   5   15   3   30   46   29   37   38   54   71   63   62   37   19   17       18   250   5   6   5   15   3   30   60   35   47   50   40   65   53   50   41   22   17                    
     [0086]               TABLE 29                          Operation parameters and ppm contents of the −106 μm fraction of the soli                             Parameters                                                         Wash-   An-                                   ing   gle   Fre-   Ampli-       Calculated feed   Heavy fraction   Light fraction                                                                                         Trial   Speed   l/   de-   quency   tude   Feed   %   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn       #   rpm   min   gree   cps   mm   l/min   solid   ppm   ppm   ppm   g   ppm   ppm   ppm   g   ppm   ppm   ppm                                                                                                 19   200   1   6   5   15   3   30   1591   1236   3816   346   758   752   2280   826   1940   1440   4460       20   250   1   6   5   15   3   30   1611   1266   3874   521   732   770   2400   612   2360   1690   5130       21   300   1   6   5   15   3   30   1565   1233   3741   647   833   864   2590   472   2570   1740   5320       22   200   3   6   5   15   3   30   1591   1254   3835   305   804   802   2350   833   1880   1420   4380       23   250   3   6   5   15   3   30   1567   1244   3730   408   742   777   2390   644   2090   1540   4580       24   300   3   6   5   15   3   30   1603   1276   3880   556   765   816   2450   564   2430   1730   5290       25   200   5   6   5   15   3   30   1595   1264   3871   267   890   866   2430   920   1800   1380   4290       26   250   5   6   5   15   3   30   1515   1203   3625   412   748   764   2380   680   1980   1470   4380       27   300   5   6   5   15   3   30   1493   1177   3592   499   683   762   2210   606   2160   1520   4730                    
     [0087]               TABLE 30                          Cleaning coefficients of the multi-gravity separator on the soil fraction defined in Table 29                                     Parameters   Heavy fraction   Light fraction   Cleaning                                                                                         Trial   Speed   Washing   Angle   Frequency   Amplitude   Feed       Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Cu   Pb   Zn       #   rpm   l/min   degree   cps   mm   l/min   % solid   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %                                                                                                 19   200   1   6   5   15   3   30   30   14   18   18   70   86   82   82   52   39   40       20   250   1   6   5   15   3   30   46   21   28   28   54   79   72   72   55   39   38       21   300   1   6   5   15   3   30   58   31   41   40   42   69   60   60   47   30   31       22   200   3   6   5   15   3   30   27   14   17   16   73   86   83   84   49   36   39       23   250   3   6   5   15   3   30   39   18   24   25   61   82   76   75   53   38   36       24   300   3   6   5   15   3   30   50   24   32   31   50   76   68   69   52   36   37       25   200   5   6   5   15   3   30   22   13   15   14   78   87   85   86   44   31   37       26   250   5   6   5   15   3   30   38   19   24   25   62   81   76   75   51   36   34       27   300   5   6   5   15   3   30   45   21   29   28   55   79   71   72   54   35   38                    
     [0088]               TABLE 31                          Operation parameters and ppm contents of the −38 μm fraction of the soil                             Parameters                                                         Wash-   An-                                   ing   gle   Fre-   Ampli-       Calculated feed   Heavy fraction   Light fraction                                                                                         Trial   Speed   l/   de-   quency   tude   Feed   %   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn       #   rpm   min   gree   cps   mm   l/min   solid   ppm   ppm   ppm   g   ppm   ppm   ppm   g   ppm   ppm   ppm                                                                                                 26   200   1   6   5   15   3   30   1604   1375   4190   212   700   800   2300   980   1800   1500   4600       29   250   1   6   5   15   3   30   1547   1395   4188   406   710   830   2500   752   2000   1700   5100       30   300   1   6   5   15   3   30   1751   1509   4635   547   840   960   3000   768   2400   1900   5800       31   200   3   6   5   15   3   30   1597   1364   4254   472   780   910   2700   640   2200   1700   5400       32   250   3   6   5   15   3   30   1634   1403   4276   380   690   800   2400   772   2100   1700   5200       33   300   3   6   5   15   3   30   1654   1407   4372   150   690   790   2200   996   1800   1500   4700       34   200   5   6   5   15   3   30   1614   1447   4394   121   750   910   2300   1230   1700   1500   4600       35   250   5   6   5   15   3   30   1645   1424   4362   273   670   750   2300   1048   1900   1600   4900       36   300   5   6   5   15   3   30   1622   1402   4279   422   750   860   2600   770   2100   1700   5200                    
     [0089]               TABLE 32                          Cleaning coefficients of the multi-gravity separator on the soil fraction defined in Table 31                                     Parameters   Heavy fraction   Light traction   Cleaning                                                                                             Speed   Washing   Angle   Frequency   Amplitude   Feed       Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Cu   Pb   Zn       Trial #   rpm   l/min   degree   cps   mm   l/min   % solid   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %                                                                                                 28   200   1   6   5   15   3   30   18   8   10   10   82   92   90   90   56   42   45       29   250   1   6   5   15   3   30   35   16   21   21   65   84   79   79   54   41   40       30   300   1   6   5   15   3   30   42   20   26   27   56   80   74   73   52   36   35       31   200   3   6   5   15   3   30   42   21   28   27   58   79   72   73   51   33   37       32   250   3   6   5   15   3   30   33   14   19   19   67   86   81   81   58   43   44       33   300   3   6   5   15   3   30   13   5   7   7   87   95   93   93   58   44   50       34   200   5   6   5   15   3   30   9   4   6   5   91   96   94   95   54   37   48       35   250   5   6   5   15   3   30   21   8   11   11   79   92   89   89   59   47   47       36   300   5   6   5   15   3   30   35   16   22   22   65   84   78   79   54   39   39                    
     [0090]               TABLE 33                          Operation parameters and ppm contents of the −38 μm fraction of the soil                             Parameters                                 An-                                                         Wash-   gle   Fre-   Ampli-       Calculated feed −2     Light fraction   Heavy fraction                                                                                         Trial   Speed   ing   de-   quency   tude   Feed   %   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn       #   rpm   l/min   gree   cps   mm   l/min   solid   ppm   ppm   ppm   g   ppm   ppm   ppm   g   ppm   ppm   ppm                                                                                                 1   200   1   6   5   15   3   30   567   1768   1451   1062   580   1700   1500   65.3   360   2888   662       2   250   1   6   5   15   3   30   542   1775   1444   796   680   2000   1800   375   250   1300   690       3   300   1   6   5   15   3   30   574   1791   1522   677   770   2100   2000   425   262   1300   763       4   300   3   6   5   15   3   30   568   1766   1528   564   760   2100   2000   330   240   1197   721       5   250   3   6   5   15   3   30   574   1764   1528   929   680   1900   1800   272   212   1300   600       6   200   3   6   5   15   3   30   580   1759   1464   1162   590   1700   1500   51.1   371   3114   663       7   200   5   6   5   15   3   30   566   1751   1479   1163   570   1700   1500   31.3   439   3700   712       8   250   5   6   5   15   3   30   562   1836   1513   851   670   2000   1800   260   210   1300   579       9   300   5   6   5   15   3   30   550   1756   1431   787   710   2000   1800   420   251   1300   740                    
     [0091]               TABLE 34                          Cleaning coefficients of the multi-gravity separator on the soil fraction defined in Table 33                                     Parameters   Light fraction   Heavy fraction   Cleaning                                                                                         Trial   Speed   Washing   Angle   Frequency   Amplitude   Feed   %   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Cu   Pb   Zn       #   rpm   l/min   degree   cps   mm   l/min   solid   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %   %                                                                                                 1   200   1   6   5   15   3   30   94   96   91   97   6   4   9   3   37   −63   54       2   250   1   6   5   15   3   30   68   85   77   85   32   15   23   15   54   27   52       3   300   1   6   5   15   3   30   61   82   72   81   39   18   28   19   54   27   50       4   300   3   6   5   15   3   30   63   84   75   83   37   16   25   17   58   32   53       5   250   3   6   5   15   3   30   77   92   83   91   23   8   17   9   63   26   61       6   200   3   6   5   15   3   30   96   97   93   98   4   3   7   2   36   −77   55       7   200   5   6   5   15   3   30   97   98   95   99   3   2   6   1   22   −111   52       8   250   5   6   5   15   3   30   77   91   83   91   23   9   17   9   63   29   62       9   300   5   6   5   15   3   30   65   84   74   82   35   16   26   18   54   26   48                    
     [0092]               TABLE 35                       Operation parameters and ppm contents of the −300 + 38 μm fraction       of the soil and cleaning coefficients of the multi-gravity separator                                                Parameters   Consumption (g/t)                                             Trial       Attrition       Procol ™       Procol ™                                                         #   Feed   % solids   Length (min)   pH   Kerosene   Ca-817   CuSO 4 5H 2 O   Ca-821   MIBC                                                             1   −300 + 38 μm   70   15   natural   24   107   593   59   20       2   −300 + 38 μm   60   15   natural   0   66   658   33   8       3   −300 + 38 μm   60   15   natural   20   150   0   50   17                                                 6   −300 + 38 μm   Crushing 2 min   natural   0   100   500   0   17                                                     7   −300 + 38 μm   60   15   natural   0   200   1000   0   29       9   −300 + 38 μm   60   15   natural   0   200   1500   0   25       10   −300 + 38 μm   60   15   natural   0   200   2000   0   25       11   −300 + 38 μm   60   30   natural   0   200   2000   0   25       12   −300 + 38 μm   60   30   natural   0   200   1500   0   25                                                 13   −300 + 38 μm   Crushing 2 min   9   0   100   500   0   25       14   −300 + 38 μm   Crushing 2 min   10   0   100   500   0   25       15   −300 + 38 μm   Crushing 2 min   11.5   0   100   500   0   25                                                     16   −300 + 38 μm   60   15   9   0   200   1500   0   25       17   −300 + 38 μm   60   15   10.5   0   200   1500   0   17       18   −300 + 38 μm   60   15   11.5   0   200   1500   0   25                                                 21   −300 + 38 μm   Crushing 2 min   12   0   100   500   0   25                                                     22   −300 + 38 μm   60   15   10.5   0   350   1500   0   17       23   −300 + 38 μm   60   15   10   0   300   4000   0   17       24   −300 + 38 μm   60   15   10.5   0   350   1500   0   17       25   −300 + 38 μm   60   15   10.5   0   500   3000   0   64                                         Feed   Output   Cleaning                                                                 Trial   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Cu   Pb   Zn           #   (ppm)   (ppm)   (ppm)   %   (ppm)   (ppm)   (ppm)   (%)   (%)   (%)                       1   977   884   2192   89.7   838   796   1899   14   10   13           2   886   777   1999   96.4   816   739   1841   8   5   8           3   n.a.   n.a.   n.a.   93.8   n.a.   n.a.   n.a.   n.a.   n.a.   n.a.           6   867   714   1766   95.0   780   670   1600   10   6   9           7   947   721   1794   93.4   860   700   1700   9   3   5           9   979   663   1688   89.5   830   640   1600   15   3   5           10   1135   704   1629   92.6   970   680   1500   15   3   8           11   1161   809   1675   93.5   960   770   1500   17   5   10           12   1028   712   1669   93.2   850   670   1500   17   6   10           13   771   690   1691   92.1   660   650   1500   14   6   11           14   529   613   1517   91.5   410   570   1300   22   7   14           15   455   625   1488   88.0   350   600   1300   23   4   13           16   1002   569   1471   91.5   880   550   1300   12   3   12           17   756   755   1728   94.9   650   760   1600   14   −1   7           18   833   628   1648   94.7   720   630   1500   14   0   9           21   721   621   1714   94.2   600   630   1500   17   −1   12           22   1042   628   1638   78.4   640   570   1400   39   9   15           23   880   711   1836   89.3   570   640   1600   16   10   13           24   1308   662   1759   74.4   690   580   1400   47   12   20           25   1921   658   1792   67.2   1100   520   1300   43   21   27                        
     [0093]               TABLE 36                       Operation parameters and ppm contents of the −38 μm fraction       of the soil and cleaning coefficients of the multi-gravity separator                                                Parameters   Consumption (g/t)                                             Trial       Attrition       Procol ™       Procol ™                                                     #   Feed   % solids   Length (min)   Kerosene   Ca-817   CuSO 4 5H 2 O   Ca-821   MIBC               4   −38 μm   60   15   20   90   500   50   25       5   −38 μm   60   30   20   90   500   50   21       8   −38 μm   60   30   0   100   1000   0   17       19   −38 μm   60   30   0   119   1186   0   30       20   −38 μm   60   30   0   100   1000   0   25                                         Feed   Output   Cleaning −1                                                                   Trial   Cu   Pb   Zn   Weight   Cu   Pb   Zn   Cu   Pb   Zn           #   (ppm)   (ppm)   (ppm)   %   (ppm)   (ppm)   (ppm)   (%)   (%)   (%)                       4   2145   1661   5300   50.9   1900   1400   4500   11   16   15           5   1824   1428   4427   66.0   1700   1300   4000   7   9   10           8   1911   1514   4460   81.0   1800   1300   4200   6   14   6           19   2034   1449   4992   53.6   1600   1200   4000   21   17   20           20   1872   1609   5327   48.6   1400   1600   4900   25   1   8                        
     [0094]               TABLE 37                          Summary table of long-term trials results presented in Tables 39 to 41                                                     Weight           Output   Feed   Cleaning   Elements   Output       Granulometric   Distri-       Output/   Weight   Contents   coefficient −1     distribution   content                                                                                 fractions   bution −2     Equipment   Feed   distribution   Cu   Pb   Zn   Cu   Pb   Zn   Cu   Pb   Zn   Cu   Pb   Zn       mm −1     %   used   %   %   ppm   ppm   ppm   %   %   %   %   %   %   ppm   ppm   ppm                                                                                         +6,4   37.9   vibrating   100   38   254   390   1900   N/A   N/A   N/A   14.3   31.7   31,4   254   390   1900               screen       −6,4 + 1,68   14,9   jigs   96.4   14   823   291   1654   75   42   20   18.2   9.3   10.7   206   169   1330       −1,68 + 106 μm   19,7   spirals   58.7   12   1025   455   1716   54   40   6   29.9   19.2   14.7   472   271   1622       −106 μpm   27.5   MGS   52   14   924   673   3593   47   33   42   37.6   39.7   43.1   490   454   2098                            
     [0095]               TABLE 38                          Comparison between optimisation results and long term trials                             Soils, Trials optimisation   Soils, Trial long-term                                                     Cleaning           Cleaning           Feed   Output   coefficient −1     Feed   Output   coefficient −1         Elements   ppm   ppm   %   ppm   ppm   %                                                 Cu   950   419   56   675   321   52       Pb   994   399   60   466   344   26       Zn   1869   1483   21   2293   1793   22                            
     [0096]               TABLE 39                          Cleaning coefficients with jigs in long-term trials                                                             Output/   Cleaning   Output/   Cleaning       JIG 1   JIG 2       Cleaning   Feed   coefficient 1     Feed   coefticient 1 ,                                                             Parameters   Feed   Output   Concentrate   Feed −1     Output   Concentrate   %   %   %   %   opt %                                                                     Weight (kg)   1061.31   1032   29.31   1026.4   1016   8.4   NA   96   NA   96   NA       Cu (ppm)   623   246   18700   246   206   5030   75   96   76   NA   70       Pb (ppm)   291   183   6680   183   169   1750   42   96   42   NA   70       Zn (ppm)   1654   1354   7060   1354   1330   4220   20   96   20   NA   15                    
     [0097]               TABLE 40                       Cleaning coefficients with spirals in long-term trials                                                    SUBSAMPLE 1   SUBSAMPLE 2   SUBSAMPLE 3                                                                 Parameters   Feed   Output   Middling   Concentrate   Feed   Output   Middling   Concentrate   Feed   Output   Middling   Concentrate               Weight (g)   2664   1525   888    251   2757   1535    963    259   2701   1629    825    247       Cu (ppm)    972    489   707   4840    963    462   1170   3170    916    381   1110   3800       Pb (ppm)    476    277   295   2330    455    288    247   2220    400    232    210   2140       Zn (ppm)   1663   1600   1470    2730   1689   1540   1660   2680   1547   1460   1410   2580                                         SUBSAMPLE 4   SUBSAMPLE 5   SUBSAMPLE 6                                                                 Parameters   Feed   Output   Middling   Concentrate   Feed   Output   Middling   Concentrate   Feed   Output   Middling   Concentrate               Weight (g)   2684   1639    822    223   2649   1552    874    223   2765   1632    910    223       Cu (ppm)   1243    617   1040   6590   1046    381   1620   3420   1007    505   1280   3570       Pb (ppm)    515    277    293   3080    469    243    428   2200    415    309    285   1730       Zn (ppm)   1821   1720   1740   2870   1706   1480   1790   2950   1868   1940   1570   2560                                 SUBSAMPLE AVERAGE                                 Parameters   Feed   Output   Middling   Concentrate               Weight (g)   2703   1585    880    238       Cu (ppm)   1025    472   1155   4232       Pb (ppm)    455    271    293   2283       Zn (ppm)   1716   1622   1607   2728                    
     [0098]               TABLE 41                       Cleaning coefficients with MGS in long-term trials                                            Para-   SUBSAMPLE 1   SUBSAMPLE 2                                         meters   Feed   Output   Concentrate   Feed   Output   Concentrate               Weight (g)   1087   554   533   532   276   256       Cu (ppm)   955   489   1440   936   506   1400       Pb (ppm)   679   467   900   675   458   910       Zn (ppm)   3600   2100   5160   3610   2090   5250                                 Para-   SUBSAMPLE 3   SUBSAMPLE 4                                         meters   Feed   Output   Concentrate   Feed   Output   Concentrate               Weight (g)   356   182   174   526   271   255       Cu (ppm)   917   494   1360   927   502   1380       Pb (ppm)   685   469   911   683   452   930       Zn (ppm)   3641   2140   5210   3651   2100   5300                                 Para-   SUBSAMPLE 5   SUBSAMPLE 6                                         meters   Feed   Output   Concentrate   Feed   Output   Concentrate               Weight (g)   507   266   241   526   277   249       Cu (ppm)   1003   499   1560   882   470   1340       Pb (ppm)   678   453   926   656   436   900       Zn (ppm)   3651   2120   5340   3518   2060   5140                                 Para-   SUBSAMPLE 7   SUBSAMPLE 8                                         meters   Feed   Output   Concentrate   Feed   Output   Concentrate               Weight (g)   506   269   237   1276   663   613       Cu (ppm)   891   469   1370   882   486   1310       Pb (ppm)   658   428   920   672   466   894       Zn (ppm)   3540   2060   5220   3532   2110   5070                                 SUBSAMPLE AVERAGE                                     Parameters   Feed   Output   Concentrate                       Weight (g)   664.5   344.75   319.75           Cu (ppm)   924   490   1395           Pb (ppm)   673   454   911           Zn (ppm)   3593   2098   5211                        
     [0099]               TABLE 42                          Mass data in long-term trials                             sieved weight   Used weights       Section   t 1     t 1                 Primary sieving +6.4 mm   3.83   3.83       Circuit jigs −6.4 mm + 1.68 mm   1.5    1.06       Circuit spirals −1.68 mm + 0.106 mm   1.98   1.78       Circuit MGS −0.106 mm   2.77   1.51       Total   10.08    8.18                            
     [0100]               TABLE 43                          Operating conditions for trials presented in Tables 39-41                         Jig Denver double compartment   Reichert MG4 Spiral   MGS Mozley separator                                                         Feed:   2   kg/min   Feed:   25   kg/min   Feed:   3   l/min       Washing water:   3   l/min   Pulp water:   70   l/min   Rotation speed:   250   rpm       Dilution water:   14   l/min   Washing water:   0   l/min   Washing:   3   l/min       % solid:   10.5%       % solid:   26.32%       Angle:   6°       Frequency:   330   cp/min   Blade positions: concentrate 1:   6       Frequency:   5   cps       Amplitude:   16   mm   Blade positions: concentrate 2:   10       Amplitude:   15   mm                   Blade positions: Middling:   14       % solid:   30%                               Pulp mass density:   1.2   g/cc                    
     [0101] Although the invention has been described above with respect to a few representative examples and drawings, it will be evident in the person skilled in the art that it may be modified and refined in various ways. It is therefore wished to have it understood that the present invention should not be limited in scope, except by the terms of the following claims: