Boosting Gold Recovery from Low‑Grade Tailings by 1.85% While Halving Frother Consumption

In a recent closed-circuit flotation test on a tailings sample from Qingdao Wosai, we evaluated YX3418A against an imported 3418A collector under comparable operating conditions. Extract additional value from tailings grading only ~0.25 g/t Au, using a more cost‑efficient reagent scheme.

Low‑grade gold tailings are often considered waste, yet they can become a profitable secondary resource if the right flotation chemistry is applied. Qingdao Wosai faced two key issues with their existing imported collector:

• Sub‑optimal gold recovery (stuck around 73%)
• High frother consumption, driving up operational costs.

They needed a solution that could improve metallurgical performance without increasing reagent expenses.

We proposed a side‑by‑side closed‑circuit flotation test, comparing our YX3418A collector against the benchmark imported 3418A. Both tests used the same SIAX + 3418A combination, with a total collector dosage of 69 g/t.

Test conditions:

• Grinding fineness: 80% passing 0.074 mm
• Flowsheet: one rougher, two cleaners, two scavengers
• Frother: Q60 (dosed separately)

The Results

The slightly lower concentrate grade (by 0.50 g/t) is more than offset by the higher recovery and substantial savings on frother.

Economic & Operational Benefits

For a typical tailings operation processing, say, 1,000 t/d:

Increased recovery of 1.85% translates to extra gold ounces per day (worth significant revenue).

Halving frother usage cuts a major variable cost — often by tens of thousands of dollars annually.

No changes to existing flowsheet — the new reagent scheme can be adopted without capital investment.

In addition, tailings reprocessing already enjoys lower upfront costs (no primary crushing, often less grinding energy). With our YX3418A, the overall reagent efficiency makes the project even more attractive.

Why This Matters

This case proves that even ultra‑low‑grade tailings can be turned into a valuable resource with the right flotation chemistry. YX3418A offers:

High selectivity and recovery for gold in complex sulfide matrices

Synergistic effect with SIAX and other collectors

Significant frother reduction — a hidden cost‑saver often overlooked