The scientific part of the institute comprises 4 scientific research centers:
Analytical scientific research center: the study of a material and mineral composition of raw materials, development of certification techniques.
Beneficiation scientific research center: development of technologies, process regulations and flow sheets for minerals and technogenic raw materials.
Scientific research center for agglomeration, roasting and briquetting: development of technologies, process regulations and techniques on preparation of raw materials for smelting.
Deputy General Director for Science
Mining scientific research center: development of technologies, process regulations and techniques on efficient and safe raw materials mining at underground mines and pits, scientific provision of a rhythmic work of mining enterprises.
Areas of scientific activities of the Institute in the field of minerals beneficiation and agglomeration:
1 Raw materials types under study
- Ores of ferrous non-ferrous metals;
- Ores of precious, rare rare-earth metals;
- Stream gravel;
- Nonmetallic raw materials;
- technogenic formations: slags, debris, clinker, scale, slimes, tailings.
2 Studies results
- New techniques on a development of technological processes and devices for minerals beneficiation and technogenic raw materials;
- Process schemes for ore preparation, crushing, screening, grinding and classification;
- Processing flow sheets for all types of solid minerals;
- New technologies and retreatment schemes of raw materials by a hydro metallurgical method;
- Equipment and modes of thickening and filtration;
- Up-to-date methods of agglomeration of crude ore and technogenic raw materials;
- Process regulations and diagrams for designing new concentrating plants or reconstructing existing plants;
- Process documentation for conditions of feasibility studies and bankable feasibility studies.
3 Types of works in activity areas
3.1 Ore preparation
- Determination of physical-mechanical properties of rocks;
- Development of crushing & grinding technologies of rocks;
- Getting gravel for construction works and railway ballast;
- Development of process schemes with the use of an air classfication.
3.2 Concentration of ferrous metals ores
- Technological assessment and development of energy-efficient & resource-saving processing flow sheets of iron ores to get concentrates and tailings.
- Quality increase of a final concentrate, getting a superconcentrate;
- Development of new and improvement of existing technologies of agglomeration, getting pellets and direct reduction of iron for pelletizing plants of iron ores;
- Implementation of new equipment and technologies at existing iron ore of ore-dressing and processing enterprises.
3.3 Concentration of non-ferrous metals ores
- Technological assessment and development of energy-efficient & resource-saving processing flow sheets of copper, copper-zinc, copper- molybdenic, copper-nickel and polymetallic ores to get concentrates and tailings;
- Development of guidelines for using tailings of non-ferrous metals ores;
- Development of process flotation modes of non-ferrous metals ores with the provision of the list and consumption of reagents and indicating feed points, operation time;
- Development of schemes with the use of new reagents;
- Audit of the operation of concentrating plants with determination of “neck stages”;
- Development of hydrometallurgical technologies for metals recovery from oxidized copper and nickel-cobalt ores by a method of heap leaching;
- Developing processes of concentrates briquetting.
3.4 Concentration of ores and placers of precious, rare and rare-earth metals
- Development of complex process schemes of processing precious metals ores with the application of gravity, flotation methods of concentration and hydrometallurgy;
- Using hydrometallurgy when recovering rare-earth elements;
- Development of complex gravity-flotation schemes for concentration of tantalum- niobic ores;
- Development of dry and combined flowsheets of titan-zirconium ores;
- Development of complex process schemes with the application of electric separation, implementation of electric separators by Uralmekhanobr’s construction at the place of production.
3.5 Concentration of non-metallic raw materials
- Development of complex dry and wet processing schemes of quartz feldspathic raw material, kaolins, sands, graphite and others;
- Development of technologies of iron reduction in a nonmetallic raw material.
3.6 Concentration of technogenic wastes of metallurgical and concentrating productions
- Developing flowsheets of copper flowing slowly cooled and aged convertor slags with a maximum copper recovery when using ultra-fine grinding;
- Developing schemes for getting reusable raw materials from clinkers of zinc production plants;
- Developing magnetic-gravity flowsheets of a red mud – the wastes of a refinery complex of aluminum plants to get iron concentrate;
- Developing processing schemes for a greasy scale, worked out proppants;
- Developing magnetic-gravity processing schemes of iron bearing slimes – wastes of concentrating plants;
- Developing schemes of hydrometallurgical and combined processing of wastes of concentrating plants in the field of non-ferrous.
3.7 Dehydration of concentration products
- Development of technologies for dehydration of concentration products;
- Selection and justification of processes and equipment for thickening and filtration of concentration products.
