1. Equipment Overview
The spiral chute is a core unpowered gravity separation device that integrates the separation principles of spiral concentrators and shaking tables. It separates minerals by density difference. The chute body is mostly made of wear-resistant fiberglass, featuring no motor drive, low water consumption and small footprint. It serves as the primary equipment for rough separation of coastal placer and zircon-titanium associated ore. The complete machine consists of four key components: feed distributor, spiral separation trough, split ore hopper and support frame, with stable operation and extremely low maintenance costs.
2. Main Equipment Types
1.Fixed Standard Spiral Chute (Mainstream Model)
The most widely used model on the market with a fixed inclination angle of 9°. It fits conventional rough separation of zircon sand and ilmenite. Available in single-head and multi-head parallel configurations, which can be freely combined to build production lines for small, medium and large concentrators.
2.Rotary Intelligent Spiral Chute
Equipped with variable-frequency rotary drive, its rotation speed is adjustable from 5 to 15 r/min for controllable separation flow field. Its recovery rate of fine particles (0.02–0.074 mm) of zircon mud is 12%–18% higher than ordinary models, mainly applied to recover low-grade fine-grained tailings.
3.Special Chutes for Graded Particle Sizes
Coarse sand type: Handles coarse heavy sand of 0.1–0.3 mm with large diameter and high throughput;
Slime type: Designed for fine slime of 0.02–0.074 mm, adopting narrow pitch and multi-layer spiral structure to specially recover fine zircon-titanium minerals.
3. Standard Specifications & Key Technical Parameters
Models are classified by spiral outer diameter in the industry. Under standard working conditions, the horizontal inclination is fixed at 9°, feed concentration ranges from 25% to 55%, and applicable feed particle size for zircon-titanium ore is 0.02–0.3 mm:
| Spiral Outer Diameter (mm) | Pitch (mm) | Number of Heads per Unit | Hourly Capacity (t/h) | Application Scenarios |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Φ2000 | 1200 | 3 | 8–10 | Large coastal placer, rough separation of Mozambique raw ore |
| Φ1500 | 720/540 | 4 | 4–6 | Main model for medium & large zircon-titanium processing plants |
| Φ1200 | 720/540 | 4 | 2–3 | Medium & small mineral processing production lines |
| Φ900 | 675/540 | 4 | 0.8–1.2 | Scavenging fine slime, small pilot lines |
| Φ600 | 450/360 | 3 | 0.3–0.5 | Laboratory testing, small-batch trial production |
| Φ400 | 240/180 | 2 | 0.15–0.2 | Micro trial production, trace recovery of tailings |
Extra parameters for rotary intelligent type: rotation speed 5–15 r/min, electrically adjustable inclination angle 8°–12°, unit weight approx. 1.5 tons.
4. Core Application Purposes
1.Zirconium-titanium Ore Separation (Core Application)
It acts as the primary rough separation equipment in production lines for zircon sand, ilmenite, rutile and monazite. In swirling pulp flow, high-density zircon-titanium heavy minerals gather along the inner wall of the chute, while low-density gangue quartz is discharged from the outer side. The grade of rough concentrate can be lifted above 55% directly. Subsequent magnetic separation and electrostatic separation can produce high-purity finished zircon sand, suitable for all coastal heavy placer mines in Mozambique, Vietnam and domestic coastal areas of China.
2.Gravity Separation of Other Rare & Non-ferrous Ores
It can separate ores with obvious specific gravity differences such as tungsten, tin, tantalum-niobium, chromite and placer gold. It is also used for upgrading and impurity removal of iron ore and pyrite.
3.Resource Recovery from Tailings
Amid the high price of zircon sand, multi-stage spiral chutes can scavenge old tailings and washed sand residues to recover residual zircon-titanium particles, greatly boosting overall mineral recovery rate and profit margins of mines.
In summary, Φ1500 and Φ1200 multi-head parallel types are the most cost-effective standard models for the current zircon-titanium processing industry. Rotary intelligent chutes are gradually becoming the preferred upgrade equipment for technical transformation of low-grade ore projects.
