Real-time monitoring and closed-loop control of fine clay tailings dewatering under high g-force

Consistency in the performance of dewatering units is crucial for routine operation in mineral processing plants and for ensuring safe tailings disposal through dry stacking. Dewatering of fine tailings with high clay content has become increasingly challenging due to variations in tailings composition and the complex microscale network formed by clay platelet interactions and gelation processes. Among available dewatering methods, centrifuge-based technologies, such as solid bowl centrifugation (SBC), have proven particularly effective, especially when combined with chemical aids. High g-forces enable rapid dewatering, however, they also require fast and dynamic adjustment of chemical additive dosages to maintain the desired dewatering performance. In this study, we present a real-time monitoring and automatic control system to optimise the dewatering performance of fine clay tailings by dynamically balancing chemical aid dosage and centrifugation speed. A real-time, data-driven model is developed and successfully applied to describe the dynamic relationship between flocculant dosage (input variable) and centrate quality (output variable). Based on this model, a closed-loop control system is designed and implemented to regulate the output water quality of both the mixer and the SBC centrate. The proposed model and control framework can be readily extended to other dewatering technologies, such as belt press filters or high-pressure disc filters, thereby enhancing their operational flexibility and adaptability to varying plant conditions and product quality requirements.