Abstract:
The pinched sluice concentrator is a device for the separation of heavy
minerals particularly beach sands. They come in a variety of sizes and shapes
and have been used extensively overseas in the beach sand industry for over a century.
Previous work to study the mechanisms of separation of these units have been of a
purely empirical nature and thus required experienced and skilled operators to
achieve acceptable level of separation. More recent work has shown that the performance
characteristics of a pinched sluice could be analysed using the established theories
of fluid mechanics and mineral processing.
This paper outlines the work published up to date and also the progress of research
in this field at the Department of Mining and Mineral Engineering, University of
Moratuwa.
