Operations of the gold concentrate thickening and slurry storage systems are monitored in the field on inspections that are completed at least once every hour. The thickener may have to be checked more frequently if the flotation circuit is producing high quantities of gold concentrate. The gold concentrate thickener is equipped with a torque measuring and alarm system. In this way, the rake torque is continuously indicated and alarm and rake drive motor trips are activated at high-high levels. The rake lift and lower system operate manually or automatically. In the second case, when the rake torque is high the rakes automatically lift. When the rake torque is low the rakes automatically lower. The rake lift system can also be operated manually. In this case the operator must start the rake lift drive motor and raise the rakes when a high-torque condition is reached and stop when the high-torque condition is removed or when the upper travel limit is reached. The rake lift drive motor should be started in the lower direction when a low-torque condition is reached and stopped when the normal operating torque condition is reached or when the lower travel limit is reached. The operator can monitor the local or remote torque indicator and can manually control the rakes from the local control panel at the thickener.
Good inspection of the gold concentrate thickening and slurry storage equipment is important to successful plant operation. In this way, identifying and reporting malfunctioning equipment as soon as it is found helps to decrease equipment downtime and provides the opportunity to shut down this equipment in an orderly fashion. Before beginning routine, review the circuit. The operator coming on shift must review the comments in the logbook with the operator from the previous shift and resolve any unclear issues. The aim of this exchange is to determine what equipment and process problems were encountered and how the problems were handled. With the circuit operating normally, there is a maximum interval of 60 minutes between circuit inspections. With the circuit in an upset condition, the intervals shorten.