Water is widely used in the mining industry, particularly in mineral enrichment processes. In the process of magnetic separation or flotation of crushed ore, a concentrate (an enriched product), and tailings (a product with a low content of a useful component) are obtained. One of the main tasks of enrichment processes is the efficient use of water resources. This is achieved by reclaiming and subsequent reusing water contained in ore beneficiation products by extracting it in industrial thickeners. Optimizing this process makes it possible to reduce water usage in the mining industry, reduce costs of mineral enrichment processes, and address extremely urgent environmental protection problems. To evaluate the process of sedimentation of the solid phase in the pulp within the thickener, measurements of parameters of longitudinal ultrasonic oscillations and Lamb waves that have traveled a fixed distance in the pulp and along the measuring surface in contact with it are used. The proposed approach allows for the consideration of pulp density, particle size of the solid phase in the ore material and the dynamics of changes in these parameters in the thickener at the initial stage of the sedimentation process. Based on the obtained values, adjustments can be made to the characteristics of its initial product, leading to reduced water usage and minimized loss of a useful component.

The article describes the method of controlling the recovered grade based on measuring the intensity of volume ultrasonic oscillations and Lamb waves covering a fixed distance through the test medium and on a metal plate contacting the test medium at various time points of deliberate motion of ground materials.

The authors suggest a method of determining density of ground ore particles in the pulp periodically after isolating the pulp flow in the vertical part of the measuring vessel based on measuring attenuation change values in Lamb waves covering a fixed distance on a plate contacting the medium under study and high frequency volume ultrasonic oscillations that have come through it within a certain time period.

There are given dependencies of amplitudes of measuring channels based on volume ultrasonic oscillations and surface Lamb waves, size distribution according to solid phase pulp particles for various types of ores under study, a set of curves for determining the recovered grade with regard to various types of ores under study.