How does jigging separate minerals in a pulsed stream of water?

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mineral processing Schematic diagram of a flotation separation cell.

In mineral processing, jigging is a gravity separation method that relies on density differences to concentrate valuable minerals.

The process functions by pulsing a stream of water—often moved by pistons—upward and downward through a bed of material. This oscillating motion causes the bed to stratify into layers based on density:
* Heaviest particles: These settle to form the lowest layer, which is collected as the concentrate.
* Lightest particles: These rise to the top and are removed as tailings.

For this process to be effective, the feed must be thoroughly classified, as jigging is generally not suitable for separating particles smaller than one millimeter in size.1