An iron ore mineral processing plant in Brazil treating Itabirite ore was assessed by sampling a circuit consisting of Wemco 144 mechanical cells, as part of the AMIRA P9P collaborative research project. This paper presents and discusses the results of entrainability, water recovery and quartz and hematite grades associated to hydrodynamic parameters. The results indicated strong correlation between water recovery and hematite losses which was intensified by the operating conditions of the circuit. A potential alternative to reduce the hematite losses through entrainment and to increase quartz removal was to modify the traditional circuit design to treat rougher and cleaner/recleaner tails in different stages. In addition, the scavenger residence time must be matched to the quartz floatability. Changes to design and operation of these circuits are needed to sustain concentrate recovery and grade as iron ores become finer. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd.