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By Leming Ou, Longsheng Yi, Qiming Feng, Yiping Lu, Qing Shi, Kun Liu, Guofan Zhang, Yanfei Chen

"Three important components of stirred tanks involved in energy consumption, the impellers and baffles, were investigated to intensify the agitation pretreatment on the flotation of nickel ores. Flotation tests revealed that the stirred tanks with two impellers had an advantage over those with one impeller in intensifying agitation pretreatment, and the higher agitation speed led to better flotation performance of nickel ores. Installation and removal of baffles were also employed in the stirred tanks, and flotation tests demonstrated that with baffles, the flotation grade increased significantly. These agitator design improvements were used to demonstrate that the energy supplied to the system significantly influences the flotation recovery and that if the energy consumption of the agitation pretreatment is ideal, flotation efficiency can be improved. Data from full-scale operations backed up these results.INTRODUCTIONThe flotation recovery of nickel-copper sulphide ore at the Western China nickel mine has historically been difficult due to the presence of large amounts of serpentine minerals (Feng, et al., 2012). Many studies reported that serpentine minerals tend to have a positive potential at pH values up to 9.5, while sulphides (such as pentlandite and chalcopyrite) have a low isoelectric point(Feng, et al., 2012). Serpentine minerals can form surface coatings on negatively charged sulphides surface due to electrostatic attraction when they interact with each other, which may also reduce collector adsorption and increase the hydrophilicity of the sulphide particles. In order to improve the flotation of nickel sulphides, sodium hexametaphosphate, sodium silicate, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), and other agents are used to disperse serpentine coating from sulphide surfaces in the flotation of the Jinchuan deposit and other nickel ores in China ( Kirjavainen and Heiskanen, 2007; Lu, et al., 2011). However, it is difficult to improve of the sulphide flotation due to the high dosage and the lack of selectivity."

Jan 1, 2018

The flotation behavior of kaolinite and diaspore using N, N-diethyl dodecyl amine (DEN12) and N, N-dimethyl dodecyl amine (DRN12) as collector have been investigated through flotation experiments. The mechanism of adsorption of two tertiary amine collectors on surface of kaolinite and diaspore were investigated by FTIR spectral, Zeta potentials measurements and calculation of molecular orbital energy. It has been found that DEN12 and DRN12 have stronger collecting power to kaolinite and weaker collecting abilityto diaspore than DDA. Kaolinite and diaspore in bauxite ores can be separated by using DEN12 and DRN12 as collectors at pulp pH below 8 and 6, respectively. The results of zeta potentials and calculation of molecular orbital energy indicated that the adsorption strength on kaolinite surface is in the order DEN12>DRN12>DDA and the adsorption strength on diaspore surface is in the order DDA>DEN12>DRN12. FTIR spectral analysis and Zeta potentials approve that the action between kaolinite and tertiary amine collector is strong electrostatic adsorption and that of diaspore is weak electrostatic adsorption in the range of pH 5~6.

Jan 1, 2014

By N. ??dyanik, Z. Kugukaldinova, O. Mishurina, Y. Glazkova, E. Mullina

"This paper describes the process flow of a selective processing method for acidic mine waters formed in the copper sulfide industry and characterized by a high content of copper, iron, and manganese ions. The proposed method comprises a series of sequential processes: the 1st stage is the recovery of Cu2+ ions by precipitation, the 2nd stage is the recovery of Fe2+ and Fe3+ ions as a dispersed phase by acid-base precipitation, followed by recovery in the 3rd stage of Mn2+ ions by converting Mn2+ with an oxidizing agent into insoluble forms of manganese and subsequent recovery of the dispersed phase by electroflotation. The developed method was tested on the acidic tailing storage facility (TSF) water of a mining project in the Urals region. The practical results of the implementation of the developed method have shown that its implementation will allow to recover copper, iron, and manganese in the form of salable products with a simultaneous decrease in their concentrations in adjacent water bodies down to the applicable MPCs. The process is a simple one, does not require any sophisticated expensive equipment and can be implemented either as a standalone solution or as part of existing treatment facilities. INTRODUCTION As a result of unsustainable utilization of natural resources in Russia, only a small fraction is processed into commodity products, while the rest is systematically dumped as emissions, effluents, and other wastes, polluting the environment. By amount of waste and concentration of valuable components, those wastes can be classified as aqueous technogenic resources [1, 2]. Therefore, the development of processing methods for this mineral resource category is an urgent and priority task that will significantly improve the industry’s profitability and the environmental conditions in the respective regions. MATERIALS AND METHODS Following research methods were mainly applied in this study: lab-scale and pilot-scale tests in a diaphragmless two-chamber electric flotation cell; for solutions and recoverable process products — chemical analysis using photometric determination techniques for metal cations and atomic adsorption determination techniques for the processing products. The phase composition of the precipitates formed in the process was investigated by X-ray phase analysis in the general-purpose diffractometer with a copper anode DRON-1."

Jan 1, 2018

By Lilong Huang, Yuan Long, Li Shi, Guowang Zhang, Xiao Xiao

"Graphite is the key raw material of new carbon materials such as graphene and spherical graphite. The size and completeness of graphite flakes directly affect the performance of new carbonaceous materials.The research aims to increase the yield of large flake graphite by way of preventing the flake graphite from being damaged during the grinding process. A series of grinding and flotation studies on the flake graphite samples of Yichang in Hubei Province were carried out by vertical stirred mill . The damage coefficient L characterising the degree of graphite flake fractured and corresponding formula was proposed to determine the quality of the grinding and grinding of the flake graphite. The way the damage coefficient L of graphite flake would be affected if with different mill, different media material and size, stirrer speed were investigated. The test results show that vertical screw stirred mill helps the protection of large flake of graphite as well as the graphite liberation. When grinding to the same fineness, the damage coefficient L of graphite flake is 1.20 for vertical stirred mill, while the damage coefficient is 2.93 for ball mill. Minimum damage coefficient of graphite flake was obtained when using 6 mm polyurethane coated ball as grinding media, under the condition that rotation speed of the stirrer within the range of 100~130r/min. The grade of graphite in the concentrate floated from the ground product was 94.16%, the rate of recovery for graphite was 94.66%, and the content of +0.15mm was 54.83%.1 INTRODUCTION Flake graphite is a very important non-metallic mineral[1,2],and due to its special flake structure, the greater the scale and the higher the C grade, the value of its application is larger too. Therefore, in the grinding of graphite sorting process, We should minimize the destruction of graphite scales.. In this paper, graphite mine in Yichang, Hubei Province was used as the raw material for the study. Rough concentrate with C-grade of 36.49% was prepared by rough grinding and coarse separation. Then a series of grinding and flotation studies on the rough concentrate were carried out by vertical stirred mill , which aims to increase the yield of large flake graphite and to provide technical support for improving the beneficiation process of graphite ore."

Jan 1, 2018

By Z. C. Zhen

Basing on character of fine ores, and employing all the advantage of dissolved-air flotation, the study within the dissertation put forth the methods of superfine metal mineral flotation with dissolved-air flotation equipment, and constructed a full set of laboratory flotation system. Experiments both in water and in slurry were respectively carried out by means of this flotation equipment. Further study was also fulfilled on mechanism of air-dissolved released devices, and the key components of system including ejector, releaser and saturator were designed. Optimizing devices parameters were chosen by taking ideal performance of the devices into consideration, according to orthogonal experiments and tests on bubbles factors, those performance factors were called air release rate, air release efficiency. The results with some minerals are better than JJF flotation machine with 30 litres bulk. The Dissolved-air Flotation(DAF) machine shows great potentiality in treating super-fine metal mineral concentration. The research indicates the Dissolved-air Flotation(DAF) system has superiority over mechanical flotation machine in fine flotation. Air-dissolved released bubbles appear on the surface of hydrophobic minerals in priority, solving collision probability less in the tradition fine mineral separation, such that the metallurgy technology of fine metallic minerals are improved. The exploratory research is a foundation for industrial pilot, commercial test and equipment maturity in the future.

Jan 1, 2014

By W. Rubarth

The kaolin losses in hydrocyclone classification are determined by the fines, which are discharged together with the water to the underflow. This paper presents an improved technique of water injection to the conical part of the cyclone applied especially for small cyclones in kaolin preparation. In small hydrocyclones water, injection is a sensitive process. Therefore, the process was stabilized by controlled water injection dependent on the measurement of the underflow shape. Three applications of this innovation are presented. In the first case, the water injection is applied for the separation stage in dilute suspension where the final product is produced in the overflow of a 50mm hydrocyclone. The underflow contains sand and residual kaolin. For a higher kaolin recovery, the underflow is usually treated downstream in washing cyclones. The wash water injection results in a 45 ? 50% - reduction of the kaolin fraction <25µm in the underflow. Thus, water injection to the classifying cyclone leads to a separation comparable with a downstream washing stage. An additional hydrocyclone stage can be deleted. The second application refers to a classification in dense suspension. Here, the underflow of the last hydrocyclone stage was directed to a washing in a 50mm hydrocyclone. The additional injection of 3L/min water in to the conical part of the cyclone reduced the kaolin losses by half.The third application was executed in the washing stage equipped with 75mm hydrocyclones where the underflow is directed to flotation. Using the water injection the kaolin recovery in this stage was increased by approximately 20%. Keywords: hydrocyclone, classification, kaolin beneficiation, water injection, underflow washing

Sep 1, 2012

By A. A. Sirkeci

In the scope of this investigation comparison between impact breakage and compression breakage were carried out for the separation efficiency of minerals using a chromite ore sample. The ore sample was broken below 1 mm employing a laboratory type roll crusher and an impact crusher. Concentration tests were conducted on -1+0.5 mm, -0.5+0.2 mm and -0.2 mm size fractions using a Wilfley type shaking table. Test results showed a remarkable difference between two types of breakage. Both concentrate grade and recovery was in the favour of impact crushing. Furthermore, the shape of the broken particles also showed differences such that in the case of impact breakage they were more spherical compared to compressive crushing. The results of the shaking table con-centration tests showed that a concentrate assaying 48.4% Cr2O3 were obtained with 78.5% recovery in the case of impact breakage. On the other hand the concentrate grade and recovery values were 48.8% Cr2O3and 52.4% respectively in the case of compression crushing. The losses in the tailings were also in favour of impact breakage proving that differential breakage occurred between chromite and gangue minerals.

Jan 1, 2014

By Andrew T. McBride, Malcolm S. Powell, Indresan Govender

"Current empirical Semi Autogneous Grinding (SAG) mill models contain assumptions concerning the amount of energy available for particle breakage, how this energy is distributed in the mill media and the rate at which the energy is transferred. Despite these assumptions the JK SAG model is highly functional with a proven track record. DEM provides a numerical framework to greatly improve on these assumptions that were necessary due to a lack of available input data.This paper identifies key outputs of the Discrete Element Method (DEM), such as energy spectra and impact probability distribution. It describes how they can be incorporated into current mill models utilising practical rock breakage data. The rate at which energy is transferred is shown to be dependent on particle position and mill rotational speed and not once per cycle as previously assumed. Based upon this an improved energy transfer methodology is presented. The fundamental outputs of the DEM are validated against experimental three-dimensional particle tracking data, so as to establish whether the DEM produces correct energy transfer predictions on the inter-particle level, which is crucial to this work. • Effective Experimental ValidationAn automated 3D tracking technique is employed to study the motion of plastic particles deep within the charge of a 142mm diameter experimental mill. A Biplanar Angioscope is used to film the mill with X-rays in two planes simultaneously at 50 frames/s, with a shutter speed of 1/3000s. A marked ball within the charge is tracked for over 2 minutes and the resulting digital images processed by a fully automated imaging technique, which locates the 3D coordinates of the particles to within 0.2mm. With over 250 circulations, this provides statistically rigorous and accurate data for verification in the numerical modelling of mills.A series of validation techniques have been developed to compare the experimental trajectory data with the outputs of both 2D and 3D DEM simulations. The techniques describe the shape of the charge and the particle motion within mill, allowing objective comparisons to be made of key features of the charge, such as the equilibrium surface and the centre-of-circulation."

Jan 1, 2003

By P. Somasundaran

Gangue minerals can often have severe adverse effects on selective value mineral separation. Such effects can be mediated through a variety of pathways or mechanisms. One popular mechanism is that of ?slime coating? or heterocoagulation, wherein the gangue mineral fines are believed to coat the value mineral surfaces and thereby reduce selectivity and floatability. Another pathway that has received relatively little attention is that mediated through the effect of gangue minerals on pulp rheology, and consequently selective separation. Our recent work in developing a scientific understanding of these effects has highlighted the prevalence and importance of this pathway. In this study, the impact of shape and morphology of serpentine gangue minerals on suspension rheology and selective Ni flotation from ultramafic ores was investigated. We found strong evidence for micro- and macro-network formation in the presence of acicular (needle-shaped) or fibrous minerals, which impacted pulp rheological properties. Results also supported the hypothesis that morphology has a greater role to play than mere shape. The size of the network ranged from 5 microns to 2 cm depending upon the amount and aspect ratio of fibrous minerals. These networks impede many flotation sub-processes, such as gas dispersion and bubble-particle interactions. Additionally, the small pore size of the networks prevents bubble penetration leading to a large transport of the gangue minerals to the concentrate via lifting of the entire network by bubble flux, which resulted in a significant grade dilution. Based on the scientific insights generated in this study various techniques have been developed to improve selective value mineral separation. Keywords: fibers, aspect ratio, microstructures, networks, pulp viscosity, gangue transport

Sep 1, 2012

By M. K. Aydogan

Today, arsenic has become a much greater problem than before because of the limitations introduced by WHO and USEPA that are lowered from 0.05 ppm to 0.01 ppm. In the nature Arsenic is mostly found as inorganic compounds in the forms of arsenite (As+3) and arsenate (As+5) in aqueous solutions. Arsenic contamination in ground and surface waters has been encountered in almost every country. This element has a carcinogenic effect and can occur in natural sources and anthropogenic sources such as metal mining, groundwater usage and industrial activities. In this study adsorbing colloid flotation was applied in the presence of aluminum sulfates. In the experiments SDS and K-Oleate were used as collectors while MIBC was the frother employed. The effects of collectors and aluminum/arsenic ratios on the removal of arsenic were examined under various pH values. It was found that arsenic removal enhanced with increasing aluminum concentration. Furthermore, it was observed that pH was a very critical parameter in all experiments. The best results were obtained when initial As: SDS: Al concentrations were 10:40:40 ppm at pH 5.5. At this concentration, the efficiency of arsenic removal found to be 99.9%. Keywords: arsenic, adsorbing colloid flotation, aluminum sulfate

Sep 1, 2012

By A. K. Majumder

In an effort to test the extent to which fundamental fluid mechanics can provide a prediction of particle separation, a study on a simple parallel-sided sluice has been carried out using glass bead and ilmenite mixtures at various particle concentrations and flow rates. Great care was taken to devise a flow splitter at the end of the sluice that permitted accurate measurement of the fluid flow profile and collection of slurry samples, allowing evaluation of the particle species concentration profiles. The actual particle separation taking place was compared to predictions made by first describing the fluid flow by a modified ?law of the wall? model. The hydrostatic pressure variation in the flow was taken into account and the eddy viscosity was calculated from a mixing length expression incorporating Van Driest?s damping function. Using an average density and viscosity provides an explicit expression for the velocity gradient that can be numerically integrated for the flow profile. The particle concentration distributions were then modelled with Hunt?s sediment transport model assuming the particle eddy diffusion coefficient to be the same as that for the water. Hindered settling velocities of the particles were calculated using Brauer and Thiele?s formula, which takes the particle size and density distributions and solids volumetric concentration into account. The resulting predictions of particle separation are shown to be a strong function of the settling velocities of the particles used. Keywords: flowing film concentrators, fluid velocity

Sep 1, 2012

By H. Z. Liu

An extra-refractory gold ore in China belongs to Carlin Type Gold Ore which is not only submicroscopic but also rich in arsenic and organic carbon. They have been proved that its floatability is not good enough and the gold in the ore could not be leached almost if it was not pretreated. The tests for the ore were carried out in accordance with flotation-concentrate preoxidation-cyanidation(or CIL) processes in order to exploit the mine. Two new depressants were discovered in the flotation tests and improved concentrate grades from about 20g/t to 32~50g/t. The methods of the concentrate preoxidation tests were alkaline atmospheric oxidation, acidic atmospheric oxidation, acidic pressure oxidation, roasting oxidation?biooxidation. The cyanidation tests after the concentrate preoxidation have proved the gold extraction of the pressure oxidation to be the highest(92.5%) and that of roasting secondary(89.3%). After fuller techno-economic comparison, it is suggested that the flotation-pressure oxidation or roasting-CIL process should be the most optimal for treating the ore. The gold recoveries of the ore were 83% for the pressure oxidation and 80% for the roasting respectively.

Jan 1, 2014

By Shobha Kumari

Coal is the prime source of energy in India. It now contributes to about 55% of the total power generation and will continue to have its major share in the energy mix of the country in the foreseeable future. Thermal coals of India, known for their wide variations in nature and categorized as difficult to wash due to their typical mineral matter association with the organic matrix, need suitable beneficiation technique for quality upgrade for improving the overall economics, efficiency and pollution free power generation. A non-coking high-ash coal, collected from Vasundhara open cast mine of the Ib Valley Coalfield, Orissa, has been characterized along with its different fractions obtained in the process of beneficiation for distribution of minerals using FTIR, XRD and ash analysis. The raw coal was fractionated by size as well as by density. It has been observed that ash yields and mineralogical composition (found to be mainly kaolinite and quartz) have no appreciable change in different size fractions, indicating homogeneous distribution of minerals in the coal matrix. However, for the different density fractions the mineral composition and ash yield have significant variations. The quartz content of the beneficiated coal visualized with 34% ash yield, as mandated by the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MOEF) for the use of coal in power plants is reduced to half of that of the raw coal. As quartz is the most abrasive mineral in coal, reduction of its proportion obviously signifies considerable reduction of wear of power plant machinery when beneficiated coal is fed to utility boiler for generation of power. The composition of the major minerals quartz and kaolinite as determined, also favors formation of ash of refractory nature during combustion. Keywords: IB valley coal, beneficiation characteristics,

Sep 1, 2012

By T. Niedoba

The ash contents in coal particles were examined in the paper dependably on particle size and its density. So, the two-dimensional regressive function Z=Z(?, D) was the searched object, where Z is random variable describing ash contents, ? - density and D ? particle diameter. This dependence is determined basing on experimental data concerning the coal of type 31. For this coal, the method of ordinary kriging is applied to calculate the values of a random variable Z. This method requires the proper selection of so-called variogram function, which 4 forms are considered in this paper in purpose to select the best solution. The given results were then evaluated by the residual deviation value and so compared with empirical data.

Sep 1, 2012

By C. Han

The analytical results of Dagushan grinding workshop primary grinding operation product show that the size fraction of -0.079mm is 32.88%, the size fraction of -0.01mm is 9.97%, the rate of -0.01mm size fraction and -0.079mm size fraction is 30.32%. It means that there is too much -0.01mm size fraction in primary grinding operation product and fall out that there will not be a better result in following operations. Several tests have been carried out to control the size distributing of the primary grinding operation product according to confirm the appropriate conditions of grinding operation. Integrate with theoretic count, grinding property tests show that the appropriate rev ratio of ball mill should be between 85% and 90% so as to get better size distributing. Based on the results of grinding property tests, the shocking property tests simulated the momentum of different diameter steel balls in the ball mill have been carried out. It showed that if want to get better size distributing the appropriate diameter of steel ball should be 110mm. The tests result shows that regulate diameter of steel ball and rev ratio of ball mill could control the size distributing. Contrast to the technical parameters of ball mill in grinding operation now, there are some significant advices are given for practice and industrial tests.

Jan 1, 2014

By Indresan Govender

A continuum based granular flow model of charge motion that combines the inherent frictional nature of particles with its distinctly fluid-like structure is presented. Starting with Newton?s 2nd Law on a volume element of charge, we derive the velocity field in the bed free-surface and the rising en-masse region. Invoking flux conservation within the two regimes of interest then yields a (simple) differential equation for the free-surface of the charge body. Combining the velocity field gradients with a suitable constitutive choice for the shear stress completes the picture with a description of the in-situ rate of shear power dissipation in a tumbling mill ? a mechanistically correct account of power draw in a tumbling mill. Positron Emission Particle Tracking (PEPT) was used to measure the in-situ flow fields of the charge within opaque systems like tumbling mills. The accurate velocity and mass distribution derived from PEPT form the basis for direct verification of the resulting granular flow models. In this regard a wide range of milling conditions is investigated and presented in this paper.

Sep 1, 2012

By P. Prusti

An air dense medium fluidised bed separator (ADMFBS) is the efficient process for dry beneficiation of coal. Magnetite powder is used as medium to make required pseudo-fluid density in the fluidised bed. The dynamics behavior of coal particle with reference to its position changes from ideal solution to pseudo-fluid condition in different bed densities depending on its shape, size and density. In this study, three set of projected areas of coal particles were taken. Each set contains four different shapes i.e., cubical, rectangular prism, spherical and triangular prism with different density starting from 1.3 to 1.8 gm/cc. It is observed that coal particles having density less than the bed density, floats in different positions in the dense medium fluidised bed. Higher projected area particles float in deeper height in comparison with smaller projected area. The difference in position of coal particles in the bed increases (nearly 1 to 4 cm) as the coal density approaches towards bed density irrespective of the different shapes. Different shapes of coal particles behave in different ways based on the operating parameters like bed density, coal density and projected area of coal particle. Empirical model equations are proposed to predict the position of coal particle of each shape in the air dense medium fluidised bed system. Keywords: ADMFBS, particle dynamics, projected area, shape

Sep 1, 2012

By V. I. Ryaboy, V. P. Kretov, S. E. Levkovets, I. V. Ryaboy

"Using the flotation of a gold-containing ore from a deposit in Kazakhstan as an example, we have conducted a study designing dialkyldithiophosphate collectors, in addition to xanthates, for the flotation of hard-toenrich gold-containing ores to increase gold recovery.The increased flotational ability of the dialkyldithiophosphates was determined by their surface activity at the liquid-gas interface and their hydrophobic ability, the changing of which allowed us to control the collecting power and selective ability of the dialkyldithiophosphates. The studying of the surface activity of aqueous solutions was done using the stalagmometric method and the evaluation of the hydrophobic ability was done in percentage of the relative value of the zinc ion binding in the solution in standard conditions.Studying the influence of surface activity in our designed dialkyldithiophosphate collectors, with their close hydrophobic ability, showed that even with a small increase in surface activity in their aqueous solutions, gold recovery increased by 2-3% in laboratory conditions. Using this enabled us first to apply the dialkyldithiophosphate collector BTF-161 at a plant in Kazakhstan, and then to introduce the specially designed dialkyldithiophosphate collector BTF-163, which has been in use since. Further study of dialkyldithiophosphate activity based on this concept showed us that for the range of short-chain dialkyldithiophosphate collectors with a chain length of up to ?5, the effectiveness of ore processing became lower the higher their surface activity got, with relatively small differences in their hydrophobic ability. For long-chain dialkyldithiophosphates with a chain length of over ?5, ore processing effectiveness increased with the increase of their hydrophobic ability.Based on these studies, a new effective dialkyldithiophosphate collector, BTF-1517, was designed. Using this reagent in continuous gold recovery tests allowed us to reach an 84.21% recovery with a concentrate quality of 15.66 g/t, while using the applied collector BTF-163 in similar conditions led to the recovery of 82.87% with a concentrate quality of 15.65%. As a result, the Kazakhstan processing plant decided to conduct industrial tests with the BTF-1517 collector."

Jan 1, 2018

By G. Rajesh

Mathematical modeling of bioremediation has gained importance as it is used as an optimization tool for the remediation process involved in contaminated sites. The bioremediation of Cr(VI) has been studied taking into consideration the initial Cr(VI) concentration Cr(VI)ini, bacterial growth substrate concentration (S), maximum growth rate (µmax), yield coefficient (Y), half saturation constant (Ks), and inhibition constant (KI). As the enzymatic reaction is also affected by initial substrate concentration (Sini) and Ks, different ratios of (Ks/Sini) are analyzed. As the inhibition constant (KI) is not constant for all the enzyme reactions and it varies with Cr(VI)ini, the correlation between (KI) and Cr(VI)ini is developed. A set of differential equations pertaining to bioremediation of Cr(VI) has been solved using FORTRAN 90 program adopting the model developed. The results are verified with the experimental data from the literature and a good correlation has been obtained between the experimental data and the model predictions. Keywords: bioremediation, hexavalent chromium, mathematical model, inhibition kinetics

Sep 1, 2012

By T. Bhambhani, O. Yavuzkan, D. R. Nagaraj

"The recovery of oxide Cu minerals by flotation is a longstanding challenge in the minerals industry, especially for high acid-consuming ores which would not be economical for direct acid leaching. Sulfidization (often using controlled potential sulfidization or CPS) using NaSH (or Na2S) followed by flotation using traditional sulfide collectors is the widely used technique. CPS has certain limitations: a) inability to recover certain oxide Cu minerals because they are refractory to sulfidization, b) high consumption of NaSH (or Na2S), and c) potential health and safety hazards associated with NaSH (and Na2S). Flotation of oxide copper minerals using alkyl hydroxamate (AHX) collector has been studied extensively. Investigations using single minerals and laboratory ore flotation have been conducted in the past to demonstrate the efficacy of alkyl hydroxamates. The technology has been used intermittently in plants. One of the main challenges in plant use has been quantifying the true potential for alkyl hydroxamates for recovery of various oxide Cu species in complex and variable ore systems and identifying the most suitable conditions for optimal use. Quantitative mineralogical analysis using QEMSCAN was used in this study to characterize flotation products lab flotation samples. Analysis of concentrates and tails from hydroxamate flotation and CPS flotation stages demonstrated that certain oxide Cu minerals respond exclusively to alkyl hydroxamates and not to CPS. The hierarchy of interaction of AHX with the various oxide Cu minerals could be inferred from these studies. Finally, these studies also allowed quantification of a group of minerals species, which (erroneously) report as part of the Acid-Soluble Cu [ASCu] but cannot be recovered by flotation, thereby facilitating an estimation of the true recovery potential for alkyl hydroxamate.INTRODUCTIONCopper that is economically recoverable occurs in three major types of ores, which are defined by the modal mineralogy of Cu. For sulfide ores, Cu occurs as sulfide minerals and is satisfactorily recovered by flotation using sulfide collectors. Non-sulfide ores, which contain Cu in the form of oxides, phosphates, carbonates and silicates, described in the industry as “oxide” ores (or ores containing “acid-soluble” Cu or ASCu), are currently treated using hydrometallurgy, which involves leaching with dilute sulfuric acid followed by solvent extraction and electrowinning, unless the ores contain acid consuming gangue minerals such as dolomite. For mixed sulfide-oxide ores (i.e. containing both sulfide and oxide Cu minerals) that do not contain acid consuming gangue minerals, Cu values are easily recovered by flotation of sulfide Cu minerals followed by leaching of oxides (only when a leach plant is available). However, when the ore contains acid consuming gangue minerals flotation is required to recover both sulfide and oxide Cu minerals."

Jan 1, 2018