A Comprehensive Recovery and Utilization Process for Copper, Gold, and Sulfur in Mineral Processing Tailings

Abstract

A process for the comprehensive recovery and utilization of copper, gold, and sulfur from beneficiation tailings. After the raw materials are ground by the 1# mill, copper, gold, and part of sulfur are flotated in the bulk flotation to produce the bulk flotation concentrate and tailings. The bulk flotation concentrate is processed to produce the desulfurized concentrate and desulfurized tailings I, II, and III. The desulfurized concentrate is fed into the 2# mill for regrinding to produce copper concentrate and gold concentrate I; the desulfurized tailings II and III are combined and fed into the 3# mill for regrinding to produce gold concentrate II and sulfur concentrate I. The bulk flotation tailings produce sulfur concentrate II. Gold concentrate I and gold concentrate II are combined as the final gold concentrate, and sulfur concentrate I and sulfur concentrate II are combined as the final sulfur concentrate. The present invention solves the problems of difficult recovery of beneficiation tailings containing copper, gold, and sulfur, poor product quality, and low recovery rate, and provides technical support for the comprehensive utilization of such secondary resources.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of comprehensive utilization of secondary resources, and specifically to a process for comprehensively recovering and utilizing copper, gold, and sulfur in beneficiation tailings. Background Art

[0002] Tailings from the previous beneficiation production of some mines contain a large amount of minerals such as copper, gold, and sulfur. On the one hand, their long-term storage in the tailings pond occupies land and pollutes the environment. With the increasingly strict environmental protection requirements, their maintenance costs have become a burden on enterprises. On the other hand, with the shortage of resources, the progress of beneficiation technology, and the recovery of the metal price market, they have high recycling value and economic benefits. Therefore, researching and developing the comprehensive utilization of tailings secondary resources is of great significance for alleviating resource pressure, reducing environmental risks, and improving enterprise efficiency.

[0003] At present, the comprehensive utilization of tailings resources faces the problem of great potential but difficult development. Due to their low ore grade and complex ore properties, they face problems such as poor product quality, low recovery rate, low economic benefits, and difficulty in formulating development and utilization product plans. Therefore, it is very important to overcome difficulties, solve problems, and develop a process plan for the comprehensive utilization of tailings resources. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a process for comprehensively recovering and utilizing copper, gold, and sulfur in beneficiation tailings in view of the shortcomings and deficiencies of the prior art. While obtaining the comprehensive utilization of tailings resources by using this process, better product plans and recovery indexes can be obtained.

[0005] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a process for comprehensively recovering and utilizing copper, gold, and sulfur in beneficiation tailings, which is characterized by including the following steps: (1) After the raw materials are ground by a No. 1 mill, a pH adjuster is added, and copper, gold, and part of sulfur are floated by bulk flotation to produce a bulk flotation rough concentrate and a bulk flotation rough tailing; (2) The bulk flotation rough concentrate obtained in step (1) is added with an inhibitor for three-stage desulfurization cleaning. After desulfurization cleaning, the tailing I is returned to the No. 1 mill for grinding, and a desulfurization cleaning concentrate, a desulfurization cleaning II, and a tailing III are produced; (3) The desulfurization cleaning concentrate obtained in step (2) is fed into a No. 2 mill for regrinding, and an inhibitor is added for copper roughing, cleaning, and scavenging to obtain a copper cleaning tailing and a copper scavenging concentrate, which are returned to the No. 2 mill, and a copper concentrate and a gold concentrate I are produced; (4) The desulfurization cleaning II and the tailing III obtained in step (2) are combined and fed into a No. 3 mill for regrinding, and a collector is added for gold roughing, cleaning, and scavenging to obtain a gold cleaning tailing and a scavenging concentrate, which are returned to the No. 3 mill for grinding, and a gold concentrate II and a sulfur concentrate I are produced; (5) The bulk flotation rough tailing obtained in step (1) is added with an activator and a collector-foaming agent for sulfur re-election. After one-stage roughing and one-stage cleaning, the sulfur cleaning tailing is returned to the sulfur roughing, and a sulfur concentrate II is produced.

[0006] In the technical solution for the comprehensive recovery and utilization of copper, gold, and sulfur in the beneficiation tailings of the present invention, the further preferred technical solution features are as follows:

[0007] 1. In the copper separation process after the regrinding of the No. 2 mill in step (3), the number of copper cleaning operations is 1 - 3 times, and the number of copper scavenging operations is 1 - 2 times;

[0008] 2. In the copper separation process after the regrinding of the No. 2 mill in step (3), the number of copper cleaning operations is 2 times, and the number of copper scavenging operations is 2 times;

[0009] 3. The copper concentrate obtained in step (3) is the final copper concentrate; the gold concentrate I obtained in step (3) and the gold concentrate II obtained in step (4) are combined as the final gold concentrate; the sulfur concentrate I obtained in step (4) and the sulfur concentrate II obtained in step (5) are combined as the final sulfur concentrate;

[0010] 4. In the gold separation process after the regrinding of the No. 3 mill in step (4), the number of gold cleaning operations is 1 - 3 times, and the number of gold scavenging operations is 1 - 2 times;

[0011] 5. In the gold separation process after the regrinding of the No. 3 mill in step (4), the number of gold cleaning operations is 2 times, and the number of gold scavenging operations is 2 times.

[0012] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0013] (1) By adopting stage grinding - stage separation, a flotation - separation - regrinding - separation - sulfur separation process for copper, gold, and sulfur, etc., copper, gold, and sulfur are effectively separated and enriched to produce copper concentrate, gold concentrate, and sulfur concentrate.

[0014] (2) Through this process, the problems of difficult recovery, poor product quality, and low recovery rate of beneficiation tailings containing copper, gold, and sulfur are solved; the present invention adopts a process flow of stage grinding - stage separation, flotation - separation - regrinding - separation - sulfur separation for copper, gold, and sulfur, etc., and finally produces three valuable products, namely copper concentrate, gold concentrate, and sulfur concentrate, providing technical support for the comprehensive utilization of such secondary resources. Specific Embodiments

[0015] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be described clearly and completely below. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all of them. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0016] Example 1. A process for comprehensive recovery and utilization of copper, gold, and sulfur from beneficiation tailings includes the following steps: (1) After the raw materials are ground by a #1 mill, a pH adjuster is added, and copper, gold, and part of sulfur are floated by bulk flotation to produce a bulk flotation rougher concentrate and a bulk flotation rougher tailings; (2) The bulk flotation rougher concentrate obtained in step (1) is added with an inhibitor for three-stage desulfurization cleaning. After desulfurization cleaning, the tailings I are returned to the #1 mill for grinding, and a desulfurization cleaning concentrate, desulfurization cleaning II, and tailings III are produced; (3) The desulfurization cleaning concentrate obtained in step (2) is fed into a #2 mill for regrinding, an inhibitor is added, and copper is rougher-selected, cleaned, and scavenged to obtain a copper cleaning tailings and a copper scavenging concentrate, which are returned to the #2 mill, and a copper concentrate and a gold concentrate I are produced; (4) The desulfurization cleaning II and tailings III obtained in step (2) are combined and fed into a #3 mill for regrinding, a collector is added, and gold is rougher-selected, cleaned, and scavenged to obtain a gold cleaning tailings and a scavenging concentrate, which are returned to the #3 mill for grinding, and a gold concentrate II and a sulfur concentrate I are produced; (5) The bulk flotation rougher tailings obtained in step (1) are added with an activator and a collector-foaming agent for re-selection of sulfur. After one-stage rougher flotation and one-stage cleaning, the sulfur cleaning tailings are returned to the sulfur rougher flotation, and a sulfur concentrate II is produced. The gold concentrate I obtained in step (3) and the gold concentrate II obtained in step (4) meet the high-quality sulfur concentrate standard requirements. Different from the sulfur concentrate, the gold concentrate is a high-sulfur mineral product highly enriched in gold. In step (1), the pH adjuster includes sodium carbonate, collector-foaming agent Z-200, butyl xanthate, ammonium butyl dithiophosphate, and No. 2 oil; in step (3), the inhibitor includes lime and sodium sulfide; in step (4), the collector is ammonium butyl dithiophosphate; in step (5), the activator is copper sulfate, and the collector-foaming agent includes butyl xanthate and No. 2 oil.

[0017] Example 2. In the process for comprehensive recovery and utilization of copper, gold, and sulfur from beneficiation tailings according to Example 1, in the copper cleaning process after regrinding by the #2 mill in step (3), the number of copper cleaning times is 1 - 3 times, and the number of copper scavenging times is 1 - 2 times.

[0018] Example 3. In the process for comprehensive recovery and utilization of copper, gold, and sulfur from beneficiation tailings according to Example 1 or 2, in the copper cleaning process after regrinding by the #2 mill in step (3), the number of copper cleaning times is 2 times, and the number of copper scavenging times is 2 times.

[0019] Example 4. In the process for comprehensive recovery and utilization of copper, gold, and sulfur from beneficiation tailings according to any one of Examples 1 - 3, the copper concentrate obtained in step (3) is the final copper concentrate; the gold concentrate I obtained in step (3) and the gold concentrate II obtained in step (4) are combined as the final gold concentrate; the sulfur concentrate I obtained in step (4) and the sulfur concentrate II obtained in step (5) are combined as the final sulfur concentrate.

[0020] Example 5. In a comprehensive recovery process of copper, gold and sulfur from beneficiation tailings according to any one of Examples 1-4, the number of gold cleaning operations in the gold separation process after re-grinding by the 3# mill in step (4) is 1-3 times, and the number of gold scavenging operations is 1-2 times.

[0021] Example 6. In a comprehensive recovery process of copper, gold and sulfur from beneficiation tailings according to any one of Examples 1-5, the number of gold cleaning operations in the gold separation process after re-grinding by the 3# mill in step (4) is 2 times, and the number of gold scavenging operations is 2 times.

[0022] Example 7. Treating copper-containing tailings from a certain mine tailings pond with a copper grade of 0.18%, a gold grade of 0.33 g / t, and a sulfur grade of 14.56%:

[0023] Step 1: Grind the raw materials in a 1# mill to a fineness of -0.074 mm 85%, add 1000 g / t of pH adjuster sodium carbonate, 15 g / t of collector and foaming agent Z-200, 30 g / t of butyl xanthate, 20 g / t of ammonium dibutyl dithiophosphate, and 15 g / t of No. 2 oil. Float copper, gold and part of sulfur by equal-float roughing to produce equal-float roughing concentrate and roughing tailings.

[0024] Step 2: Add inhibitor lime to the equal-float roughing concentrate obtained in Step 1 for three times of desulfurization cleaning. The lime dosages for the three times of desulfurization cleaning are 1000 g / t, 500 g / t and 300 g / t in sequence. Among them, the tailings of desulfurization cleaning I are returned to the 1# mill for grinding, and desulfurization cleaning concentrate, desulfurization cleaning II and III tailings are produced.

[0025] Step 3: Feed the desulfurization cleaning concentrate obtained in Step 2 into a 2# mill for re-grinding to a fineness of -0.037 mm 80%. Add 200 g / t of inhibitor lime and 300 g / t of sodium sulfide for copper roughing, producing copper rough concentrate and copper separation tailings. The copper rough concentrate is subjected to two times of blank cleaning to produce copper concentrate. The copper separation tailings are subjected to one time of copper scavenging to produce gold concentrate I. The copper separation cleaning tailings and scavenging concentrate are returned to the 2# mill for grinding;

[0026] Step 4: Combine the desulfurization cleaning II and III tailings obtained in Step 2 and feed them into a 3# mill for grinding. Add 10 g / t of collector and foaming agent ammonium dibutyl dithiophosphate for gold roughing, obtaining gold roughing concentrate and tailings. The gold roughing concentrate is subjected to one time of cleaning to produce gold concentrate II. The gold roughing tailings are subjected to one time of scavenging to produce sulfur concentrate I. The gold cleaning tailings and scavenging concentrate are returned to the 3# mill for grinding.

[0027] Step 5: Add 300 g / t of activator copper sulfate, 150 g / t of collector and foaming agent butyl xanthate, and 30 g / t of No. 2 oil to the equal-float tailings obtained in Step 1 for sulfur roughing, producing sulfur rough concentrate and tailings. The sulfur rough concentrate is subjected to one time of blank cleaning to produce sulfur concentrate II. The cleaning tailings are returned to sulfur roughing, and the sulfur separation tailings are directly used as final tailings.

[0028] Combine the gold concentrate I and gold concentrate II obtained in Steps 3 and 4 as the final gold concentrate. Combine the sulfur concentrate I and sulfur concentrate II obtained in Steps 4 and 5 as the final sulfur concentrate. Finally, three valuable products, namely copper concentrate, gold concentrate, and sulfur concentrate, are obtained.

[0029] In this embodiment, the raw material has a copper grade of 0.18%, a gold grade of 0.33 g / t, and a sulfur grade of 14.56%. Through the present invention, a copper concentrate with a copper grade of 18.46% and a recovery rate of 65.74% is obtained, a gold grade of 5.52 g / t, and a gold recovery rate of 11.37%; the gold concentrate contains 14.39 g / t of gold, a recovery rate of 58.42%, a sulfur grade of 45.10%, and a sulfur recovery rate of 4.15%; the sulfur concentrate has a sulfur grade of 41.26% and a recovery rate of 86.95%. The overall gold recovery rate is 69.79%, and the overall sulfur recovery rate is 91.10%.

[0030] Example 8: Treat the copper tailings from a certain mine tailings pond with a copper grade of 0.22%, a gold grade of 0.41 g / t, and a sulfur grade of 12.48%:

[0031] Step 1: Grind the raw material in a No. 1 mill to a fineness of -0.074 mm 82%, add 500 g / t of lime as a pH adjuster, 15 g / t of collector and foaming agent ester - 622, 20 g / t of isopentyl xanthate, 25 g / t of aniline dithiophosphate, and 15 g / t of No. 2 oil, and conduct bulk flotation to float copper, gold, and part of sulfur to produce a bulk flotation concentrate and a rougher tailings.

[0032] Step 2: Add sodium humate as an inhibitor to the rougher concentrate obtained in Step 1 for three - stage desulfurization cleaning. The dosages of sodium humate for the three - stage desulfurization cleaning are 1000 g / t, 600 g / t, and 400 g / t in sequence. Among them, the tailings from the first - stage desulfurization cleaning are returned to the No. 1 mill for grinding, and a desulfurization cleaning concentrate, and the tailings from the second - stage and third - stage desulfurization cleaning are produced.

[0033] Step 3: Feed the desulfurization cleaning concentrate obtained in Step 2 into a No. 2 mill for re - grinding to a fineness of -0.044 mm 86%, add 300 g / t of sodium humate as an inhibitor for copper rougher flotation, produce a copper rougher concentrate and copper flotation tailings. The copper rougher concentrate undergoes one - stage blank cleaning to produce a copper concentrate, and the copper flotation tailings undergo one - stage copper flotation scavenging to produce gold concentrate I. The copper flotation cleaning tailings and scavenging concentrates are returned to the No. 2 mill for grinding;

[0034] Step 4: Combine the tailings from the second - stage and third - stage desulfurization cleaning obtained in Step 2, feed them into a No. 3 mill for grinding, add 15 g / t of aniline dithiophosphate as a collector and foaming agent for gold rougher flotation, obtain a gold rougher concentrate and tailings. The gold rougher concentrate undergoes one - stage cleaning to produce gold concentrate II, and the gold rougher tailings undergo one - stage scavenging to produce sulfur concentrate I. The gold cleaning tailings and scavenging concentrates are returned to the No. 3 mill for grinding.

[0035] Step 5: Add 5000 g / t of activator sulfuric acid, 180 g / t of collector and frother isopentyl xanthate, and 40 g / t of No. 2 oil to the floating tailings obtained in Step 1 for rough sulfur flotation to produce rough sulfur concentrate and tailings. The rough sulfur concentrate is subjected to one blank cleaning to produce sulfur concentrate II, and the cleaning tailings are returned to the rough sulfur flotation. The sulfur flotation tailings are directly used as the final tailings.

[0036] Combine the gold concentrate I and gold concentrate II obtained in Steps 3 and 4 as the final gold concentrate. Combine the sulfur concentrate I and sulfur concentrate II obtained in Steps 4 and 5 as the final sulfur concentrate.

[0037] In this example, the raw material grade is 0.22%, the gold grade is 0.41 g / t, and the sulfur grade is 12.48%. Through the present invention, copper concentrate with a copper grade of 16.72% and a recovery rate of 69.69%, gold concentrate with a gold grade of 10.56 g / t and a gold recovery rate of 21.58% are obtained; the gold concentrate contains 8.92 g / t of gold and has a recovery rate of 50.81%, the sulfur grade is 44.34%, and the sulfur recovery rate is 8.30%; the sulfur concentrate has a sulfur grade of 42.18% and a recovery rate of 80.88%. The comprehensive gold recovery rate is 72.39%, and the comprehensive sulfur recovery rate is 89.18%.

[0038] Example 9: Treat the copper tailings with a copper grade of 0.13%, a gold grade of 0.26 g / t, and a sulfur grade of 8.59% from a certain mine tailings pond:

[0039] Step 1: Grind the raw material to a fineness of -0.074 mm 80% by a No. 1 mill, and add 1500 g / t of pH adjuster sodium bicarbonate, 25 g / t of collector and frother ester 105, 20 g / t of No. 25 black medicine, 20 g / t of ethyl thionocarbazide, and 15 g / t of MIBC for rough flotation of copper, gold, and part of sulfur to float and produce rough flotation concentrate and rough flotation tailings.

[0040] Step 2: Add inhibitor calcium hypochlorite to the rough flotation concentrate obtained in Step 1 for three times of desulfurization cleaning. The dosages of calcium hypochlorite for the three times of desulfurization cleaning are 300 g / t, 100 g / t, and 50 g / t in sequence. Among them, the tailings of the first desulfurization cleaning are returned to the No. 1 mill for grinding to produce desulfurization cleaning concentrate and the tailings of the second and third desulfurization cleanings.

[0041] Step 3: Feed the desulfurization cleaning concentrate obtained in Step 2 into a No. 2 mill for regrinding to a fineness of -0.037 mm 90%, and add 200 g / t of inhibitor lime and 100 g / t of activated carbon for rough copper flotation to produce copper rough concentrate and copper flotation tailings. The copper rough concentrate is subjected to two blank cleanings to produce copper concentrate, and the copper flotation tailings are subjected to one copper flotation scavenging to produce gold concentrate I. The copper flotation cleaning tailings and scavenging concentrate are returned to the No. 2 mill for grinding;

[0042] Step 4: Combine the desulfurized and concentrated tailings II and III obtained in Step 2 and feed them into the No. 3 mill for grinding to 85% passing -0.037 mm. Add 15 g / t of No. 25 black medicine as the collector and frother for rough gold separation to obtain rough gold separation concentrate and tailings. The rough gold separation concentrate is further concentrated once to produce gold concentrate II, and the rough gold separation tailings are scavenged once to produce sulfur concentrate I. The gold separation tailings and scavenged concentrate are returned to the No. 3 mill for grinding.

[0043] Step 5: Add 1000 g / t of ammonium bicarbonate as the activator, 120 g / t of ethyl thionocarbamate as the collector and frother, and 50 g / t of No. 2 oil to the bulk flotation tailings obtained in Step 1 for rough sulfur separation to produce rough sulfur separation concentrate and tailings. The rough sulfur separation concentrate is concentrated once without adding reagents to produce sulfur concentrate II, and the concentrated tailings are returned to the rough sulfur separation. The rough sulfur separation tailings are directly used as the final tailings.

[0044] Combine gold concentrate I and gold concentrate II obtained in Step 3 and Step 4 as the final gold concentrate. Combine sulfur concentrate I and sulfur concentrate II obtained in Step 4 and Step 5 as the final sulfur concentrate.

[0045] In this embodiment, the raw material has a copper grade of 0.13%, a gold grade of 0.26 g / t, and a sulfur grade of 8.59%. Through the present invention, copper concentrate with a copper grade of 13.83% and a recovery rate of 63.48%, gold concentrate with a gold grade of 8.52 g / t and a gold recovery rate of 19.55%, and sulfur concentrate with a sulfur grade of 42.62% and a recovery rate of 83.78% are obtained. The overall gold recovery rate is 63.94%, and the overall sulfur recovery rate is 90.63%.

[0046] The above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention patent, but the protection scope of the present invention patent is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art within the scope disclosed by the present invention patent, according to the technical solution and inventive concept of the present invention patent, makes equivalent substitutions or changes, and all belong to the protection scope of the present invention patent.

Claims

1. A comprehensive recovery process for copper, gold, and sulfur in beneficiation tailings, characterized in that, It includes the following steps: (1) After the raw materials are ground by the 1# mill, a pH regulator is added, and copper, gold and part of sulfur are flotated by equal-float roughing, and the equal-float roughing concentrate and the equal-float roughing tailings are produced; (2) The equal-float roughing concentrate obtained in step (1) is added with an inhibitor for three times of desulfurization cleaning. After desulfurization cleaning, the tailings I are returned to the 1# mill for grinding, and the desulfurization cleaning concentrate, the desulfurization cleaning concentrate II and the tailings III are produced; (3) The desulfurization cleaning concentrate obtained in step (2) is fed into the 2# mill for regrinding, an inhibitor is added, and through copper roughing, cleaning and scavenging, copper cleaning tailings and copper scavenging concentrate are obtained and returned to the 2# mill, and copper concentrate and gold concentrate I are produced; (4) The desulfurization cleaning concentrate II and the tailings III obtained in step (2) are combined and fed into the 3# mill for regrinding, a collector is added, and gold is selected through roughing, cleaning and scavenging, and gold cleaning tailings and scavenging concentrate are obtained and returned to the 3# mill for grinding, and gold concentrate II and sulfur concentrate I are produced; (5) The equal-float roughing tailings obtained in step (1) are added with an activator and a collector frother for re-selecting sulfur. Through one-time roughing and one-time cleaning, the sulfur cleaning tailings are returned to the sulfur roughing, and sulfur concentrate II is produced.

2. The comprehensive recovery and utilization process of copper, gold, and sulfur in ore dressing tailings according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the copper selection process after the regrinding of the 2# mill in step (3), the number of copper cleaning times is 1-3 times, and the number of copper scavenging times is 1-2 times.

3. The comprehensive recovery and utilization process of copper, gold, and sulfur in ore dressing tailings according to claim 2, characterized in that: In the copper selection process after the regrinding of the 2# mill in step (3), the number of copper cleaning times is 2 times, and the number of copper scavenging times is 2 times.

4. A comprehensive recovery and utilization process for copper, gold, and sulfur in beneficiation tailings according to claim 1, characterized in that: The copper concentrate obtained in step (3) is the final copper concentrate; the gold concentrate I obtained in step (3) and the gold concentrate II obtained in step (4) are combined as the final gold concentrate; the sulfur concentrate I obtained in step (4) and the sulfur concentrate II obtained in step (5) are combined as the final sulfur concentrate.

5. A comprehensive recovery and utilization process for copper, gold, and sulfur in beneficiation tailings according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the gold selection process after the regrinding of the 3# mill in step (4), the number of gold cleaning times is 1-3 times, and the number of gold scavenging times is 1-2 times.

6. The comprehensive recovery and utilization process of copper, gold, and sulfur in ore dressing tailings according to claim 5, characterized in that: In the gold selection process after the regrinding of the 3# mill in step (4), the number of gold cleaning times is 2 times, and the number of gold scavenging times is 2 times.