Method for recovering rubidium from gold ore preselected tailings through flotation

Abstract

The invention provides a method for flotation recovery of rubidium from gold ore preselection tailings, and belongs to the technical field of mineral processing. According to the method provided by the invention, gold ore pre-selected tailings are used as raw materials, the content of Rb2O is higher than 0.1%, the main rubidium-containing mineral is muscovite, firstly, the raw materials are ground until-0.074 mm ore accounts for 80%-90%, under the conditions that the ore pulp concentration is 25%-35% and the pH is 2-5, a combined collecting agent composed of dodecyl ether amine and potassium monoalkyl ether phosphate according to the mass ratio of (3-5): 1 is adopted for carrying out a flotation process of one-time roughing, two-time concentration and two-time scavenging, and the flotation process is completed. And the rubidium-containing muscovite concentrate is obtained. According to the method, rubidium resources are efficiently and economically recycled from the low-grade gold mine tailings, the process technology is reliable, and operation is easy; and the method has the characteristics of no pollution to the environment, low energy consumption, low investment and low treatment cost.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of mineral processing technology, and specifically relates to a method for recovering rubidium from gold mine pre-selection tailings by flotation. Background Technology

[0002] Rubidium is an important rare metal element with irreplaceable applications in high-tech fields such as atomic clocks, specialty glasses, and energy materials due to its excellent electronic activity and photoelectric effect. However, rubidium rarely forms independent deposits and is often dispersed as a by-product in other minerals, such as muscovite and feldspar, resulting in high extraction costs and difficulties.

[0003] In the beneficiation process of gold deposits, pre-selection processes such as gravity separation and flotation are often used to remove large amounts of tailings in order to enrich gold minerals. These pre-selection tailings typically contain gangue minerals such as quartz, muscovite, and feldspar. Among them, muscovite is the main rubidium-carrying mineral. Currently, most of these rubidium-rich muscovite tailings are piled up in tailings ponds, which not only occupy land and pose environmental risks, but also lead to a serious waste of rubidium resources.

[0004] In existing technologies, methods for extracting rubidium from minerals mainly focus on chemical leaching (such as acid leaching and alkaline leaching) or roasting-leaching processes. These methods, when processing low-grade tailings, suffer from environmental problems such as high reagent consumption, high energy consumption, complex process flows, and the generation of wastewater and waste residue, resulting in poor economic efficiency. Flotation, as a mature physicochemical separation method, has advantages such as low cost, high efficiency, and minimal environmental pollution. However, there are currently no reports of mature and efficient processes specifically designed for the characteristics of gold mine tailings pre-selection, using flotation to efficiently enrich rubidium (with muscovite as the carrier mineral) and separate it from impurities such as quartz.

[0005] Therefore, developing a targeted, low-cost, and environmentally friendly method for recovering rubidium from gold mine pre-selection tailings is of significant practical importance and economic value. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to provide a method for recovering rubidium from gold mine pre-selection tailings by flotation. This method successfully applies the synergistic flotation technology of anion-cation combined collectors to the recovery and utilization of rubidium resources in gold mine pre-selection tailings. At the same time, considering that rubidium in gold mine pre-selection tailings is mainly hosted in muscovite crystal lattice, this method effectively solves the problems of heavy environmental pollution and poor economic efficiency of existing rubidium extraction technologies, effectively improves the hydrophobicity of rubidium-loaded muscovite and the flotation recovery rate, and significantly improves the resource utilization rate.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a method for recovering rubidium from gold mine pre-selection tailings by flotation, comprising the following steps: taking gold mine pre-selection tailings as raw material, grinding them, and adjusting the pulp concentration after grinding; adding a pH adjuster and a combined collector to the pulp in sequence, and performing roughing to obtain rubidium-containing rough concentrate and roughing tailings; adding a pH adjuster and a combined collector to the roughing tailings in sequence and performing scavenging twice to obtain flotation tailings and two scavenging middlings; adding a pH adjuster and an inhibitor to the rubidium-containing rough concentrate and performing cleaning twice to obtain rubidium-containing muscovite concentrate and two cleaning middlings.

[0008] Furthermore, the Rb2O content in the gold mine pre-selection tailings is higher than 0.1%, the main rubidium-containing mineral is muscovite, and the gangue minerals are quartz, chlorite, etc.

[0009] Furthermore, the grinding fineness is -0.074 mm, accounting for 80% to 90% of the total mass, the grinding concentration is 50% to 65%, and the slurry concentration is 25% to 35%.

[0010] Furthermore, the pH adjuster is either sulfuric acid or hydrochloric acid, adjusted to a pH range of 2-5; the inhibitor is water glass; and the combined collector is composed of dodecyl ether amine and potassium monoalkyl ether phosphate in a mass ratio of (3-5):1.

[0011] Furthermore, the process conditions for the roughing selection are as follows: the combined collector dosage is 100g / t to 300g / t, stirring is performed for 2min to 4min, and the roughing selection time is 8min to 10min.

[0012] Furthermore, in the two scavenging processes, the middlings obtained from the first scavenging are returned to the roughing operation, and the middlings obtained from the second scavenging are returned to the first scavenging operation; wherein the scavenging process conditions are: the dosage of combined collector in the first scavenging is 50g / t~150g / t, the dosage of combined collector II in the second scavenging is 25g / t~75g / t, the stirring time is 2min~4min, and the scavenging time is 6min~8min.

[0013] Furthermore, in the two refining processes, the middlings obtained from the first refining are returned to the roughing operation, and the middlings obtained from the second refining are returned to the first refining operation; wherein the refining process conditions are: the amount of inhibitor used in the first refining is 100g / t~200g / t, the amount of inhibitor used in the second refining is 50g / t~100g / t, the stirring time is 2min~4min, and the refining time is 8min~10min.

[0014] Furthermore, in the selection process, a foaming agent is added, which is pine oil or polyethylene glycol ether, at a dosage of 10g / t to 50g / t.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0016] This invention addresses the characteristic that rubidium in gold mine pre-flotation tailings is primarily hosted in the muscovite lattice. Based on the differences in surface properties between muscovite and gangue minerals such as quartz, a novel synergistic flotation technique using a combination of cationic and anionic collectors has been developed. In this flotation reagent system, the cationic collector, dodecyl ether amine, selectively adsorbs onto structural vacancies on the {001} cleavage planes of muscovite via electrostatic interactions, forming a hydrophobic layer. The anionic collector, potassium monoalkyl ether phosphate, achieves adsorption through specific coordination of its phosphate groups with active aluminum sites in the edges and interlayer domains of muscovite. The two collectors form a stable adsorption layer on the muscovite surface through hydrophobic association, resulting in a significant synergistic enhancement effect, effectively improving the hydrophobicity of the rubidium-loaded muscovite and its flotation recovery rate. Furthermore, by precisely controlling the pulp pH and the amount of water glass inhibitor, the difference in floatability between muscovite and quartz can be further amplified, achieving highly selective separation and enrichment of the rubidium-loaded muscovite.

[0017] This invention successfully applies synergistic flotation technology using anion-cation combined collectors to the recovery and utilization of rubidium resources in gold mine pre-selection tailings. Compared with traditional chemical leaching processes, this technology has significant advantages such as simple process flow, low reagent consumption, low energy consumption, and environmental friendliness, effectively solving the problems of heavy environmental pollution and poor economic efficiency of existing rubidium extraction technologies. This technology not only provides a practical solution for the comprehensive recovery of rubidium resources in gold mine pre-selection tailings, but also significantly improves resource utilization and reduces the environmental pressure caused by tailings stockpiling, resulting in significant economic and environmental benefits. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a detailed process flow diagram of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0019] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and not to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications or equivalent substitutions can still be made to the specific implementation of the present invention. Any modifications or equivalent substitutions that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention should be covered within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0020] Example 1

[0021] A method for recovering rubidium from gold mine pre-selection tailings by flotation, such as Figure 1 As shown, it includes the following steps:

[0022] The tailings of a gold mine pre-processing project contain muscovite and quartz as the main minerals, and chlorite and feldspar as the minor minerals. Rubidium is mainly found in the muscovite, with Rb2O content of 0.113%, SiO2 content of 59.10%, and Al2O3 content of 19.18%.

[0023] Add 5g of potassium monoalkyl ether phosphate to 500mL of deionized water and stir until completely dissolved. Then slowly add 20g of dodecyl ether amine and continue stirring for 30min. Keep the solution temperature at 60℃ during the mixing process to obtain the combined collector.

[0024] Take an appropriate amount of ore sample and grind it to -0.074 mm, accounting for 85% of the total mass. The grinding concentration is 50%. The slurry after grinding is transported to a mixing tank, and an appropriate amount of water is added to adjust the slurry concentration to 30%.

[0025] Add hydrochloric acid to the slurry to adjust the pH to 3, add 300 g / t of combined collector, stir for 3 min, rough for 9 min, and obtain rubidium-containing rough concentrate and flotation tailings;

[0026] Add 150 g / t of combined collector to the flotation tailings, stir for 3 min, and perform scavenging I for 6 min to obtain scavenging I concentrate and scavenging I tailings. The scavenging I tailings are returned to the scavenging operation. Add 75 g / t of combined collector to the scavenging I concentrate, stir for 3 min, and perform scavenging II for 6 min to obtain scavenging II concentrate and tailings. The scavenging II tailings are returned to the scavenging I operation.

[0027] Add 150 g / t of water glass to the rubidium-containing crude concentrate, stir for 3 min, and perform fine selection I for 8 min to obtain fine selection I concentrate and fine selection I tailings. The fine selection I tailings are returned to the scavenging operation. Add 75 g / t of water glass to the fine selection I concentrate, stir for 3 min, and perform fine selection II for 8 min to obtain rubidium-containing muscovite concentrate and fine selection II tailings. The fine selection II tailings are returned to the fine selection I operation.

[0028] The Rb₂O content in the rubidium-bearing muscovite concentrate is 0.181%, with a recovery rate of 77.28%.

[0029] Example 2

[0030] A method for recovering rubidium from gold mine pre-selection tailings by flotation includes the following steps:

[0031] The ore sample used was the same as in Example 1. The ore was ground to -0.074 mm, accounting for 80% of the total mass. The grinding concentration was 55%, and the concentration of the ore pulp fed into the flotation was 30%.

[0032] The combined collector used in this embodiment is composed of dodecyl ether amine and potassium salt of monoalkyl ether phosphate in a mass ratio of 5:1.

[0033] Add hydrochloric acid to the slurry to adjust the pH to 2, add 200 g / t of combined collector, stir for 2 min, rough for 8 min, and obtain rubidium-containing rough concentrate and flotation tailings;

[0034] Add 100g / t of combined collector to the flotation tailings, stir for 2min, and perform scavenging I for 6min to obtain scavenging I concentrate and scavenging I tailings. The scavenging I tailings are returned to the scavenging operation. Add 50g / t of combined collector to the scavenging I concentrate, stir for 2min, and perform scavenging II for 6min to obtain scavenging II concentrate and tailings. The scavenging II tailings are returned to the scavenging I operation.

[0035] Add 100 g / t of water glass to the rubidium-containing crude concentrate, stir for 2 min, and perform fine selection I for 8 min to obtain fine selection I concentrate and fine selection I tailings. The fine selection I tailings are returned to the scavenging operation. Add 20 g / t of water glass to the fine selection I concentrate, stir for 2 min, and perform fine selection II for 8 min to obtain rubidium-containing muscovite concentrate and fine selection II tailings. The fine selection II tailings are returned to the fine selection I operation.

[0036] The Rb₂O content in the rubidium-bearing muscovite concentrate is 0.176%, and the recovery rate is 68.92%.

[0037] Example 3

[0038] A method for recovering rubidium from gold mine pre-selection tailings by flotation includes the following steps:

[0039] The tailings from a gold mine pre-processing project contain muscovite as the main mineral, with quartz, chlorite, feldspar, and other minor minerals. Rubidium is mainly found in the muscovite, with Rb₂O content of 0.124%, SiO₂ content of 48.05%, Al₂O₃ content of 38.42%, and K₂O content of 10.24%.

[0040] The specific steps in this embodiment are the same as in Embodiment 2. The Rb2O content in the rubidium-containing muscovite concentrate obtained is 0.216%, and the recovery rate is 73.57%.

[0041] Example 4

[0042] A method for recovering rubidium from gold mine pre-selection tailings by flotation includes the following steps:

[0043] The tailings of a gold mine pre-processing ore contain muscovite as the main mineral, and quartz, chlorite, feldspar and other minor minerals as minor minerals. Rubidium is mainly found in the muscovite, with an Rb2O content of 0.106%.

[0044] Add 5g of potassium monoalkyl ether phosphate to 500mL of deionized water and stir until completely dissolved. Then slowly add 15g of dodecyl ether amine and continue stirring for 30min. Keep the solution temperature at 60℃ during the mixing process to obtain the combined collector.

[0045] Take an appropriate amount of ore sample and grind it to -0.074 mm, accounting for 85% of the total mass. The grinding concentration is 60%. The slurry after grinding is transported to a mixing tank, and an appropriate amount of water is added to adjust the slurry concentration to 30%.

[0046] Add hydrochloric acid to the slurry to adjust the pH to 4, add 250 g / t of combined collector, stir for 3 min, rough for 10 min, and obtain rubidium-containing rough concentrate and flotation tailings;

[0047] Add 100g / t of combined collector to the flotation tailings, stir for 3min, and perform scavenging I for 8min to obtain scavenging I concentrate and scavenging I tailings. The scavenging I tailings are returned to the scavenging operation. Add 50g / t of combined collector to the scavenging I concentrate, stir for 3min, and perform scavenging II for 8min to obtain scavenging II concentrate and tailings. The scavenging II tailings are returned to the scavenging I operation.

[0048] Add 200 g / t of water glass and 40 g / t of pine oil to the rubidium-containing crude concentrate, stir for 3 min, and perform fine selection I for 8 min to obtain fine selection I concentrate and fine selection I tailings. The fine selection I tailings are returned to the scavenging operation. Add 100 g / t of water glass and 20 g / t of pine oil to the fine selection I concentrate, stir for 3 min, and perform fine selection II for 8 min to obtain rubidium-containing muscovite concentrate and fine selection II tailings. The fine selection II tailings are returned to the fine selection I operation.

[0049] The Rb₂O content in the rubidium-bearing muscovite concentrate is 0.173%, with a recovery rate of 80.35%.

[0050] Example 5

[0051] A method for recovering rubidium from gold mine pre-selection tailings by flotation includes the following steps:

[0052] The mineral sample and combined collector used in this embodiment are the same as those in Example 4. An appropriate amount of mineral sample is ground to -0.074 mm, accounting for 90% of the total mass, with a grinding concentration of 60%. The slurry after grinding is transported to a mixing tank, and an appropriate amount of water is added to adjust the slurry concentration to 30%.

[0053] Add hydrochloric acid to the slurry to adjust the pH to 5, add 250 g / t of combined collector, stir for 3 min, rough for 10 min, and obtain rubidium-containing rough concentrate and flotation tailings;

[0054] Add 100g / t of combined collector to the flotation tailings, stir for 3min, and perform scavenging I for 8min to obtain scavenging I concentrate and scavenging I tailings. The scavenging I tailings are returned to the scavenging operation. Add 50g / t of combined collector to the scavenging I concentrate, stir for 3min, and perform scavenging II for 8min to obtain scavenging II concentrate and tailings. The scavenging II tailings are returned to the scavenging I operation.

[0055] Add 200 g / t of water glass and 30 g / t of polyethylene glycol ether to the rubidium-containing crude concentrate, stir for 3 min, and perform fine selection I for 8 min to obtain fine selection I concentrate and fine selection I tailings. The fine selection I tailings are returned to the scavenging operation. Add 100 g / t of water glass and 15 g / t of polyethylene glycol ether to the fine selection I concentrate, stir for 3 min, and perform fine selection II for 8 min to obtain rubidium-containing muscovite concentrate and fine selection II tailings. The fine selection II tailings are returned to the fine selection I operation.

[0056] The Rb₂O content in the rubidium-bearing muscovite concentrate is 0.166%, and the recovery rate is 70.80%.

[0057] Example 6

[0058] A method for recovering rubidium from gold mine pre-selection tailings by flotation includes the following steps:

[0059] The tailings of a gold mine pre-processing project contain muscovite and quartz as the main minerals, feldspar as the minor mineral, and rubidium mainly in the muscovite. The ore contains 0.125% Rb2O, 55.10% SiO2, 24.51% Al2O3, and 5.31% K2O.

[0060] Add 5g of potassium monoalkyl ether phosphate to 500mL of deionized water and stir until completely dissolved. Then slowly add 15g of dodecyl ether amine and continue stirring for 30min. Keep the solution temperature at 60℃ during the mixing process to obtain the combined collector.

[0061] Take an appropriate amount of ore sample and grind it to -0.074 mm, accounting for 80% of the total mass. The grinding concentration is 60%. The slurry after grinding is transported to a mixing tank, and an appropriate amount of water is added to adjust the slurry concentration to 30%.

[0062] Add hydrochloric acid to the slurry to adjust the pH to 3, add 250 g / t of combined collector, stir for 3 min, rough for 8 min, and obtain rubidium-containing rough concentrate and flotation tailings;

[0063] Add 150 g / t of combined collector to the flotation tailings, stir for 3 min, and perform scavenging I for 8 min to obtain scavenging I concentrate and scavenging I tailings. The scavenging I tailings are returned to the scavenging operation. Add 75 g / t of combined collector to the scavenging I concentrate, stir for 3 min, and perform scavenging II for 8 min to obtain scavenging II concentrate and tailings. The scavenging II tailings are returned to the scavenging I operation.

[0064] Add 200 g / t of water glass to the rubidium-containing crude concentrate, stir for 3 min, and perform fine selection I for 8 min to obtain fine selection I concentrate and fine selection I tailings. The fine selection I tailings are returned to the scavenging operation. Add 100 g / t of water glass to the fine selection I concentrate, stir for 3 min, and perform fine selection II for 8 min to obtain rubidium-containing muscovite concentrate and fine selection II tailings. The fine selection II tailings are returned to the fine selection I operation.

[0065] The Rb₂O content in the rubidium-bearing muscovite concentrate is 0.164%, with a recovery rate of 67.43%.

[0066] Example 7

[0067] A method for recovering rubidium from gold mine pre-selection tailings by flotation includes the following steps:

[0068] The mineral sample used in this embodiment is the same as that in Example 6;

[0069] Add 5g of potassium monoalkyl ether phosphate to 500mL of deionized water and stir until completely dissolved. Then slowly add 15g of dodecyl ether amine and continue stirring for 30min. Keep the solution temperature at 60℃ during the mixing process to obtain the combined collector.

[0070] Take an appropriate amount of ore sample and grind it to -0.074 mm, accounting for 80% of the total mass. The grinding concentration is 60%. The slurry after grinding is transported to a mixing tank, and an appropriate amount of water is added to adjust the slurry concentration to 30%.

[0071] Add hydrochloric acid to the slurry to adjust the pH to 4, add 100 g / t of combined collector, stir for 3 min, rough for 8 min, and obtain rubidium-containing rough concentrate and flotation tailings;

[0072] Add 50 g / t of combined collector to the flotation tailings, stir for 3 min, and perform scavenging I for 6 min to obtain scavenging I concentrate and scavenging I tailings. The scavenging I tailings are returned to the scavenging operation. Add 25 g / t of combined collector to the scavenging I concentrate, stir for 3 min, and perform scavenging II for 6 min to obtain scavenging II concentrate and tailings. The scavenging II tailings are returned to the scavenging I operation.

[0073] Add 100 g / t of water glass and 20 g / t of pine oil to the rubidium-containing crude concentrate, stir for 3 min, and perform fine selection I for 8 min to obtain fine selection I concentrate and fine selection I tailings. The fine selection I tailings are returned to the scavenging operation. Add 50 g / t of water glass and 10 g / t of pine oil to the fine selection I concentrate, stir for 3 min, and perform fine selection II for 8 min to obtain rubidium-containing muscovite concentrate and fine selection II tailings. The fine selection II tailings are returned to the fine selection I operation.

[0074] The Rb₂O content in the rubidium-bearing muscovite concentrate is 0.178%, and the recovery rate is 70.51%.

Claims

1. A process for the recovery of rubidium by flotation from pre-concentration tailings of gold mines, characterized by, The method comprises the following steps: The gold mine preselected tailings are taken as raw materials to carry out grinding, and the pulp concentration is adjusted after grinding; the pH adjusting agent and the combined collector are added into the pulp in sequence to carry out roughing to obtain a rough concentrate containing rubidium and a roughing tailings; the roughing tailings are added with the pH adjusting agent and the combined collector in sequence to carry out two times of scavenging to obtain a flotation tailings and two scavenging middlings; the rough concentrate containing rubidium is added with the pH adjusting agent and the depressant to carry out two times of cleaning to obtain a rubidium-containing muscovite concentrate and two cleaning middlings.

2. A process for the recovery of rubidium by flotation from pre-concentration tailings of gold mines according to claim 1, characterized in that, The Rb2O content in the gold mine preselected tailings is higher than 0.1%, the main rubidium-containing mineral is muscovite, and the gangue minerals are quartz and chlorite.

3. A process for the recovery of rubidium by flotation from pre-concentration tailings of gold mines according to claim 1, characterized in that, The grinding fineness is 80%-90% of the total mass of -0.074 mm, the grinding concentration is 50%-65%, and the pulp concentration is 25%-35%.

4. A process for the recovery of rubidium by flotation from pre-concentration tailings of gold mines according to claim 1, characterized in that, The pH adjusting agent is one of sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid, and the pH is adjusted to 2-5; the depressant is water glass; and the combined collector is composed of dodecyl ether amine and monoalkyl ether phosphate potassium salt at a mass ratio of (3-5):

1.

5. A process for the recovery of rubidium by flotation from pre-concentration tailings of gold mines according to claim 1, characterized in that, The roughing process conditions are as follows: the combined collector dosage is 100 g / t-300 g / t, the stirring time is 2 min-4 min, and the roughing time is 8 min-10 min.

6. A process for the recovery of rubidium by flotation from pre-concentration tailings of gold mines as claimed in claim 1 wherein, The middlings obtained in the first scavenging are returned to the roughing operation, and the middlings obtained in the second scavenging are returned to the first scavenging; The process conditions for the two times of scavenging are as follows: the combined collector dosage in the first scavenging is 50 g / t-150 g / t, the combined collector dosage in the second scavenging is 25 g / t-75 g / t, the stirring time is 2 min-4 min, and the scavenging time is 6 min-8 min.

7. A process for the recovery of rubidium by flotation from pre-concentration tailings of gold mines according to claim 1, characterized in that, The middlings obtained in the first cleaning are returned to the roughing operation, and the middlings obtained in the second cleaning are returned to the first cleaning; the process conditions for the two times of cleaning are as follows: the depressant dosage in the first cleaning is 100 g / t-200 g / t, the depressant dosage in the second cleaning is 50 g / t-100 g / t, the stirring time is 2 min-4 min, and the cleaning time is 8 min-10 min.

8. A process for the recovery of rubidium by flotation from pre-concentration tailings of gold mines according to claim 1, characterized in that, In the cleaning operation, a frother is added, the frother is pine oil or polyethylene glycol ether, and the dosage is 10 g / t-50 g / t.

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