Beneficiation method for preconcentration of copper cobalt oxide ore

Abstract

The invention discloses a beneficiation method for pre-enrichment of copper cobalt oxide ores, and particularly relates to the technical field of beneficiation of copper cobalt oxide of low-grade and high-calcium magnesium minerals. The beneficiation step of copper oxide cobalt ore pre-enrichment comprises the steps that copper oxide cobalt ore is crushed to-60 mm; three particle fractions of-60 + 10 mm,-10 + 0.5 mm and-0.5 mm are screened out; carrying out photoelectric separation on a sample with the size fraction of-60 + 10 mm to obtain copper cobalt oxide concentrate I and tailings; carrying out dense medium separation on the sample with the size fraction of-10 + 0.5 mm to obtain copper cobalt oxide concentrate II and tailings; carrying out magnetic separation on a sample with the particle size of-0.5 mm to obtain copper oxide cobalt concentrate III and tailings; and all concentrates are combined, and copper cobalt oxide ore pre-enrichment is completed. According to the method, the copper cobalt oxide ore can be pre-enriched, a large amount of tailings can be discarded, the follow-up selected copper cobalt grade and the selected ore quantity are greatly improved, the cost is reduced, the efficiency is improved, meanwhile, most carbonate ore is discarded, the use amount of acid in the leaching operation process can be remarkably reduced, and the sorting cost is saved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of mineral processing technology for low-grade, high-calcium-magnesium copper-cobalt oxide minerals, specifically relating to a mineral processing method for pre-enrichment of copper-cobalt oxide ore. Background Technology

[0002] Copper-cobalt oxide ore recovery typically employs flotation or leaching processes. However, flotation suffers from low recovery rates due to severe ore oxidation and weathering, high mud content, and complex mineral distribution. Direct leaching, on the other hand, is hampered by high calcium and magnesium mineral content in the gangue, leading to high acid consumption and increased extraction costs. Furthermore, the low Cu and Co content in the ore and high mining and transportation costs result in the underutilization of low-grade copper-cobalt oxide resources, leading to resource waste. Therefore, finding a pre-enrichment and beneficiation process for copper-cobalt oxide ore that can remove large amounts of gangue minerals, reduce transportation costs, and improve the grade of subsequent feedstock is of great significance. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this invention is to provide a beneficiation method for pre-enriching copper-cobalt oxide ore. The method involves crushing and screening the copper-cobalt oxide ore, then performing beneficiation on the different grades using a combined process of photoelectric separation, heavy media separation, and magnetic separation to obtain pre-enriched copper-cobalt oxide concentrate and tailings.

[0004] This invention removes gangue minerals that have dissociated from copper-cobalt minerals before grinding, thereby improving the grade of copper-cobalt in the beneficiation process. Simultaneously, it coarsens the tailings particle size, achieving both reduction and resource recovery of fine-grained tailings. This invention solves the problem of efficient enrichment of fine and micro-fine-grained copper-cobalt minerals, ensuring the efficient recovery of copper-cobalt resources.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution: One of the technical solutions of this invention is to provide a beneficiation method for pre-enriching copper-cobalt oxide ore, comprising the following steps: The copper-cobalt oxide ore was crushed to -60 mm; it was then screened into three particle sizes: -60+10 mm, -10+0.5 mm, and -0.5 mm. For the -60+10 mm particle size sample, photoelectric separation was used to obtain copper-cobalt oxide concentrate I and tailings. For the -10+0.5 mm particle size sample, heavy media separation was used to obtain copper-cobalt oxide concentrate II and tailings. For the -0.5 mm particle size sample, magnetic separation was used to obtain copper-cobalt oxide concentrate III and tailings. The copper-cobalt oxide concentrate I, copper-cobalt oxide concentrate II, and copper-cobalt oxide concentrate III were combined to complete the pre-enrichment of copper-cobalt oxide ore.

[0006] This invention, based on the characteristics of copper-cobalt oxide ore, fully utilizes the liberation, intergrowth, specific gravity, and magnetic differences of minerals in different particle sizes to classify and separate copper-cobalt minerals from gangue minerals. For coarse-grained minerals, photoelectric separation (utilizing the difference in X-ray absorption rates between ore and waste rock) is used to remove gangue minerals that have already been liberated from the copper-cobalt minerals. These gangue minerals are coarse in size and can be used for construction sand. For medium- and fine-grained minerals, the specific gravity difference between copper-cobalt minerals and gangue minerals is fully utilized, and a heavy medium hydrocyclone beneficiation method is used to enrich copper-cobalt minerals. The tailings can be used for construction sand. For fine and micro-fine-grained copper-cobalt minerals, the close intergrowth of copper-cobalt minerals with iron minerals is utilized. Magnetic separation is used to recover iron minerals while simultaneously separating copper-cobalt minerals from other gangue minerals, allowing for targeted enrichment and recovery, thereby further improving the copper-cobalt recovery rate.

[0007] The flowchart of the beneficiation method for pre-enriching copper-cobalt oxide ore of the present invention is shown below. Figure 1 .

[0008] Preferably, the power of the photoelectric source is 200-500W and the detector resolution is 0.8-1.6mm.

[0009] Preferably, the specific gravity of the sorting medium in the heavy medium selection is 1.7–2.0 g / cm³. 3 .

[0010] More preferably, the sorting medium is a suspension containing magnetic substances.

[0011] Alternatively, the magnetic material used may be strongly magnetic ferrosilicon powder.

[0012] Preferably, the magnetic field strength of the magnetic separation is 0.3T to 2.0T.

[0013] The beneficial technical effects of the present invention are as follows: This invention achieves precise separation of copper-cobalt ore from gangue through screening and grading of crushed copper-cobalt ore products, employing appropriate beneficiation methods for samples of different particle sizes. For samples with a particle size of -60 to +10 mm, photoelectric separation is used to remove large tailings, and this portion of gangue can be used for construction sand. For samples with a particle size of -10 to +0.5 mm, heavy medium cyclones are used to remove tailings, utilizing the difference in mineral specific gravity; this portion of gangue can also be used for construction sand. For samples with a particle size of -0.5 mm, the close intergrowth of copper-cobalt ore and magnetic iron minerals is fully utilized, and magnetic separation is used to enrich copper-cobalt ore by enriching the magnetic iron minerals. Ultimately, this pre-enrichment of copper-cobalt ore and removal of a large amount of tailings significantly improves the grade and quantity of copper-cobalt ore fed into the beneficiation process, reducing costs and increasing efficiency. Simultaneously, the removal of most carbonate ore significantly reduces acid usage during leaching, saving beneficiation costs, ensuring smooth production, and realizing the utilization of low-grade copper-cobalt ore resources. The pre-enrichment method provided by this invention can further reduce the lower limit of copper and cobalt grade in mined ore, increase the effective ore content and copper and cobalt metal content, and achieve the function of increasing reserves. Attached Figure Description

[0014] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of the beneficiation method for pre-enriching copper-cobalt oxide ore according to the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0015] Various exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail. This detailed description should not be considered as a limitation of the present invention, but rather as a more detailed description of certain aspects, features, and embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood that the terminology used in this invention is merely for describing particular embodiments and is not intended to limit the present invention.

[0016] It should be noted that any aspects not described in detail in this invention are conventional practices in the field and are not the focus of this invention.

[0017] Furthermore, regarding the numerical ranges in this invention, it should be understood that each intermediate value between the upper and lower limits of the range is also specifically disclosed. Any stated value or intermediate value within a stated range, as well as each smaller range between any other stated value or intermediate value within said range, are also included in this invention. The upper and lower limits of these smaller ranges may be independently included or excluded from the range.

[0018] Unless otherwise stated, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. While only preferred methods and materials have been described herein, any methods and materials similar to or equivalent to those described herein may be used in the implementation or testing of this invention.

[0019] The terms “include,” “including,” “have,” “contain,” etc., used in this article are all open-ended terms, meaning that they include but are not limited to.

[0020] This invention provides the following technical solution for the pre-enrichment of copper-cobalt oxide concentrate in low-grade, high-calcium-magnesium copper-cobalt oxide ores.

[0021] A beneficiation method for pre-enriching copper-cobalt oxide ore includes the following steps: The copper-cobalt oxide ore was crushed to -60 mm; it was then screened into three particle sizes: -60+10 mm, -10+0.5 mm, and -0.5 mm. For the -60+10 mm particle size sample, photoelectric separation was used to obtain copper-cobalt oxide concentrate I and tailings. For the -10+0.5 mm particle size sample, heavy media separation was used to obtain copper-cobalt oxide concentrate II and tailings. For the -0.5 mm particle size sample, magnetic separation was used to obtain copper-cobalt oxide concentrate III and tailings. The copper-cobalt oxide concentrate I, copper-cobalt oxide concentrate II, and copper-cobalt oxide concentrate III were combined to complete the pre-enrichment of copper-cobalt oxide ore.

[0022] The photoelectric selector has a radiation source power of 200–500 W and a detector resolution of 0.8–1.6 mm; the heavy medium selector has a specific gravity of 1.7–2.0 g / cm³. 3 The heavy medium is ferrosilicon powder. The magnetic field strength of the magnetic separation is 0.3 to 1.9 T.

[0023] To achieve the above technical solution, the present invention provides the following embodiments: Example 1 Pre-enrichment of copper-cobalt oxide ores: The copper-cobalt oxide ore used is the SOK2 satellite mine in the Seville mine of the Democratic Republic of Congo, located approximately 25 kilometers west of the Kinsevere mine. It is a strongly oxidized copper-cobalt polymetallic ore with copper and cobalt grades of 1.41% and 0.29%, respectively. The copper minerals in the ore are primarily azurite, followed by malachite, chalcopyrite, and chalcocite; cobalt minerals include cobaltite and cobaltite; the iron minerals are mainly limonite, with occasional hematite; the gangue minerals are predominantly quartz, followed by chlorite, mica, and talc. To save on transportation costs and improve the grade of subsequent leaching feedstock, the feasibility of pre-treatment (tailings removal) before transporting the ore to the leaching plant, without increasing the grinding process, was investigated to improve the copper and cobalt grades.

[0024] The ore was first crushed to -60mm and then classified into three particle sizes: -60+10mm, -10+0.5mm, and -0.5mm. The -60+10mm sample was pre-selected using photoelectric separation for tailings removal. The photoelectric separator had a 300W X-ray source and a 1.2mm detector resolution. When the photoelectric separation concentrate yield was 40.32%, the Cu and Co grades were 3.97% and 0.321%, respectively, with Cu and Co recoveries of 91.65% and 78.89%, respectively. The tailings yield was 59.68%. The -10+0.5mm sample was pre-selected using heavy media separation for tailings removal. Ferrosilicon powder was used as the magnetic material, and the specific gravity of the separation medium was 1.93 g / cm³. 3 At that time, the pre-selection concentrate yield was 25.41%, with Cu and Co grades of 5.09% and 0.56%, respectively, and Cu and Co recovery rates of 79.40% and 51.04%, respectively. The tailings yield of heavy media pre-selection reached 74.59%. For the -0.5mm particle size sample, the strong magnetic separation pre-selection process was used to remove tailings. The strong magnetic separation magnetic field strength was 1.9T, which made full use of the close intergrowth relationship between copper-cobalt minerals and iron minerals. The strong magnetic separation pre-selection concentrate yield was 34.31%, with Cu and Co grades of 2.15% and 0.61%, respectively, and Cu and Co recovery rates of 58.48% and 59.72%, respectively. The tailings yield of strong magnetic separation reached 65.69%.

[0025] The raw ore sample was subjected to a combined process of crushing, screening and grading, photoelectric separation, heavy media separation and strong magnetic separation. The final pre-selected copper-cobalt concentrate yield was 31.07%, with Cu and Co grades of 3.75% and 0.49%, respectively, and Cu and Co recovery rates of 78.28% and 57.81%, respectively. The tailings that were removed before entering the mill had a yield of 68.93%, which significantly improved the grade of copper and cobalt in the beneficiation and saved transportation costs.

[0026] The embodiments described above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Various modifications and improvements made by those skilled in the art to the technical solutions of the present invention without departing from the spirit of the present invention should fall within the protection scope defined by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A beneficiation method for pre-enriching copper-cobalt oxide ore, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: The copper-cobalt oxide ore was crushed to -60 mm; it was then screened into three particle sizes: -60+10 mm, -10+0.5 mm, and -0.5 mm. For the -60+10 mm particle size sample, photoelectric separation was used to obtain copper-cobalt oxide concentrate I and tailings. For the -10+0.5 mm particle size sample, heavy media separation was used to obtain copper-cobalt oxide concentrate II and tailings. For the -0.5 mm particle size sample, magnetic separation was used to obtain copper-cobalt oxide concentrate III and tailings. The copper-cobalt oxide concentrate I, copper-cobalt oxide concentrate II, and copper-cobalt oxide concentrate III were combined to complete the pre-enrichment of copper-cobalt oxide ore.

2. The beneficiation method for pre-enriching copper-cobalt oxide ore according to claim 1, characterized in that, The power of the X-ray source of the photoelectric selector is 200-500W, and the detector resolution is 0.8-1.6mm.

3. The beneficiation method for pre-enriching copper-cobalt oxide ore according to claim 1, characterized in that, The specific gravity of the sorting medium in the heavy medium separation is 1.7–2.0 g / cm³. 3 .

4. The beneficiation method for pre-enriching copper-cobalt oxide ore according to claim 3, characterized in that, The sorting medium is a suspension containing magnetic substances.

5. The beneficiation method for pre-enriching copper-cobalt oxide ore according to claim 1, characterized in that, The magnetic field strength of the magnetic separation is 0.3 to 2.0 T.

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