Copper Sulfide Ore Flotation with Magnesium Silicate Rejection
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Solution Overview
Problem
The presence of magnesium-containing silicate minerals and pyrites in copper sulfide ores complicates the flotation process, leading to reduced copper concentrate grades due to their hydrophobicity, floatability, and mechanical inclusion, as well as the difficulty in separating copper and sulfur.
Innovation Solution
A beneficiation method involving pretreatment, rough selection, copper-molybdenum/sulfur separation, and copper concentrate grade improvement, utilizing specific reagents and grinding stages to enhance the separation efficiency and reduce impurity content.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional flotation is used on magnesium-containing copper sulfide ore, then copper concentrate is obtained, but the grade is reduced due to magnesium-containing silicate minerals and pyrites
Solution Approach 1:
The flotation process is divided into multiple stages: rough selection to obtain crude mixed concentrate, copper-molybdenum/sulfur separation to remove pyrites, and copper concentrate grade improvement to achieve high-grade product. Each stage targets specific impurities systematically
Solution Approach 2:
Pyrites are extracted and removed in the copper-molybdenum/sulfur separation stage through selective flotation with specific reagents, separating sulfur from copper while maintaining copper concentrate grade
Solution Approach 3:
pH is adjusted to 9-10 in the copper-molybdenum/sulfur separation stage to optimize the flotation conditions for removing pyrites and magnesium-containing silicates, improving copper concentrate grade
2Manufacturing precision
If magnesium-containing silicate minerals are present, then natural floatability is achieved, but mechanical inclusion and hydrophobicity reduce concentrate grade
Solution Approach 1:
Specific reagents are introduced as intermediaries: magnesium-containing silicate inhibitor to reduce hydrophobicity of silicates, and selective collecting agents to differentiate between copper sulfide and pyrites, enabling grade improvement
Solution Approach 2:
pH adjustment to 9-10 changes the surface properties of minerals, reducing the hydrophobicity of magnesium-containing silicates and improving their distinguishability from copper sulfide during flotation
3Manufacturing precision
If pyrites are present, then excellent floatability is achieved, but copper-sulfur separation becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The separation process is segmented into distinct stages: rough selection, copper-molybdenum/sulfur separation for pyrite removal, and grade improvement. This systematic approach simplifies the complex copper-sulfur separation
Solution Approach 2:
Selective collecting agents act as intermediaries that differentiate between copper sulfide and pyrites based on their different surface properties, enabling effective separation despite both having good floatability
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method significantly improves the copper concentrate grade by up to 5-6%, maintaining a stable recovery rate, by using a magnesium-containing silicate inhibitor and selective collecting agents to minimize impurity effects.
Implementation Method 1
grinding a raw ore and adjusting a pH to 8.5 to 10 to obtain a material a, where a fineness degree achieved by the grinding allows 55% to 65% of particles to pass through a 0.074 mm sieve
Implementation Method 2
adding a collecting agent and diesel oil and stirring for 2 min to 4 min; adding a foaming agent and stirring for 1 min to 3 min; and conducting aeration and foam scraping for 3 min to 5 min to obtain a flotation foam product
Implementation Method 3
grinding a raw ore and adjusting a pH to 8.5 to 10 to obtain a material a
Implementation Method 4
Magnesium-containing silicate minerals such as tale, serpentine, and chlorite[2] and pyrites will greatly affect a grade of a copper concentrate. It is difficult to inhibit magnesium-containing silicate minerals such as talc, serpentine, and chlorite due to their strong hydrophobicity and excellent natural floatability
Implementation Method 5
which affects the adsorption of a collecting agent for the mineral
Implementation Method 6
adding a foaming agent and stirring for 1 min to 3 min; and conducting aeration and foam scraping for 3 min to 5 min to obtain a flotation foam product
Data Source
AI summary
A beneficiation method for improving a grade of a magnesium-containing copper sulfide ore concentrate includes: crushing and grinding an ore to a fineness degree allowing 55% to 65% of particles to pass through a 0.074 mm sieve, adding an adjusting agent lime, collecting agents butylxanthate and kerosene, and a foaming agent methyl isobutyl carbinol (MIBC) to obtain a copper-molybdenum-sulfur mixed concentrate; re-grinding the copper-molybdenum-sulfur mixed concentrate to a fineness degree allowing 75% to 82% of particles to pass through a 0.048 mm sieve, adding lime, a magnesium-containing silicate inhibitor, a collecting agent 1, and MIBC to obtain a copper-molybdenum mixed concentrate; and adding sodium sulfide, kerosene, and MIBC to the copper-molybdenum mixed concentrate to obtain a high-grade copper concentrate. The beneficiation method adopts mixed flotation of copper-molybdenum, regrinding for separating copper and molybdenum from sulfur, and magnesium removal from a copper concentrate to allow quality improvement for the copper concentrate.