As one of the most important ore minerals, mineral processing workers carried out a detailed study of various kinds of copper and copper polymetallic ore, especially for the study of low grade copper ore by a large amount of work, and achieved a number of scientific and technological achievements. With the shortage of copper resources, copper enterprises improve the utilization of copper resources through technological innovation, and improve the economic efficiency of enterprises. Although the flotation technology of copper is more mature, the research work is more active. Specific performance in large-scale processing equipment, in order to further reduce energy consumption; copper ore grade, improve the utilization rate of resources; improve the recovery rate of copper and associated metal, reduce the production cost; with high efficiency and low toxicity of flotation reagents, reduce environmental pollution; process optimization etc..

Copper ore dressing method, copper ore dressing technology, copper ore dressing process flow:

In the grinding stage, the principle of "more crushing and less grinding" is used to develop and select the high efficiency and energy saving process and equipment. Through the use of energy-efficient new equipment in the grinding process are also made corresponding improvement: reasonable crushing, grinding fineness, adjust the grinding operation time, mill speed adjustment, grinding medium proportion, steel ball, use the new material of the liner, grinding agent development and application etc.. According to the characteristics of the ore, the grinding process flow structure was optimized, and the stage grinding and grinding were carried out to improve the qualified rate of the particle size. Further strengthen the research of process mineralogy, which plays an important role in the improvement of mineral processing technology. Based on the process of traditional processing, according to the properties of the copper sulfide ore and the particle size distribution characteristics of continuous adjustment of grinding and flotation process, is to improve the grade of copper concentrate, recovery rate and reduce the production cost of the main method of ore dressing plant, the effect is most obvious. In order to further improve the concentrate grade and recovery rate of copper, a new technology of rapid flotation was introduced. According to the changing nature of the ore in recent years, with the step-by-step preferential flotation of copper middlings regrinding, lime pulping, alkalinity roughing, high alkalinity selection process, at the same time as the comprehensive recovery of associated gold and silver and sulfur separation by creating favorable conditions. Or according to the high sulfur copper ore of sulfur in the floatability of varied characteristics, and can be optimized by flotation combined float, obtain separate middlings regrinding separation process with qualified copper concentrate. At the same time, for refractory copper ore containing high arsenic and high oxidation rate, complicated occurrence state, the process of stage grinding, coarse concentrate regrinding, a fine tail regrinding, with sodium sulfide as precipitation agent, inhibitor of arsenic as sodium thiosulfate and ammonium chloride combination, the successful implementation of the separation of copper and arsenic and has achieved good separation indexes. In order to fully recover the copper in associated metal gold and silver and sulfur, solve the loss of gold and silver, sulfur past high calcium conditions, low alkali, alkaline copper sulfur separation technology has made great progress. Due to the physical and chemical properties, surface properties and the complexity of structure and structure of the oxidized copper ore, the flotation process becomes more complicated.

Treatment of oxidized copper ore is mainly using flotation method, including sulfide flotation collector, direct flotation of fatty acid collector collector method of amine collector. Generally, flotation of Malachite oxide fatty acids collector direct flotation method is suitable for simple, high grade of gangue; flotation of copper oxide mineral amine collectors direct flotation method is suitable for containing zinc oxide. Compared with the sulfide flotation of oxidized copper ore, the latter two are less used. Sulfide flotation of copper oxide minerals has good selectivity, which is the most widely used method for flotation of copper oxide minerals. The copper polymetallic ore deposits are often difficult to separate due to their complex mineral composition, diverse physical and chemical properties, comprehensive recovery of metal minerals, and small differences in floatability between different metals. The flotation research of this kind of ore mostly concentrates on the separation of copper and lead and zinc. Most of the copper and zinc lead flotation or copper lead mixed flotation, only a small number of copper and zinc mixed flotation.

Flotation reagent of copper ore:

Recently some preferential flotation processes have been developed. In the field of chemical research, the flotation collectors of copper sulfide ores are two aspects of improving the ability of collecting and improving the selectivity. Has a good selectivity and strong solid2avid for copper sulfide minerals flotation agent of iron sulfide minerals, can achieve low alkalinity copper sulfur flotation separation, to maximize the comprehensive recovery of copper sulfide ore of copper, gold, silver, sulfur and other beneficial elements. Xanthate as the main copper sulfide flotation collector, with other selective collector combination agent. Black medicine is an important collector of sulfide ores. Dithiocarbamate is the third most important collector. Other common collectors such as: xanthate formic ester can be mixed flotation of sulfide minerals in acidic and neutral pulp; mercaptobenzothiazole in acidic medium flotation of gold ore, or with other collectors mixed mixed flotation of sulfide minerals in neutral medium; two (thiol mercaptan and sulfide reaction products) sometimes used as auxiliary the collector, in order to enhance the hydrophobicity of mineral surface. Two thiophosphite than black powder collecting ability, sometimes put it when the Yellow medicine, but the selectivity is better; three thiocarbonate collecting ability than xanthate in neutral pulp, its low dosage ratio of xanthate. The copper grade is more than 2%, 105 by ester collector and terpineol oil foaming agent, copper sulfur separation effect is good. A collector flotation of copper sulfide ore flotation model: new xanthates are mainly Y - 89 series; new drug class black collector developed by American CYTEC company and two single alkyl thiophosphate and single thio phosphonate represented; new sulfur nitrogen with two dithiocarbamate - carbonyl and ester two dithiocarbamate - carbonyl ethyl ester, the collector of strong copper, pyrite and sphalerite without activation of the collector is weak, can be used for the separation of copper and sulfur flotation, the flotation index is higher than that of butyl xanthate.

The single metal ore flotation principle flow: the selection of the single metal ore flotation principle flow, mainly depends on the mineral particle size. More generally for uneven disseminated, due to the different useful minerals and gangue hardness, easy to mud, influence the recovery rate, making flowsheet principle is to make useful mineral by roughing and scavenging crude concentrate and middlings regrinding, then, for useful mineral dissemination are not qualified to produce concentrate in the coarse grinding conditions, roughing tailings Regrinding or coarse concentrate regrinding, and second kinds of qualified concentrate. To deal with complex uneven disseminated ore, the ore disseminated unevenly, intergrowth dissociation of a wide range, sometimes with three stage grinding three section of another election process. To deal with a large number of native mud and soluble salt ore, and ore beneficiation process because the mud is not the same, mud and sand separation process for general use.

Polymetallic ore flotation process: the principle of flotation of polymetallic ore refers to two kinds of beneficial mineral or metal ore flotation flowsheet is generally preferred flotation, then mixed flotation flotation separation and priority, with mixed flotation flowsheet. For example, the lead and zinc ores have the priority flotation and the mixed flotation of lead and zinc in the lead and zinc ores, and then the mixed concentrate can be obtained by regrinding (or no grinding). And as the multi metal ore of copper, lead and zinc, iron sulfide, the flotation process is generally the first priority of copper lead flotation for separation of copper and lead, copper and lead to preferential flotation tailings of zinc, sulfur and zinc mixed flotation separation of sulfur or in flotation zinc and sulfur zinc concentrate, sulfur concentrate. Some minerals can be used for the flotation of minerals, the selective collector is used to select the partially dissociated minerals, and then the mixed flotation, separation flotation. Whether or not the grinding process in the process, depending on the situation of mineral dissociation.

The advantages and disadvantages of the selective flotation and the mixed flotation are as follows: (1) the mixed flotation grinding fineness is more direct than the direct flotation, which can save the grinding cost. (2) the amount of flotation machine for mixed flotation is less than that of the first flotation, and the flotation reagent can save more.

Schematic diagram of copper ore dressing process: