Efficient Utilization of Copper Sulfide Ore in Chile by Flotation

Abstract

The valuable minerals of a copper sulfide ore in Chile, mainly consist of chalcopyrite and chalcocite as well as contain small amounts of cuprite. Gangue minerals are mainly chlorite, quartz, calcite, arsenopyrite, etc. Most are coarse-grained disseminated minerals, while some are fine-grained disseminated minerals. Flotation has been used for processing these ores. The grinding fineness, lime dosage, collector type and dosage all have influences on flotation results. In the present work, the best condition of grinding fineness, lime, and collector dosage was used to separate the copper sulfide and other minerals in the ores. The results showed that, in the grinding fineness of −74 μm accounting for 80%, the vast majority of copper minerals were to monomer dissociation. The flowsheet of one stage roughing, two stage scavenging, and two stage cleaning was adopted. The ideal results of 27.58% and 96.89% for the copper concentrate grade and copper recovery, respectively, were obtained.