Agglomeration-Flotation of Finely Ground Chalcopyrite and Quartz: Effects of Agitation Strength during Agglomeration Using Emulsified Oil on Chalcopyrite

Vothy Hornn,Sanghee Jeon,Mayumi Ito,Carlito Baltazar Tabelin,Hiromasa Shimada,Ilhwan Park,Naoki Hiroyoshi

doi:10.3390/min10040380

Abstract

In flotation, the size of mineral particles is one of the most important parameters: when the size becomes fine, collision efficiency of the particles and air bubbles becomes low, causing low flotation recovery. To improve the collision efficiency and flotation kinetics, agglomeration using the emulsified oil of finely ground chalcopyrite (D50 = 3.5 μm) was carried out before flotation. In this study, the effects of agitation strength during agglomeration, kerosene dosage and potassium amyl xanthate (KAX) dosage on the flotation were investigated. Agglomeration using emulsified oil improved Cu recovery because the median diameter of agglomerate increased. With increasing agitation strength, KAX and kerosene dosages, Cu recovery was further increased. Agglomeration-flotation of a mixture containing chalcopyrite and quartz with 1:1 ratio (w/w, weight by weight) showed that Si recovery in froth was low and did not change with varying conditions (agitation strength, KAX and kerosene dosages); however, Cu recovery was significantly improved with increasing agitation strength, KAX and kerosene dosages, and thus the separation efficiency was improved.

Highlights

Sulfide ores, the main sources of base metals worldwide, are commonly processed by flotation to concentrate the valuable minerals and remove associated gangue minerals
Agitation strength is an important factor for agglomeration of hydrophobic particles using oil as a bridging liquid [27]
The attraction force is determined by hydrophobic interaction between hydrophobic surfaces and the capillary force of the bridging liquid between particle and particle; that is, the former is improved by the addition of kerosene dosage and potassium amyl xanthate (KAX) while the latter is affected by the size of oil droplets attached to the surface of particles

Summary

Introduction

The main sources of base metals worldwide, are commonly processed by flotation to concentrate the valuable minerals and remove associated gangue minerals. Approaches aiming at reducing bubble size include column flotation [2,3], electro-flotation [4], microbubble flotation [5,6,7,8,9], and dissolved air flotation [10]. These techniques may result in entrainment of gangue minerals due to high water recovery [10,11]. Approach (ii)—increasing the apparent size of particles—includes shear flocculation [12], carrier flotation [13,14], polymer flocculation [15,16,17] and oil agglomeration [18,19,20]

Methods

Results

Conclusion