Strengthening the flotation recovery of silver using a special ceramic-medium stirred mill

Abstract

Strengthening the flotation recovery of silver by fine grinding with special ceramic-medium stirred mill (SCSM), steel ball-medium stirred mill (SBSM) and ball mill (BM) were investigated, respectively. Grinding with SCSM exhibited better performance in terms of Ag recovery, which was approximately 2% higher than those obtained by grinding with SBSM and BM. The reduction of iron ions produced during grinding with SCSM was conducive to the recovery of silver minerals. Additionally, it was found that high liberation degree of silver minerals from gangue minerals was achieved by grinding with SCSM, and this is mainly attributable to good flow characteristics of ceramic medium. The liberation degree of silver minerals in the grinding products was as high as 77.33% after using SCSM to grind the ore to 85% passing 74 μm, suggesting that most silver minerals in the ore have been liberated. The Ag content and Ag recovery of the silver concentrates were basically the same in the cases of grinding with SBSM and BM. SCSM showed considerable potential in fine grinding of non-ferrous and noble metal ores.