The flotation behavior of chalcopyrite in the presence of bentonite in salt water containing Na+ and K+

Abstract

In this study, the different effects of Na+ and K+ in salt water on chalcopyrite flotation in the presence of bentonite were understood. Generally, decreasing the yield stress of bentonite at high salt concentration facilitated the separation between chalcopyrite and bentonite. Moreover, K+ was superior to Na+ to reduce the yield stress, but both copper recovery and grade were lower. Under the same concentration of Na+ and K+, there was little difference in either mass-water recovery or bentonite recovery. The lower copper recovery and grade was related with the glue-like structure of bentonite in KCl solution which could stick or entangle with the adjacent chalcopyrite. The modification of bentonite morphology was due to the interaction between potassium ions and bentonite. The results in this study provide an insight into surface morphology in chalcopyrite-bentonite flotation when using monovalent cations, especially for K+.