Optional copper oxide ore

First, the main copper oxide minerals floatability

The most common copper oxide minerals are malachite and azurite, followed by chrysocolla and cuprite, and sometimes copper sulfate and other soluble salts.

(a) Malachite CuCO ₃ ·Cu(OH) ₂

After pre-vulcanization, the copper oxide mineral can be floated by a flotation sulfide ore collector (such as xanthate); without pre-vulcanization, it can also be used with xanthate of not less than 5-6 carbons. Flotation at high dosages.

Malachite can also be captured by fatty acids (such as oleic acid, palmitic acid, etc.) and their soaps. However, when such a collector is used, the carbonate gangue (such as calcite , dolomite, etc.) in the ore has similar buoyancy to the copper mineral, and thus the selectivity of the flotation process is poor. Therefore, such collectors are only suitable for the flotation of copper oxide ore containing silicate gangue.

Malachite can also be floated with long-chain primary amines, which require activation with sodium sulfide.

(2) Azurite 2CuCO ₃ ·Cu(OH) ₂

The flotation conditions are basically the same as those of malachite. The only difference is that when floating with fat and its soap, it is better than the malachite floatation. When using flotation flotation, it needs to have a longer action time with the medicament.

(3) Chrysocolla CuSiO ₃ · 2H ₂ O

Such copper oxide minerals have poor floatability. The main reason is that they are colloidal minerals with very unstable composition and production. The surface of the colloidal mineral is very hydrophilic. The collector adsorption membrane can only be formed in the pores of the mineral surface, and the adhesion is not strong. The flotation behavior is also significantly affected by the pH value, and the pH value is difficult to control so strictly in industrial production.

(4) Water cholesterium CuSO ₄ ·3Cu(OH) ₂

This is a mineral that is slightly soluble in water. It is difficult to float and is generally lost in tailings.

(5) cholesteric CuSO ₄ ·5H ₂ O

This mineral is a soluble mineral that is easily soluble in the pulp during flotation. Due to the dissolution of such minerals, the concentration of copper ions in the slurry is increased, and the selectivity of the flotation process is destroyed, and the consumption of the agent is increased.

Second, factors affecting the selectivity of copper oxide ore

The selectivity of copper oxide ore is closely related to the type of copper minerals, the composition of gangue, the symbiotic relationship between minerals and gangues, and the amount of mud.

(1) Type characteristics of copper oxide ore

According to the different types of copper oxide minerals contained in the ore, the copper oxide ore can be divided into seven types, and the selectivity of different types of copper oxide ore varies greatly.

1. Malachite type. Malachite mineral-based, other low mineral content, is easy to mineral stone, sulfide flotation process may be employed.

2. Chrysocolla type. The mineral is mainly composed of chrysocolla, and the gangue is silicate. It is a refractory ore and can be treated by chemical beneficiation.

3. Red copper ore type. The ore is mainly composed of azurite and malachite, and the copper grade is high. Regardless of the type of gangue, it can be treated by flotation.

4, water scorpion scorpion type. The ore is mainly composed of copper anthraquinone minerals, which is moderately selectable and can be directly recovered by flotation or chemical beneficiation. If the gangue is a carbonate mineral, it can be treated by a combination method.

5, natural copper type. Such symbiotic minerals have coarser grain size and richer grades, and are easy-to-select ore, separated by flotation.

6, combined type. Copper oxide was very fine particulate iron ore or the brown sludge package, poorer quality, as if the gangue silicate, then it is difficult ore selection, can be used directly recovered chemical processing method; gangue is carbon Acid salts are complex.

7, copper oxide mixed type. There are oxides and sulfides in the ore. The composition is complex and the particle size is slightly coarse. If the gangue is silicate, it can be treated by flotation-chemical beneficiation.

(2) Floating copper oxide and combined copper oxide

The so-called free copper oxide mineral is a copper oxide mineral existing in an independent form, and both of them can be dissolved in a cyanide solution. The copper contained in this part of the mineral is called free copper oxide, and the floatability is good.

In combination with copper oxide minerals, copper in them often combines with oxides of elements such as silicon, aluminum , calcium, magnesium and manganese in the ore to form an aggregate which is difficult to dissociate from the monomer and lacks the floating characteristics of copper minerals. The copper in the combined copper mineral is called the combined copper, and the percentage of the total copper content of the copper mineral in which the copper is combined is called the bonding ratio, and the calculation formula is:

Bonding ratio = (in combination with the amount of copper oxide / total copper content of the ore) × 100%

There are three ways to combine copper oxide with gangue: (1) mechanically dispersed in the gangue to become a finely dispersed inclusion. (2) Adsorption to the gangue in an ion or molecular state becomes a so-called chromosome. (3) The impurity as a lattice is combined with the gangue.

(3) The influence of gangue types on the selectivity

The type of gangue also has a certain influence on the selectivity of copper oxide ore. The copper oxide containing silicon gangue is better treated; and the copper oxide ore containing carbonate gangue is more difficult to choose. Copper oxide ore containing more iron hydroxide and clay mineral mud is more difficult to select.

Of course, since the processing cost of oxidized ore is generally high, the copper-containing grade of ore is of great significance for the selection of flotation evaluation and treatment methods.