Pyrite Depression in Copper Flotation

Pyrite Depression in Copper Flotation

The Pyrite Depression in a Copper Only Flotation circuit is simple enough.  If your froth flotation system only tries to recover chalcopyrite-copper, you need to bring the plant’s pH up to the other side (right side) of the PYRITE curve.  The more flotation collector you have on, the higher you will need to increase that pH […]

Mineralogy of MVT Mississippi Valley Type Deposits

World_Map_mississippi_valley_type_deposits

Where are the VMT A Mississippi Valley Type Deposit or commonly called VMT offers some of the simplest, cleanest and “easiest” mineralogy and therefore metallurgy in the world. As shown in the image below, a near perfect liberation of all minerals at 100 microns grind. As seen below, Mississippi Valley Type Deposits liberate very well as coarse […]

Flotation Column Cell Carrying Capacity & Scale-Up

Flotation Column Cell Carrying Capacity & Scale-Up

Flotation Column Cells can only ‘carry’ or recovery so much froth/concentrate for any given diameter.  Unlike a mechanical cell on which you can just turn-on more air to recover more metal, column cells with not respond that way.  A column cell can only carry so much froth to the concentrate launder. Their concentrate production is […]

Copper Lead Concentrate Separation

Copper Lead Concentrate Mineralogy

The ways to obtain successful Separation of Copper and Lead into individual Concentrates, several process approaches can be examined; bulk copper-lead flotation with a reverse flotation stage depressing copper, the same bulk flotation with a reverse flotation to depress lead and a sequential copper-lead-zinc flotation circuit as well as a simple cleaning of the bulk Cu/Pb concentrate by Pb […]

Example Locked Cycle Test Results

Locked Cycle Test Flowsheet

Locked cycle tests were conducted on each of the super composites, using the flowsheet shown below. The flowsheet consisted of a primary grind to a P80 of 150 µm, followed by rougher flotation at pH 9.5 to produce a bulk sulphide concentrate. The rougher concentrate was reground to a P80 of ~30 µm prior to […]

Effect of pH on Copper Cleaner Flotation (after Regrind Circuit)

Effect of pH on Copper Cleaner  Flotation

In the study, batch cleaner tests were conducted to confirm the target regrind size and select the cleaner pH conditions. The objective of the high pH, collector-starved environment in the cleaners is: To liberate and reject attached silicates, Depress the previously-floated pyrite. If the floatability imparted on the pyrite in rougher flotation is not adequately […]

Effect of Collector on Copper Flotation Metallurgy

Effect of Collector on Rougher Flotation Metallurgy

A pretty clean and relatively easy to treat ore was tested suggesting a collector optimization strategy would probably yield only relatively minor incremental metallurgical improvements. Therefore, collector suite fine-tuning was deemed largely better left for future optimization, possibly when the plant is in operation. In earlier studies Sumitomo had adopted the use of thionocarbamate Cytec […]