Recovery of Ultrafine Copper Oxide Mineral with Vacuum Flotation

Abstract:

Tangdan copper oxide ore deposit, located in the northeast Yunnan province of China, is the largest independent copper oxide deposit in China. The ore from the deposit is characterized by low grade, high oxidation ratio and fine-grained dissemination, which results in the poor flotation recovery. The analysis of plant flotation data reveals that the loss of copper minerals into tailings is mainly with coarse size fraction, due to its insufficient liberation and finer size, especially for the size fraction below 10 microns, which are very difficult to be floated with conventional flotation methods. In order to improve the flotation performance of the ore, laboratory tests include Hallimond flotation and vacuum flotation were respectively conducted with pure malachite, the dominant copper oxide mineral in the deposit; and the results indicate that a finer grinding fineness up to -325 mesh even -400 mesh is required to decrease the copper loss in the coarse size fraction, and vacuum flotation provides a promising way for the recovery of ultrafine malachites.

• Periodical: Advanced Materials Research (Volumes 524-527)
• Pages: 1047-1053
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.524-527.1047
• Online since: May 2012
• Authors: Dian Wen Liu, Jian Jun Fang, Xiao Lin Zhang, Shao Jun Bai, Zhi Cong Wei, Shu Ming Wen, Wen Bin Zhang
• Keywords: Difficult-to-Float, Fine Grinding, Flotation, Malachite, Vacuum Flotation

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