Statistical investigation of flotation parameters for copper recovery from sulfide flotation tailings

Abstract In this study the effect of mixtures of copper slag and flotation tailings from copper mine Bor, Serbia on the flotation results of copper recovery and flotation kinetics parameters in a batch flotation cell has been investigated. By simultaneous adding old flotation tailings in the ball mill at the rate of 9%, it is possible to increase copper recovery for about 20%. These results are compared with obtained copper recovery of pure copper slag. The results of batch flotation test were fitted by MatLab software for modeling the first-order flotation kinetics in order to determine kinetics parameters and define an optimal model of the flotation kinetics. Six kinetic models are tested on the batch flotation copper recovery against flotation time. All models showed good correlation, however the modified Kelsall model provided the best fit.

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Investigation of the optimal technology for copper leaching from old flotation tailings of the copper mine bor (Serbia)

Metallurgical and Materials Engineering ◽

10.30544/514 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 26 (2) ◽

pp. 209-222 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Vesna Conić ◽

Srđan Stanković ◽

Branislav Marković ◽

Dragana Božić ◽

Jovica Stojanović ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Iron Concentration ◽

Copper Recovery ◽

Copper Extraction ◽

Efficient Technology ◽

Flotation Tailings ◽

Copper Mine ◽

Moderately Thermophilic ◽

Acidophilic Bacteria ◽

Leaching Experiment ◽

Optimal Technology

This work aimed to investigate optimal leaching technology for copper extraction from old flotation tailings of the Copper Mine Bor. The leaching degree of copper after leaching with sulphuric acid at 80 °C was 50%, the maximal leaching degree was achieved after 30 minutes. Then, old flotation tailings were leached with adapted moderately thermophilic acidophilic bacteria in a bioreactor at 40 °C. Maximal leaching degree of 84% was achieved after nine days of the experiment. The third leaching experiment was conducted with biogenic lixiviant obtained by bacterial oxidation of the ferrous iron (concentration of Fe3+ 1300 mgL-1, pH 2.14). Biogenic lixiviant with ferric sulphate was then used in the leaching experiment at 80 °C. Maximal leaching degree was 78%, and it was achieved after five minutes. Results of the leaching experiments show that the most efficient technology for copper recovery from the old flotation tailings of the Copper Mine Bor was leaching with biogenic lixiviant.

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Cobalt and copper recovery from the ancient flotation tailings by selective sulfation roast - leaching process

Journal of Mining and Metallurgy Section B Metallurgy ◽

10.2298/jmmb190304043o ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 55 (3) ◽

pp. 315-324

Author(s):

M. Ozer

Keyword(s):

Iron Concentration ◽

Copper Recovery ◽

Atmospheric Conditions ◽

Iron Extraction ◽

Flotation Tailings ◽

Valuable Metals ◽

Sulfation Roasting ◽

Long Time ◽

Direct Leaching

The ancient flotation tailings from Lefke, Cyprus, have a potential for non-ferrous metals such as cobalt and copper from more than 9.5 million tons of reserves containing 0.38% Cu, 0.032% Co, and 22.6% Fe. Recovery of cobalt and copper from these tailings can provide great benefits from economic and environmental perspectives. While the ancient tailings were kept long time in storage in dumps, the characteristics of the material has become different from the common Co and Cu bearing ores. In order to extract these valuable metals, a process involving combination of roasting and leaching was applied in this study. Since this process responded to recovery to some extent, an innovative technique of using Na2SO4 as a promoter during roasting was proposed. Utilizing of Na2SO4 did not provide only higher metal extractions, but also resulted in high selectivity. In the scope of the study, following the determination of the mineralogy and chemical composition of the tailings, certain processes such as direct leaching and sulfation roasting with/without additives before leaching were applied. Since low metal extractions were obtained from direct leaching, a selective sulfation process was applied on the tailings before leaching in order to produce a pregnant solution containing higher amounts of Co and Cu metals by reducing the iron concentration. When sulfation roasting was performed without any additive, the desired selectivity could not be provided, since the sample was considerably oxidized under the atmospheric conditions in the past. Therefore, the usage of Na2SO4 as an additive with the amount of 25% at a roasting temperature of 700?C was tested. Consequently, Na2SO4 improved the sulfation and resulted in higher cobalt (90.1%) and copper (71.2%) recovery during leaching. Beside this, an improvement with a selective sulfation was obtained by combined effect of Na2SO4 addition and temperature, and the iron extraction decreased from 26.1% to 3.9%.

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Zinc Recovery from Wulagen Sulfide Flotation Plant Tail by Applying Ether Amine Organic Collectors

Molecules ◽

10.3390/molecules26175365 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 26 (17) ◽

pp. 5365

Author(s):

Zilong Ma ◽

Lei Wang ◽

Xiao Ni ◽

Yinfei Liao ◽

Zhian Liang

Keyword(s):

Froth Flotation ◽

Hydrocarbon Chain ◽

Low Grade ◽

Zinc Recovery ◽

Flotation Tailings ◽

Sulfide Flotation ◽

Flotation Tailing ◽

Flotation Performance ◽

The Difference ◽

Amine Adsorption

Separating oxidized zinc minerals from flotation tailings is always a challenge. In this study, a flotation tailing from Wulagen zinc mine in China (Zn grade < 1%) was processed using froth flotation with combinations of amines (OPA 10, OPA 1214, OPA 13, DDA) and Na2S to study the effects of these amines on the zinc recovery as well as their interactions with other reagents, aiming to screen out a proper reagent scheme to improve zinc separation from extremely low-grade zinc flotation tailings. The results show that different amines led to different flotation performance, and the collectors were ranked as OPA 1214, OPA 13, OPA 10 and DDA in a decreasing order based on flotation collectivity and selectivity. An increase in the concentration of each collector increased the zinc recovery but reduced the concentrate zinc grade. Interactions were also observed between different amines and Na2S and Na2SiO3, and OPA 1214 outdid the others in saving the usage of both the Na2S and Na2SiO3. The measured adsorption of collector onto smithsonite was found to correlate well with flotation test results. It was concluded that hydrocarbon chains can be held accountable for the difference in the flotation performance with different amines. The longer the hydrocarbon chain, the stronger the hydrophobic association ability of amine, which is conducive to the selective amine adsorption onto sulfurized smithsonite particles and hence the smithsonite flotation.

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