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Copper and zinc are common associated metals in the earth's crust. They often exist in the same deposit as ores at the same time, forming copper-zinc ores. Copper and zinc are associated with chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena, and smithsonite. So how to separate copper and zinc during the mineral processing process? We know that flotation is a commonly used copper and zinc separation and beneficiation process.
Flotation is one of the commonly used methods to separate copper and zinc. During the flotation process, copper and zinc minerals in the ore are flotated separately, usually through different flotation agents and operating conditions. This can be accomplished by utilizing the surface properties of copper and zinc minerals, the selection of flotation agents, and the adjustment of flotation machinery.
Common copper and zinc flotation separation processes include:
The priority flotation process is mainly aimed at ores with low copper grade, high zinc grade, and relatively simple mineral composition and embedding relationship. Choose a reasonable chemical system to carry out priority flotation of copper and zinc.
According to the embedded relationship between minerals, a stage grinding and one stage separation priority flotation process is adopted, that is, after rough grinding of the raw ore, copper is prioritized for flotation, the resulting copper coarse concentrate is ground again and then separated, and copper tailings are separated and then zinc is separated , using high-efficiency combination inhibitors to inhibit the floating of arsenopyrite and pyrrhotite.
Agents can also use a combination of lime and zinc sulfate to inhibit zinc and sulfur, and use a mixed collector of butyl xanthate and 2-mercaptobenzothiazole to capture copper.
Mixed flotation mainly processes ores with similar grades of copper and zinc raw ores, complex mineral embedding relationships, and relatively close symbiotic relationships.
The main process is that the raw ore is coarsely ground and then enters mixed flotation to obtain mixed concentrate. The mixed concentrate is directly separated or separated after regrinding.
According to the particularity of the ore properties, amyl xanthate is used to flotate copper and zinc in a large amount of lime medium. The copper-zinc mixed concentrate is obtained and then reground and separated. The copper-zinc ore is well separated.
The semi-preferential flotation process mainly processes copper-zinc ores with special properties, close symbiotic relationships and large differences in mineral floatability.
The process is that a part of copper with good floatability is preferentially flotated, while copper with poor floatability or extremely closely related copper and zinc are mixed and flotated, and the resulting mixed concentrate is directly separated or reground and separated.
Asynchronous flotation and equal flotation processes are rarely used in copper and zinc separation, and are mostly suitable for complex and difficult-to-separate copper-zinc sulfide ores.
Asynchronous flotation first performs mixed flotation on copper and zinc with good floatability, and then flotates the copper tailings and then flotates the zinc ore that is difficult to float. The resulting mixed concentrate is then separated in sequence, and the resources are comprehensively recovered.
After the floatable ore is discarded after initial grinding, combined inhibitors are used to suppress zinc and sulfur, so that copper, zinc, and sulfur minerals are effectively separated.
Flotation columns can reduce mineral processing costs and improve corporate efficiency. Compared with the traditional mechanical agitation flotation machine, it has the advantages of low mineral processing cost, high concentrate enrichment ratio, good product quality, simple process, simple operation and control, and easy to realize automatic control of the production process.
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