XXXI International Mineral Processing Congress 2024 Proceedings/Washington, DC/Sep 29–Oct 3 2437
by starving the dose, the copper flotation kinetics will dom-
inate and leave most of the nickel behind. Applying this
technique to the Eagle bulk roughers, the first rougher cell
would produce a high-grade copper concentrate with very
low nickel, leaving the remaining five tank cells to concen-
trate on nickel flotation with the SIPX currently in use.
The produced high-grade level copper concentrate would
then bypass the cleaners and copper/nickel separation cir-
cuits. Nickel flotation kinetics would then dominate for the
rest of the bulk and cleaner circuits. There would also be
less copper to remove in the copper/nickel circuit, allow-
ing that circuit to run more efficiently. Depending on the
actual grade obtained with the copper concentrate, it can
be sent to final concentrate or fed to the copper columns
for further cleaning.
The end goal is not to remove all the copper from the
front end of the circuit but reduce it to a level where the
bulk rougher and bulk cleaner circuits can run much more
efficiently with pentlandite being the dominate mineral.
LABORATORY TESTING
Table 3 outlines the laboratory float procedure. Testing was
carried out with copper selective reagents to determine the
best chalcopyrite/pentlandite separation. The reagents tested
included: a thiophosphine (3418A), a modified thiophos-
phine (3421), a dithiophosphate (208), an amyl xanthogen
Table 3. Laboratory testing procedure
Date Input ID: 0
Feed (grams) (standard) Description: Volume of Float (L) 2.5
Agitation R 0 1200
Air l/m 0 10
Float time 0
Test Feed 0
Cond Float
(min) (min)
Grind Soda Ash dry 1000 0.0
Bulk Ro 1 2
Cu reagent direct 13 #VALUE!
MIBC drops 2 2.0 0.5 0.5 0
Bulk Ro 2
0
0.5 0
Bulk Ro 3
SIPX 1.0% 25 0.00 2
1 0
Bulk Ro 4
SIPX 1.0% 15 0.00 2 3 0
Bulk Ro 5 SIPX 1.0% 12 0.00 8 0
Bulk Ro Tails
Before 838.1 Con 1 Slurry Ni Cu Fe MgO Co S
After 837.1 Con 2 Con 1
Used 1.000 Con 3 Con 2
Con 4 Con 3
Con 5 Con 4
Tails Con 5
Process Water Total 0.0 Tails
p80 (Tails) Prss Wtr
Water Hardness
Air
(l/min) Comments:
Soda Ash Mass (g) Dry Mass Mass (g) Measure pH Chemical analysis after flotation test
Stage
Rougher
Float
Strength
(%)g/t
addition
ml, g
Flotation Test from Milled 0
Feed Calculator (kg)
Standard float of BRF
by starving the dose, the copper flotation kinetics will dom-
inate and leave most of the nickel behind. Applying this
technique to the Eagle bulk roughers, the first rougher cell
would produce a high-grade copper concentrate with very
low nickel, leaving the remaining five tank cells to concen-
trate on nickel flotation with the SIPX currently in use.
The produced high-grade level copper concentrate would
then bypass the cleaners and copper/nickel separation cir-
cuits. Nickel flotation kinetics would then dominate for the
rest of the bulk and cleaner circuits. There would also be
less copper to remove in the copper/nickel circuit, allow-
ing that circuit to run more efficiently. Depending on the
actual grade obtained with the copper concentrate, it can
be sent to final concentrate or fed to the copper columns
for further cleaning.
The end goal is not to remove all the copper from the
front end of the circuit but reduce it to a level where the
bulk rougher and bulk cleaner circuits can run much more
efficiently with pentlandite being the dominate mineral.
LABORATORY TESTING
Table 3 outlines the laboratory float procedure. Testing was
carried out with copper selective reagents to determine the
best chalcopyrite/pentlandite separation. The reagents tested
included: a thiophosphine (3418A), a modified thiophos-
phine (3421), a dithiophosphate (208), an amyl xanthogen
Table 3. Laboratory testing procedure
Date Input ID: 0
Feed (grams) (standard) Description: Volume of Float (L) 2.5
Agitation R 0 1200
Air l/m 0 10
Float time 0
Test Feed 0
Cond Float
(min) (min)
Grind Soda Ash dry 1000 0.0
Bulk Ro 1 2
Cu reagent direct 13 #VALUE!
MIBC drops 2 2.0 0.5 0.5 0
Bulk Ro 2
0
0.5 0
Bulk Ro 3
SIPX 1.0% 25 0.00 2
1 0
Bulk Ro 4
SIPX 1.0% 15 0.00 2 3 0
Bulk Ro 5 SIPX 1.0% 12 0.00 8 0
Bulk Ro Tails
Before 838.1 Con 1 Slurry Ni Cu Fe MgO Co S
After 837.1 Con 2 Con 1
Used 1.000 Con 3 Con 2
Con 4 Con 3
Con 5 Con 4
Tails Con 5
Process Water Total 0.0 Tails
p80 (Tails) Prss Wtr
Water Hardness
Air
(l/min) Comments:
Soda Ash Mass (g) Dry Mass Mass (g) Measure pH Chemical analysis after flotation test
Stage
Rougher
Float
Strength
(%)g/t
addition
ml, g
Flotation Test from Milled 0
Feed Calculator (kg)
Standard float of BRF