3024 XXXI International Mineral Processing Congress 2024 Proceedings/Washington, DC/Sep 29–Oct 3
Table 7 shows the assays of the leach residues, which were
used as the flotation feed.
Copper Flotation
Figure 4 shows the copper rougher recovery as a function of
mass pull. The collector dosage (D507E) was increased to
50 g/t +20 g/t in C4 to increase the copper recovery. This
resulted in increased mass pull and low Cu/Zn selectivity
(Figure 5). The collector dosage was 10 g/t+10 g/t+10 g/t
in the tests with C6, C7 and C8. The flotation performance
of the C6, C7 and C8 tests was close. The highest copper
recovery and selectivity were obtained with C8, where the
highest copper extraction was obtained in the CN leaching
stage. An acceptable copper flotation performance could be
obtained when the copper extraction is 30% in the CN
leaching stage.
Zinc Flotation
Figure 6 shows the zinc stage recovery in the zinc rougher
flotation section as a function of mass pull. The zinc flotation
performance of all leach residues was acceptable, but the
best performance was obtained with C8 leach residue.
An open cleaner flotation test was conducted on the C6
Leach residue using the flowsheet and flotation conditions
developed for the standard sulfide ore. The closed-circuit
flotation performance was estimated by simulation using
JKSimFloat v6.1. The mass pull, grade and recoveries of the
Cu final concentrate and Zn final concentrate are given in
Table 8. A copper concentrate was produced assaying 19%
Cu and 12% Zn at a copper recovery of 60.7%. This is
highly contaminated concentrate but can be blended with
the concentrate produced from the standard sulfide ore and
marketed. The second option is to blend the leach residue
with the standard sulfide ore before the flotation. In both
options, the enriched ore becomes treatable and an eco-
nomical asset. Considering Test C6, the total copper recov-
ery was calculated as 83.53% (58.10% Leach +25.43%
flotation) in the hybrid flowsheet option.
There was no problem in the zinc flotation stage. A
high-grade zinc concentrate was produced assaying 52.14%
Zn at 77.51% recovery.
Table 7. Assays of the leach residue samples used in the flotation tests
Leach Residue
Leach Time,
days
Assay, %(XRF)
Cu Fe Pb Zn
C4 14 1.27 33.01 0.36 2.82
C6 50 0.88 30.07 0.37 3.17
C7 53 0.75 32.75 0.31 2.58
C8 77 0.62 32.72 0.31 2.33
MCS_EN 2.1 33.1 0.15 2.11
2 12
Mass Pull (%)
Figure 4. Copper recovery as a function of mass pull to the rougher concentrate
CuRecovery(%)
Table 7 shows the assays of the leach residues, which were
used as the flotation feed.
Copper Flotation
Figure 4 shows the copper rougher recovery as a function of
mass pull. The collector dosage (D507E) was increased to
50 g/t +20 g/t in C4 to increase the copper recovery. This
resulted in increased mass pull and low Cu/Zn selectivity
(Figure 5). The collector dosage was 10 g/t+10 g/t+10 g/t
in the tests with C6, C7 and C8. The flotation performance
of the C6, C7 and C8 tests was close. The highest copper
recovery and selectivity were obtained with C8, where the
highest copper extraction was obtained in the CN leaching
stage. An acceptable copper flotation performance could be
obtained when the copper extraction is 30% in the CN
leaching stage.
Zinc Flotation
Figure 6 shows the zinc stage recovery in the zinc rougher
flotation section as a function of mass pull. The zinc flotation
performance of all leach residues was acceptable, but the
best performance was obtained with C8 leach residue.
An open cleaner flotation test was conducted on the C6
Leach residue using the flowsheet and flotation conditions
developed for the standard sulfide ore. The closed-circuit
flotation performance was estimated by simulation using
JKSimFloat v6.1. The mass pull, grade and recoveries of the
Cu final concentrate and Zn final concentrate are given in
Table 8. A copper concentrate was produced assaying 19%
Cu and 12% Zn at a copper recovery of 60.7%. This is
highly contaminated concentrate but can be blended with
the concentrate produced from the standard sulfide ore and
marketed. The second option is to blend the leach residue
with the standard sulfide ore before the flotation. In both
options, the enriched ore becomes treatable and an eco-
nomical asset. Considering Test C6, the total copper recov-
ery was calculated as 83.53% (58.10% Leach +25.43%
flotation) in the hybrid flowsheet option.
There was no problem in the zinc flotation stage. A
high-grade zinc concentrate was produced assaying 52.14%
Zn at 77.51% recovery.
Table 7. Assays of the leach residue samples used in the flotation tests
Leach Residue
Leach Time,
days
Assay, %(XRF)
Cu Fe Pb Zn
C4 14 1.27 33.01 0.36 2.82
C6 50 0.88 30.07 0.37 3.17
C7 53 0.75 32.75 0.31 2.58
C8 77 0.62 32.72 0.31 2.33
MCS_EN 2.1 33.1 0.15 2.11
2 12
Mass Pull (%)
Figure 4. Copper recovery as a function of mass pull to the rougher concentrate
CuRecovery(%)