3076 XXXI International Mineral Processing Congress 2024 Proceedings/Washington, DC/Sep 29–Oct 3
and points of collector dosage in this study were favorable
when Aerophine was dosed first, suggesting a delayed xan-
thate dosage at the end of the rougher stages and into the
circulating load.
QEMSCAN ® mineral analyses revealed that some tel-
luride minerals are associated with pyrite and other sul-
phides, explaining variations in the correlations between
Te and Au analyses in the plant. Regarding gold lost in
the final tailings, most particles were locked in complex
minerals and finely disseminated tellurides, making recov-
ery difficult through flotation. Tailings analyses suggest
Aerophine’s greater ability to recover mixed liberation par-
ticles. Additional studies with leaching diagnostics showed
that gold exists in tiny particles occluded in the tailings.
The campaign tested in December 2023 focused on a
gold ore from the massive sulphide region, which represents
a greater challenge for flotation but accounts for about 5%
of annual production. Despite inconclusive results regard-
ing gold recovery, the reduction in mass pull for the con-
centrate was confirmed. This is economically beneficial for
increasing the gold production capacity in ore processing
leaching campaigns.
Subsequent tests comparing the concentrates from
flotation with Aerophine and PAX in hydrometallurgi-
cal stages, demonstrating a 30% reduction in cyanide
consumption with Aerophine and similar gold extraction
results for both concentrates. This means that the use of
a more selective collector is also favorable for subsequent
stages to the flotation process.
CONCLUSION
This study demonstrates that the synergy between the xan-
thate collector and Aerophine 3418 in flotation processes
improves the recovery of gold, silver, and tellurium minerals
in Åkulla Kankberg ore. This approach reduces pyrite flo-
tation and mass pull for the concentrate, thereby increas-
ing gold production capacity in downstream processes. The
findings enhance our understanding of the ore’s mineralogy
and gold liberation. Financial analyses indicate that this
method is economically beneficial for the company.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors wish to thank Boliden Mineral AB for enabling
the presentation of this work. Special thanks to colleagues
Nils Bolin and Filip Abrahamsson for their valuable discus-
sions and support, and to Mike Peart and Juan Rodriguez
from Solvay SA for their collaboration.
REFERENCES
Allan, G.C., and Woodcock, J.T. 2001. A review of the
flotation of native gold and electrum. In Minerals
Engineering. 14(9):931–962.
Lotter, N.O., and Bradshaw, D.J. 2010. The formulation
and use of mixed collectors in sulphide flotation. In
Minerals Engineering. 23(11):945–951.
Spory, L., 2019. Host setting and flotation of Au-,Ag- and
Te-minerals in sulfide-rich ore lenses of the Kankberg
Mine. In Luleå University of Technology Department of
Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering,
Masters Dissertation. 1–65.
Yan, D.S., and Hariyasa, H. 1997. Selective flotation of
pyrite and gold tellurides. In Minerals Engineering.
10(3):327–337.
Zhang, J., Zhang, Y., Richmond, W., and Wang, H.
2010. Processing technologies for gold-telluride ores.
In International Journal of Minerals, Metallurgy and
Materials. 17(1):1–10.
and points of collector dosage in this study were favorable
when Aerophine was dosed first, suggesting a delayed xan-
thate dosage at the end of the rougher stages and into the
circulating load.
QEMSCAN ® mineral analyses revealed that some tel-
luride minerals are associated with pyrite and other sul-
phides, explaining variations in the correlations between
Te and Au analyses in the plant. Regarding gold lost in
the final tailings, most particles were locked in complex
minerals and finely disseminated tellurides, making recov-
ery difficult through flotation. Tailings analyses suggest
Aerophine’s greater ability to recover mixed liberation par-
ticles. Additional studies with leaching diagnostics showed
that gold exists in tiny particles occluded in the tailings.
The campaign tested in December 2023 focused on a
gold ore from the massive sulphide region, which represents
a greater challenge for flotation but accounts for about 5%
of annual production. Despite inconclusive results regard-
ing gold recovery, the reduction in mass pull for the con-
centrate was confirmed. This is economically beneficial for
increasing the gold production capacity in ore processing
leaching campaigns.
Subsequent tests comparing the concentrates from
flotation with Aerophine and PAX in hydrometallurgi-
cal stages, demonstrating a 30% reduction in cyanide
consumption with Aerophine and similar gold extraction
results for both concentrates. This means that the use of
a more selective collector is also favorable for subsequent
stages to the flotation process.
CONCLUSION
This study demonstrates that the synergy between the xan-
thate collector and Aerophine 3418 in flotation processes
improves the recovery of gold, silver, and tellurium minerals
in Åkulla Kankberg ore. This approach reduces pyrite flo-
tation and mass pull for the concentrate, thereby increas-
ing gold production capacity in downstream processes. The
findings enhance our understanding of the ore’s mineralogy
and gold liberation. Financial analyses indicate that this
method is economically beneficial for the company.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors wish to thank Boliden Mineral AB for enabling
the presentation of this work. Special thanks to colleagues
Nils Bolin and Filip Abrahamsson for their valuable discus-
sions and support, and to Mike Peart and Juan Rodriguez
from Solvay SA for their collaboration.
REFERENCES
Allan, G.C., and Woodcock, J.T. 2001. A review of the
flotation of native gold and electrum. In Minerals
Engineering. 14(9):931–962.
Lotter, N.O., and Bradshaw, D.J. 2010. The formulation
and use of mixed collectors in sulphide flotation. In
Minerals Engineering. 23(11):945–951.
Spory, L., 2019. Host setting and flotation of Au-,Ag- and
Te-minerals in sulfide-rich ore lenses of the Kankberg
Mine. In Luleå University of Technology Department of
Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering,
Masters Dissertation. 1–65.
Yan, D.S., and Hariyasa, H. 1997. Selective flotation of
pyrite and gold tellurides. In Minerals Engineering.
10(3):327–337.
Zhang, J., Zhang, Y., Richmond, W., and Wang, H.
2010. Processing technologies for gold-telluride ores.
In International Journal of Minerals, Metallurgy and
Materials. 17(1):1–10.