CA1096514A - Use of thiouracils as selective depressants for the flotation separation of copper and nickel sulphide minerals - Google Patents
Use of thiouracils as selective depressants for the flotation separation of copper and nickel sulphide mineralsInfo
- Publication number
- CA1096514A CA1096514A CA315,616A CA315616A CA1096514A CA 1096514 A CA1096514 A CA 1096514A CA 315616 A CA315616 A CA 315616A CA 1096514 A CA1096514 A CA 1096514A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- sulphide minerals
- copper
- nickel
- minerals
- concentrate
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
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- Manufacture And Refinement Of Metals (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT FOR THE DISCLOSURE
A process is disclosed for separating nickel sulphide minerals from copper sulphide minerals with which they are associated in a metallurgical concentrate through use, as nickel sulphide depressant, 2-thiouracil or 6-methyl-2-thiouracil. As compared with conventionally used sodium cyanide, the new proposed depressants provide equal or superior metallurgy, are less pH dependent and allow greater flexibility in floatation circuit conditions.
A process is disclosed for separating nickel sulphide minerals from copper sulphide minerals with which they are associated in a metallurgical concentrate through use, as nickel sulphide depressant, 2-thiouracil or 6-methyl-2-thiouracil. As compared with conventionally used sodium cyanide, the new proposed depressants provide equal or superior metallurgy, are less pH dependent and allow greater flexibility in floatation circuit conditions.
Description
~0~ 4 This invention relates to a flotation process for separating copper and nickel sulphide minerals, It is more particularly concerned with the processing of concentrates of copper and nickel sulphide minerals wherein particular thiouracils are used as selective depres~ants for the nickel sulphide mineral.
~ ickel is very often found in nature in the form of its sulphide as a component of ores also containing copper sulphide, Such ores in their natural state have the nickel and copper metals containing rninerals associated with large amounts of host rock or gangue from which the valuable mineral content must be converted into a form suitable for further processing, The concentration of the mineral content is usually achieved by froth flotation, in which the raw ore is finely ground and frothed in water containing certain additives which assist in concentrating the metallic ore particles in the froth whilst allowing the gangue to sink, The froth then collected constitutes a concentrate from which the mineral values, notably nickel and copper sulphides, are separated from each other by further flotation.
In the flotation of a bulk concentrate prepared as above to separate from each other the valuable nickel and copper sulphide minerals, it is customary to add to the flota-tion medium a chemical known as a depressant to selectively depress the nickel mineral and to prevent it from collecting with the copper mineral which is allowed to float, The only V 1~ r ~9~5~4 depressant currently used commercially to effect the above separation is sodium cyanide. This depressant is efficient but suffers from very serious disadvantages by the facts that it must be used in relatively large amounts, it is very pH
dependent, it dissolves a certain amount of the valuable nickel and copper minerals, and because of its extremely poisonous nature it presents serious health hazards to workers coming in contact therewith.
The present invention is concerned with depressants for use in the separation of novel nickel sulphide minerals from a metallurgical concentrate in which it is associated with copper sulphide minerals. The novel depressants are thiouracils selected from 2-thiouracil and 6-methyl-2-thio-uracil, ~ process is thus provided for separating nickel sulphide minerals from copper sulphide minerals with which they are associated in a metallurgical concentrate, which comprises depressing the nickel sulphide minerals with from about 0.01 to 0.2 pound per ton of concentrate solids of a reagent selected from 2-thiouracil and 6-methyl-2-thiouracil, selectively floating the copper sulphide minerals from the depressed nickel sul-phide minerals and recovering the resulting concentrate of depressed nickel sulphide minerals.
~ ickel is very often found in nature in the form of its sulphide as a component of ores also containing copper sulphide, Such ores in their natural state have the nickel and copper metals containing rninerals associated with large amounts of host rock or gangue from which the valuable mineral content must be converted into a form suitable for further processing, The concentration of the mineral content is usually achieved by froth flotation, in which the raw ore is finely ground and frothed in water containing certain additives which assist in concentrating the metallic ore particles in the froth whilst allowing the gangue to sink, The froth then collected constitutes a concentrate from which the mineral values, notably nickel and copper sulphides, are separated from each other by further flotation.
In the flotation of a bulk concentrate prepared as above to separate from each other the valuable nickel and copper sulphide minerals, it is customary to add to the flota-tion medium a chemical known as a depressant to selectively depress the nickel mineral and to prevent it from collecting with the copper mineral which is allowed to float, The only V 1~ r ~9~5~4 depressant currently used commercially to effect the above separation is sodium cyanide. This depressant is efficient but suffers from very serious disadvantages by the facts that it must be used in relatively large amounts, it is very pH
dependent, it dissolves a certain amount of the valuable nickel and copper minerals, and because of its extremely poisonous nature it presents serious health hazards to workers coming in contact therewith.
The present invention is concerned with depressants for use in the separation of novel nickel sulphide minerals from a metallurgical concentrate in which it is associated with copper sulphide minerals. The novel depressants are thiouracils selected from 2-thiouracil and 6-methyl-2-thio-uracil, ~ process is thus provided for separating nickel sulphide minerals from copper sulphide minerals with which they are associated in a metallurgical concentrate, which comprises depressing the nickel sulphide minerals with from about 0.01 to 0.2 pound per ton of concentrate solids of a reagent selected from 2-thiouracil and 6-methyl-2-thiouracil, selectively floating the copper sulphide minerals from the depressed nickel sul-phide minerals and recovering the resulting concentrate of depressed nickel sulphide minerals.
- 2 ' The concentrates used in the proce3s o the invention can either be rougher concentrates or cleaner con-centrates. As is well Xnown in the art, a rougher concentra~e i9 that resulting from a first froth flotation of a raw ore while a cleaner concentrate is one resulting from a further flotation fractionation of a rougher concentrate, Such bulk concentrates may, in addition to the nickel and copper sulphide minerals, contain varying amounts of other minerals such as magnetic pyrrhotite which may or may not have been previously removel by magnetic separation, - ` .:, - ' . : '' ~' ` -~ .
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The conditions o~ the process, aside from the particular doses of depressant set out hereinabove, are conventional and thus are not critical Thus a suitable metallurgical concentra~e is prepared as a 10% to 50% solids aqueous slurry in a flota-tion cell and, if necessary, the pH of the latter is adjusted to lle within the range of 7 to 14 by addition of lime, caustic soda or any other suitable alkaline material. A novel de-pressant of the present in~ention is then added to the slurry in the above indicated amount of 0.01 to 0 2 pound per ton of concentrate solids and the slurry is therea~ter conditioned until nickel sulphide is no longer floated to the surface Conditioning usually takes from 0 to 10 minutes. If necessary a collector and/or frother may be added in suitable amounts to the slurry to assist in the flotation and collection of the copper sulphide minerals Collectors and frothers suitable for the above purpose are well known in the art and are thus conventional.
Although the depressents of the invention can be introduced into the slurry as solids, they are preferably added as aqueous solutions Most preferably, such solutions are alkaline, because the depressants are more readily soluble in ~he presence of an alkali.
The in~ention is illustrated but not limited by the following examples in which percentages axe by weight.
EXAMPLES 1-?
In each o~ these examples, an aqueous slurry was made containing 10% of bulk copper-nickel concentrate assaying 8~2% Cu and 6.4% Mi freshly prepared in tha laboratory from IMC0 Clarabelle ore. The pH of the slurry was adjusted with
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.. . . -.
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. ` ` .
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The conditions o~ the process, aside from the particular doses of depressant set out hereinabove, are conventional and thus are not critical Thus a suitable metallurgical concentra~e is prepared as a 10% to 50% solids aqueous slurry in a flota-tion cell and, if necessary, the pH of the latter is adjusted to lle within the range of 7 to 14 by addition of lime, caustic soda or any other suitable alkaline material. A novel de-pressant of the present in~ention is then added to the slurry in the above indicated amount of 0.01 to 0 2 pound per ton of concentrate solids and the slurry is therea~ter conditioned until nickel sulphide is no longer floated to the surface Conditioning usually takes from 0 to 10 minutes. If necessary a collector and/or frother may be added in suitable amounts to the slurry to assist in the flotation and collection of the copper sulphide minerals Collectors and frothers suitable for the above purpose are well known in the art and are thus conventional.
Although the depressents of the invention can be introduced into the slurry as solids, they are preferably added as aqueous solutions Most preferably, such solutions are alkaline, because the depressants are more readily soluble in ~he presence of an alkali.
The in~ention is illustrated but not limited by the following examples in which percentages axe by weight.
EXAMPLES 1-?
In each o~ these examples, an aqueous slurry was made containing 10% of bulk copper-nickel concentrate assaying 8~2% Cu and 6.4% Mi freshly prepared in tha laboratory from IMC0 Clarabelle ore. The pH of the slurry was adjusted with
3~ lime as indicated in Table I hereinbelow, and was conditioned 5~
with a given depressant 5 minutes ~efore floating for 5 minutes. ~o frother was added. The flotation xesults are ,7 i5~
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The same procedure was follo~led as in Examples 1-7 except that a copper-nickel bulk concentrate assaying 7 2% Cu and 5.7% ~i freshly prepared in the laboratory from Falcon-bridge ore was employed and that the density of the slurry was 12%. The flotation results are shown in Table II
It can be readily observed from the above examples that replacement of sodium cyanide by 2-thiouraciI or 6-methy~-2-thiouracil has the following advantages:
a) equal or superior metallurgy is obtained with the thiouracils employed at a much lower addition level than sodium cyanide, b) the performance of sodium cyanide is very pH
dependent, high pH being required for good depression.
With 2-thiouracil, pH dependence is far less marked, allowing greater flexibility in flotation circuit conditions.
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with a given depressant 5 minutes ~efore floating for 5 minutes. ~o frother was added. The flotation xesults are ,7 i5~
~-1 r ~ ~ ~ _ _ rl O ~ ~ O U~ ~ ~ r~ o~ ,i co ~ ~ ~9 co Z u ~ u~ ,~ ~ ~ 0 ~ ~ ~ C~
_ . _ . .
a) ~ ~ ~ 1~ ~ ~ In~ ~ r~ ~
~-V~r~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ co o ~ ~ o ~1 ~. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
~~ n ~9 ~9 ~ ~ ~ ~9 ~ 1~ ~ ~ ~ ~
.. , S~ O O In In ~1 ~ CO ~ r~ ~ ~1 ~ ~1 . . . . . . . . . . . .
OS~ r~ ~u~ ~ ,~ 1`~ ~ 0~1 U CO~ ~u~ ~ u~d' r~ ~D~
P~
___ -- I' ou~ co o CO O 0~~ ~ CO ~9 ~` ~1 ~D
~ . . . .. . . .. . . .
C.) ~ ~CO ~1 ~ Lt~ ~5) d' ~ ~ N 11~ _I N ~1 ~1 ~1 _1r-~ -1 r~ ~I
_ ~In 00~ ~~a~ ,la~ ~
~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
rl~ 0~ ~~ 1` U~ ~ C~ ~
a) ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ 0~ r~ ~ ~ ~ ~ .
.
a~ a) a~ a ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ -U Ll S-l h S~ ~1 ~1 ~1 ~ ~ lR ~ m~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~n ~ ~ ~ ~q H I ~ 1~ ~1 ~ 1~ ~ ~ ~1~ ~1 5:1 ~ ~ rl o a) -~l ~ ~ a) -rla~ -~l ~ -rl ~ -rl U ~ rJ ~U ~ U ~ U ~ U ~ 'v 1 1 P~ o E-~ o E-l o E-~ o E o E-l ~v El ~v E~
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~ ~D
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O rl ~ ~ O ~1 ~ rl ~ I \
~o ~ ~ u ~ ta ~ u ~ u ~ r~ l R
~n ~ td ,Q :~ td R Id R l ~1 h ~ o ~ :J O ~ :5~~ ~ ~g .o Og ~ u~ ~1 0 ~ O ~ O
l:~ .~ . ~: ~ .,~ . ~ ~ ,S:: . a~ o o o E~ O ~ O E~ O E~ O
U~ ~ U~ ~ ~3 ,~
V~
æ ~1 rl O.
The same procedure was follo~led as in Examples 1-7 except that a copper-nickel bulk concentrate assaying 7 2% Cu and 5.7% ~i freshly prepared in the laboratory from Falcon-bridge ore was employed and that the density of the slurry was 12%. The flotation results are shown in Table II
It can be readily observed from the above examples that replacement of sodium cyanide by 2-thiouraciI or 6-methy~-2-thiouracil has the following advantages:
a) equal or superior metallurgy is obtained with the thiouracils employed at a much lower addition level than sodium cyanide, b) the performance of sodium cyanide is very pH
dependent, high pH being required for good depression.
With 2-thiouracil, pH dependence is far less marked, allowing greater flexibility in flotation circuit conditions.
r ~65~
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g h ~ ~D u~ d~
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Claims (4)
1. A process for separating nickel sulphide minerals from copper sulphide minerals with which they are associated in a metallurgical concentrate, which comprises depressing the nickel sulphide minerals with from about 0.01 to 0.2 pound per ton of concentrate solids of a reagent selected from 2-thiouracil and 6-methyl-2-thiouracil, selectively floating the copper sulphide minerals from the depressed nickel sul-phide minerals and recovering the resulting concentrate of depressed nickel sulphide minerals.
2. A process as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the metallurgical concentrate is an aqueous slurry containing from 10% to 50% solids.
3. A process as claimed in Claim 2 wherein the pH of the slurry is adjusted to within the range of 7 to 14.
4. A process as claimed in Claim 2 wherein a collector and/or frother are added to help in the floata-tion of the copper sulphide minerals.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB652/78 | 1978-01-09 | ||
| GB65278 | 1978-01-09 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1096514A true CA1096514A (en) | 1981-02-24 |
Family
ID=9708121
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA315,616A Expired CA1096514A (en) | 1978-01-09 | 1978-10-31 | Use of thiouracils as selective depressants for the flotation separation of copper and nickel sulphide minerals |
Country Status (4)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| AU (1) | AU519226B2 (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1096514A (en) |
| PH (1) | PH13634A (en) |
| ZA (1) | ZA7969B (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN105834006A (en) * | 2016-06-15 | 2016-08-10 | 江西理工大学 | Ore dressing method for low grade nickel sulphide ore |
-
1978
- 1978-10-31 CA CA315,616A patent/CA1096514A/en not_active Expired
- 1978-11-10 AU AU41510/78A patent/AU519226B2/en not_active Expired
- 1978-11-24 PH PH21838A patent/PH13634A/en unknown
-
1979
- 1979-01-08 ZA ZA7969A patent/ZA7969B/en unknown
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN105834006A (en) * | 2016-06-15 | 2016-08-10 | 江西理工大学 | Ore dressing method for low grade nickel sulphide ore |
| CN105834006B (en) * | 2016-06-15 | 2018-04-10 | 江西理工大学 | A kind of beneficiation method of low-grade nickel sulfide ore |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| ZA7969B (en) | 1980-01-30 |
| AU519226B2 (en) | 1981-11-19 |
| AU4151078A (en) | 1979-07-19 |
| PH13634A (en) | 1980-08-14 |
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