CS239656B1 - A method of depressing iron sulphate minerals in the flotation of complex simulated ores - Google Patents

Abstract

Method for the depression of iron sulfide minerals during flotation of complex sulfide ores. The aim of the method is to create an optimal method for the preparation of collective concentrates of non-ferrous metals, e.g. copper, lead, and zinc, with a low iron content from complex sulfide ores. The goal was achieved without the use of conventional iron sulfide depressants, only by agitation with a dose of a heavy metal salt and a common type of sorbent, e.g. sulfhydryl. The combination of a heavy metal salt, e.g. copper sulfate, with a sparingly soluble heavy metal compound with sorbent is particularly advantageous.

Description

The invention relates to a method of depressing iron sulfide minerals during flotation of complex sulfide ores, especially in the production of collective concentrates with a low iron content, e.g. lead-zinc, lead-zinc-lead, lead-lead, which are accompanied by iron sulfide.

To depress iron sulfides, alkaline mash environments, calcium hydroxide, alkaline cyanides or complex cyanides, reducing sulfur compounds, e.g. alkaline sulfites, bisulfites, thiosulfates, and sulfur dioxide have been used so far.

Furthermore, some selective organic depressants, e.g. based on cyanohydrins or selective collectors, or combinations of the above methods. If we are faced with the problem of producing collective or semi-collective concentrates of non-ferrous metals with a low iron content, the production of which is advantageous primarily in terms of reducing further processing and transportation costs, or in terms of simplifying the subsequent processing technology, the methods of iron sulfide depression used so far encounter the following problems:

1/ they are not effective enough,

2/ in addition to iron sulfides, some other useful minerals are also suppressed, e.g. when using high alkalinity of mash or calcium hydroxide, the flotation of lead minerals is limited; when using cyanides, complex cyanides or reducing sulfur compounds, zinc cyanides are suppressed simultaneously with iron sulfides)

3/ Many of these methods require large doses of depressants, many of which are harmful from a hygienic and water management perspective.

The above-mentioned disadvantages are solved by the method of depression of iron ore minerals during flotation of complex sulfide ores, especially in the production of selective concentrates with a low iron content according to the invention, the essence of which is that the mash is agitated with a dose of a heavy metal salt, e.g., magnesium sulfate, magnesium chloride, silver nitrate and lead nitrate, wherein the heavy metal salt can be dosed as a sparingly soluble heavy metal compound with a collector. or the mash is agitated with a heavy metal salt and a sparingly soluble heavy metal compound with a collector or the mash is agitated with a heavy metal salt, a sparingly soluble heavy metal compound with a collector and a collector, e.g., of the sulfhydryl type or based on disulfides, wherein the heavy metal salt can be dosed into the mash before the dose of the collector, or its compound with a heavy metal.

The depression method according to the invention allows to separate iron sulfides from other useful minerals, e.g. lead, zinc, copper sulfides, which pass either into collective or selective concentrates. This method allows to significantly reduce the flotation of iron sulfides in a simple way while maintaining the flotation of other useful minerals.

The procedure does not require the use of conventional depressants for suppressing iron sulfides, e.g. calcium hydroxide, alkaline cyanides, and allows for the elimination of the application of some toxic or water management-harmful reagents. The method according to the invention is thus a significant simplification of the reagent regime, and in addition uses salts of heavy metals, e.g. manganese sulfate, which are common activators of e.g. zinc sulfides.

The method can be applied both in selective flotation for the production of certain iron ores, e.g. sphalerite, from iron ores, and in collective flotation. The method creates favorable conditions for the introduction of the preparation of collective concentrates with a reduced iron content, which place lower demands on processing technologies.

Example

It has been verified that gradually increasing the dose of a heavy metal salt, e.g., manganese sulfate, used so far as an activator of some types of sulfide minerals, into the ore at a low dose of a collector (of the order of 10 to 20 g/t of potassium ethylxanthate), e.g., compounds containing sulfhydryl groups -SH or -SUe in the molecule, non-polar organic compounds based on disulfides or polysulfides, reduces the flotation of iron sulfides, without significantly changing the flotation of other sulfides. For illustration, examples of laboratory results on lead-zinc ore can be given in the following tables.

The first table shows tests with a variable dose of magnesium sulfate. The dose of potassium ethyl xanthate collector is 10 g/t, the foaming agent is 20 g/t, the flotation time is 12 min. The product was not re-targeted.

Table 1

Dose Metallurgy Yield

CuSO ₄ .5 HjO (# wt.) (# wt.) /g/t/ Pb Zn Pe Pb Zn Pe 0 6.60 . 7.85 21.49 76.8 34.0 43.7 100 5.26 14.01 18.77 80.5 82.3 52.4 150 5.93 22.4 8.84 77.2 87.7 19.8 250 6.34 27.34 4.08 74.9 86.4 8.1 350 6.01 25.47 4.54 76.2 88.5 10.1 500 6.93 24.47 5.06 79.3 89.6 11.4

As it is clear, increasing the dosage of magnesium sulfate above a certain level leads to a significant reduction in iron recovery.

The second factor influencing the result of the process according to the invention is the amount of dosed collector, the influence of which is captured in a series of tests /Table 2/.

The amount of magnesium sulfate pentahydrate is 350 g/t, foaming agent 20 g/t, flotation time is 12 min, the product is not re-filtered and the collector is potassium ethyl xanthate.

Table 2

Batch Metallurgy Collector recovery (%wt) (%wt)

/g/t/ Pb Zn Pe Pb Zn Pe 10 6.01 25.47 4.54 76.2 88.5 10.1 20 4.25 18.96 9.36 76.0 92.3 22.0 30 5.04 16.55 15.36 84.1 92.8 47.4

The results shown in Table 2 show that the process is very sensitive to the precise dosage of individual agents, especially the collector. The difficulty in dosing can be reduced by dosing the collector in the form of a sparingly soluble compound with a heavy metal, or as a mixture of a conventional collector, e.g. of the sulfhydryl type or based on disulfides, and a sparingly soluble compound.

239656 4 heavy metal collectors, e.g. metal ethyl xanthate, as documented in Table 3.

The amount of sodium sulfate pentahydrate is 350 g/t, the foaming agent is 20 g/t, the flotation time is 12 min and the product has not been renumbered. The dosage of potassium ethyl xanthate and ethyl dixanthate is converted to the equivalent of potassium ethyl xanthate.

Table 3

Quantity Metallurgy Collector yield (56 wt.) (56 wt.)

/g/t/ Pb Zn Fe Pb Zn Fe 10 8.23 17.84 4.90 73.6 76.5 8.9 30 11.78 21.45 5.08 86.4 88.2 11.4 50 8.54 23.30 7.56 82.6 92.8 15.5 75 5.11 15.57 13.63 76.8 94.4 40.9

SUBJECT OF THE INVENTION

Claims (5)

1. A method of depressing iron sulfide minerals in the flotation of complex sulfide ores such as lead-zinc, copper-lead-zinc and copper-lead, in particular in the production of low-iron collective concentrates flotated by conventional collectors, e.g. SH or -Sulfates or organic compounds based on disulphides or polysulphides, characterized in that the mash is agitated and charged with a heavy metal salt such as copper sulphate, cuprous chloride, silver nitrate and lead nitrate. 2. A process according to claim 1, wherein the heavy metal salt is metered as a water-soluble heavy metal compound with a collector which is a copper (II) ethylxanthate. 3. A process according to claim 1, wherein the mash is agitated with a heavy metal salt and a poorly soluble heavy metal compound by a collector. 4. A method according to claim 1, 2 and 3, characterized in that the ee routine is agitating with a heavy metal salt, e.g. e.g., copper (I) ethylxanthogenate and a skimmer, e.g. of the sulfyldril type or based on dlsulfides. Method according to Claims 1, 2 and 4, characterized in that the heavy metal salt is metered into the mash by a batch or collector charge. its compounds and heavy metal.