JPS5916503B2 - preferential flotation method - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention The present invention provides a preferential flotation method for obtaining various concentrates by so-called sulfite flotation from complex sulfide ores containing sulfide minerals such as copper, lead, zinc, and iron. The present invention relates to an improvement in a method for recovering lead minerals or copper/lead bulk concentrate by suspending copper minerals and lead minerals while suppressing.

Conventionally, in order to sufficiently suppress zinc minerals and iron sulfide minerals in the above method, several kilograms of SO□ or sulfite were added as a conditioning agent.
It must be added in large amounts on the order of g/l, and in that case, the floatability of lead minerals is extremely reduced, making it difficult to achieve good separation between copper/lead minerals and zinc/iron sulfide minerals. Also, if the addition of SO□ or sulfite is too small, the buoyancy of copper minerals will be poor, and furthermore, zinc minerals and iron sulfide minerals will be insufficiently suppressed.

Furthermore, if a large amount of scavenger is used to sufficiently suspend lead minerals whose buoyancy has decreased due to the addition of SO2 or sulfite, zinc minerals and iron sulfide minerals become easier to float, resulting in poor separation. If the amount of scavenger is too small, zinc minerals and iron sulfide minerals are sufficiently suppressed, but there are many problems in either case, such as a decrease in the actual lead yield.

The present invention solves the problem of deterioration of floatability of lead minerals due to S02 or sulfite added to suppress zinc minerals and iron sulfide minerals, and improves flotation performance and reduces operating costs. It was developed for the purpose of

That is, the present invention is characterized in that the conditioning agent SO□ or sulfite is added to the iron solution while aeration is performed, and then lead is removed using a flotation reagent such as a collection agent or a foaming agent. Priority flotation or copper/lead bulk flotation is carried out.

Aeration is carried out using a special aerator, flotation machine, air lift, etc., but it is preferable to use one that generates as fine air bubbles as possible.

Further, the pH adjustment of the iron solution in the acidic range may be carried out between before mixing with air and before adding the flotation reagent.

The optimum time for aeration differs depending on the target ore and the amount of conditioning agent (S02 or sulfite) added; the floatability of lead minerals increases with time until the optimum time is reached, and the floatability of iron sulfide minerals decreases with time. Go.

However, when the aeration time becomes longer than the optimum time, the buoyancy of copper minerals and lead minerals becomes worse.

□When there are two or more aeration tanks, it is more effective to add SO2 or sulfite to the first tank.

Furthermore, aeration and addition of S02 or sulfite must be performed before adding the flotation reagent (collection agent, etc.), and there is no effect after addition of the flotation reagent.

Example I Tables 1 and 2 show the results of batch copper/lead bulk flotation when applying the conventional method and the method of the present invention to ore from Mine A.

The ore from Mine A contains chalcopyrite, galena, sphalerite, pyrite, pallite, and a small amount of secondary copper minerals as useful minerals.

After crushing ore from mine A to a flotation particle size, 502 (SO□
is dissolved in water to make S02 water.

same as below.

) 3 kg/l, conditioned for 5 minutes, adjusted the pH to 5.9 with lime, and added ethyl xanthate 3 as a scavenger.
0.9/l and Dowfloss #250 (trade name) as a foaming agent 20. ! Table 1 shows the results of batch flotation using the conventional method with the addition of li'/l.

In addition, Table 2 shows the results when the method of the present invention is applied.
9/ was added in the first 2 minutes, and aeration was continued for a total of 20 minutes after SO2 was added. The pH was adjusted during the last 5 minutes of aeration, and the pH was adjusted to 5.9 with lime. After the aeration was completed, ethylsanate was added. Sate 30.9/l, Dow Floss #250
The test was carried out by adding 20 g/.

Comparing the conventional method and the method of the present invention from Tables 1 and 2, the flotation rate of each mineral improved from 76.9 to 83.4 for copper minerals, and from 44.9 to 84.4 for lead minerals. %, zinc minerals were suppressed from 23.5 to 20.8, iron sulfide minerals were suppressed from 26.9 to 9.5, and the flotation results were significantly improved. It can be seen that

Example 2 In the method of the present invention in Example 1, the amount of S02 added was reduced to 1
Table 3 shows the flotation results when the amount was reduced to 1 kg/t and the aeration time was shortened to 15 minutes.

As can be seen from Table 3, copper and lead are often suspended;
Zinc and iron sulfide are well suppressed despite the reduced amount of S02 added.

Example 3 Table 4 shows the flotation results when 80 g of KL #203 (trade name of sodium diisopropyldithiophosphate) was added as a collecting agent during flotation in the method of the present invention in Example 1. .

As can be seen from Table 4, approximately 6 minutes after the start of flotation, the flotation rate of each mineral was as high as 83.5% for copper minerals, 9% for lead minerals, 21.0% for zinc minerals, and 7% for iron sulfide minerals. A very good separation result of .9% was obtained.

As described above, when the method of the present invention is applied to lead flotation of ores containing various sulfide minerals or copper/lead bulk flotation, the flotation of lead minerals is significantly improved, and copper minerals are also easily floated. On the other hand, zinc minerals and iron sulfide minerals are selectively and well suppressed, so the flotation results are improved, and the amount of added scavenger etc. can be reduced, so running costs can be reduced.

Furthermore, in the present invention, lead minerals float well from the initial stage of flotation and have very high separability. Even in this case, as mentioned above, good results can be obtained with a small amount of collector, so that the separability of copper and lead in the subsequent step of separation and flotation can be further improved, and has various advantages.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. When carrying out lead flotation or copper/lead bulk flotation from ores containing sulfide minerals such as copper, lead, zinc, iron, etc., adding S02 or sulfite as a conditioning agent while aerating the iron solution. A preferential flotation method characterized by