Flotation and depression control of arsenopyrite through pH and pulp redox potential using xanthate as the collector

The role of pH and pulp redox potential (E_H) to control the flotation and depression of arsenopyrite has been investigated through studies on microflotation of arsenopyrite crystals and batch flotation of an arsenopyritic ore using isopropyl xanthate as collector. The transition between flotation and depression of arsenopyrite is established by the reversible potential of the xanthate/dixanthogen couple. Adsorption of arsenate ions on ferric hydroxide has been studied through electrokinetics to delineate mechanisms involved in the depression of arsenopyrite using oxidants. Chemical binding between arsenate species and ferric hydroxide sites on arsenopyrite is suggested as the mechanism responsible for depression of arsenopyrite. E_H conditions are given for the flotation and depression of arsenopyite at various pH values for the arsenopyritic ore.     

Flotation of oxidized minerals of copper using a new synthetic chelating reagent as collector

A new synthetic reagent containing a mixed aliphatic-aromatic structure, with a hydrocarbon chain and an aminothiophenol chelating group, has proven to be an effective collector for the flotation of chrysocolla minerals. The flotation is optimum in the narrow pH range of 5.5 to 6, falls sharply at pH 5, and is moderate in the pH range 7 to 11. Infrared spectra indicate that copper aminothiophenolate chelates are formed on the surface of the chrysocolla under the conditions of maximum flotation.     

Segregation roasting of nickel,copper and cobalt from deep-sea manganese nodules

The recovery of nickel, copper and cobalt from ocean manganese nodules by a segregation roasting technique was investigated under a wide range of conditions with several nodule samples all of which gave similar results. The best conditions for the segregation of the metals were achieved with CaCl₂ as the chloride source at a batch retention time of approximately two hours; the highest recoveries were obtained at approximately 850°C for copper and at 1,050°C for nickel and cobalt. At 850°C, copper recovery was 75%, but nickel and cobalt recoveries were only about 25%. At 1,050°C, the nickel and cobalt recoveries were increased to about 60%, but the copper recovery dropped to only 35%. Electron-probe microanalysis showed the segregated metal to be an alloy, indicating that gaseous reactions play an important role in the reduction of chlorides to metal during the process.     

On the natural floatability of sulfides

A system is presented in which an atmosphere containing less than 10^?6 mole fraction oxygen and water containing less than 5 ppb oxygen can be maintained. Flotation of chalcocite, chalcopyrite, galena, pyrite and sphalerite in this system reveals that these minerals are naturally floatable under these conditions.     

The role of zinc-xanthate precipitation in sphalerite flotation

Flotation of sphalerite with ethyl, propyl, butyl, amyl, and hexyl xanthate is presented as a function of pH and concentration. Surface species have been identified with infrared spectroscopy and correlated with flotation and electrophoretic results. Flotation is postulated to be controlled by the formation and adsorption of bulk precipitated zinc xanthate on the alkyl chains of chemisorbed collector species.     

Grinding of mineral mixtures in high-pressure grinding rolls

Attempts at improving comminution machines generally have been directed towards increasing the performance efficiency, particularly increasing throughput rate and decreasing energy consumption. The latest and most successful new comminution technology has been the high-pressure grinding rolls (HPGR), which have proved to be highly efficient in energy consumption and to have a relatively high throughput rate at low steel consumption. Already used extensively in cement plants worldwide, the first HPGRs in the mineral industry were installed in plants processing diamond ores. They are now finding their way into the large-scale base-metal mining industry. Since feed constituents in natural ores vary in their physical properties such as hardness, plasticity and brittleness, the present paper is concerned with an investigation of the behavior of a heterogeneous feed as it passes through the HPGR. The effect of feed composition on operational parameters, the energy efficiency of comminution, and energy distribution among the feed components is addressed. Mineral particles with high hardness act as energy transfer agents in the roll gap and enhance the grinding of softer mineral particles in a mixed feed.     

Characterization and pore structure analysis of a copper ore containing chrysocolla

The physical and chemical characteristics of a chrysocolla-bearing copper ore have been investigated with special emphasis on elucidation of its pore structure through gas adsorption techniques. The effect of such variables as particle size and outgassing temperature on the pore structure and size distribution has been investigated in detail. The results obtained show that the chrysocolla is a microporous solid and that its microporous nature can be considerably altered by heat treatment around 550°C. A possible reason for the so-called “thermal activation of chrysocolla” has been postulated.     

A stochastic approach to sieving kinetics

A model of the batch sieving process based on a stochastic approach is presented. The model indicates that there is an inherent uncertainty associated with sieving results which is a function of the mean sieving rate, degree of choking and sieving time. The model suggests that choking of sieve apertures may lead to a disproportionately high degree of uncertainty. Experimental data for a sonic sifter device gave good semi-quantitative agreement with the model, while that for a Rotap device gave qualitative agreement.     

The scale-up of grate-discharge continuous ball mills

Dimensionless selection functions for the grinding of material in continuous gratedischarge mills can be scaled in terms of normalized quantities of feed rate, geometric mean size of the particles and the mill length-to-diameter ratio. Simulations using the scale-up criteria together with the lumped-parameter grinding model yield results for mills of different lengths and operating at different feed rates that are in excellent agreement with the observed values.     

Adsorption phenomena in hydrometallurgy, 1 The uptake of copper,nickel and cobalt by oxide adsorbents in aqueous ammoniacal solutions

The uptake or adsorption of copper, nickel and cobalt by finely divided oxide solids in aqueous ammoniacal medium has been investigated experimentally in order to determine how adsorption on leach residues can affect the recovery of leachable metals. Hematite, rutile, alumina and quartz were used as model solid adsorbents. In the case of ammoniacal leach solutions the controlling metal species appears to be the aqueous neutral hydroxo species. Adsorption behavior was found to have maxima and minima as a function of pH, the magnitude of which depends on ammonia concentration, the metal cation, and the adsorbent.