Enhanced recovery of unevenly disseminated copper ore dominated by chalcocite via a combined process incorporating flash flotation and split flotation
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1
Xiamen Zijin Technology of Mining and Metallurgy Ltd.
2
Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd., Longyan, China
3
Kamoa Copper S.A., Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
Publication date: 2025-12-29
Corresponding author
Hao Duan
Xiamen Zijin Technology of Mining and Metallurgy Ltd.
Physicochem. Probl. Miner. Process. 2025;61(6):216139
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ABSTRACT
The flotation of unevenly disseminated minerals presents a persistent challenge in mineral processing. In this study, a combined flash flotation and split flotation approach was developed based on mineralogical analyses aimed at enhancing the recovery of unevenly disseminated copper sulfide minerals. Mineralogical analysis indicated that, under a feed particle size of P80 at 200 μm, 31.65% of copper sulfide minerals were fully liberated, with 28.40% falling within the 20-147 μm size range, which is optimal for flash flotation. The flash flotation yielded a concentrate grading 54.96% Cu at a Cu recovery of 31.03%. This, together with a subsequent process incorporating split flotation, has led to a final concentrate grading 48.85% Cu and with an overall Cu recovery of 95.67% being obtained. The recovery represents about 6.5% improvement when compared to the conventional flotation process that is currently employed on site. The improvement is also accompanied with a reduction in collector and frother consumptions of 23% and 28%, respectively. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the combined process incorporating flash flotation and split flotation for handling unevenly disseminated Cu ores dominated by chalcocite.