Flotation separation of enargite from complex copper concentrates by selective surface oxidation
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Central south university
Publication date: 2019-05-26
Physicochem. Probl. Miner. Process. 2019;55(4):852-864
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Abstract: In previous study, the promising results of separating enargite from non-arsenic copper sulfides were obtained using selective surface oxidation in pure mineral systems. However, this technology was not well understood in real ores or concentrates. In this study, the flotation separation of enargite from complex copper concentrates by selective surface oxidation was investigated. The effects of regrinding, pulp pH, NaClO concentration, conditioning time and flotation time on separation of enargite from NECu minerals were studied. The mineralogical characteristics of the flotation feed and products were showed as an instructive tool to understand the separation results. According to the results of EDTA extraction, the possible mechanism for separation of enargite from NECu minerals is that enargite is more resistant to oxidized compared to NECu minerals. The following order for the oxidation of NECu minerals and enargite is obtained: chalcopyrite (chalcocite, digenite)> enargite (covellite).