High-iron type copper oxide ore is a mineral resource mainly composed of copper and iron, accompanied by other metal and non-metallic minerals. This article takes a high-iron type copper ore as an example to introduce its ore beneficiation process.
In this high-iron copper ore, the content of copper oxide is as high as 60%. In addition to copper and iron, there are also polymetallic materials such as gold and cobalt. Among them, copper is mainly chalcopyrite, covellite, and malachite, followed by chalcocite; iron is mainly limonite, hematite, and magnetite, followed by pyrite; non-metallic minerals are mainly quartz, mica, and clay minerals, followed by dolomite, feldspar, chlorite, etc.
Through the analysis of the ore, it is known that chalcopyrite in the mineral is mainly in the form of xenomorphic particles, mostly embedded between quartz particles, and also embedded between pyrite and magnetite particles, and its embedded particle size is mainly concentrated between 0.03 and 0.10 mm; malachite is needle-columnar, and its aggregates exist radially between quartz and hematite particles, and its embedded particle size is uneven, ranging from 1.5 mm in coarse to less than 0.03 mm in fine, and mainly concentrated between 0.02 and 0.08 mm; hematite is mainly embedded in contact with malachite; secondly, it is embedded in contact with mica and chalcopyrite, and there is a phenomenon of replacing malachite and chalcopyrite, and its embedded particle size is mainly concentrated between 0.05 and 0.5 mm.
Through the beneficiation test analysis of the high-iron copper ore, a washing-grinding-copper flotation-ferromagnetic gravity separation process was finally designed for it.
High-iron copper ore washing: The purpose of washing is to remove impurities such as clay, fine mud, and silt from the surface of the copper ore to improve the efficiency and quality of subsequent beneficiation operations. Through scrubbing operations, the final desludging yield is 7.84%.
Copper ore grinding: The grinding fineness has a great influence on the flotation index of the mineral. In order to fully recover the copper and iron valuable minerals in the ore, the grinding index must be ensured. According to the test analysis, the grinding process adopts the grinding and re-grinding process, and the grinding fineness is -0.074 mm, accounting for 82%.
Copper ore flotation: The flotation stage adopts a two-roughing, three-fine, and three-sweeping process. The main purpose is to float out the copper in the mineral. The final copper concentrate contains 18.02% Cu and the copper recovery rate is 72.31%.
Ferromagnetic gravity separation: The copper tailings are subjected to combined magnetic gravity separation, and the process is magnetic separation-centrifuge gravity separation process, and finally 61.79% iron concentrate is obtained, and the operating iron recovery rate is 53.34%.
The above is an introduction to the beneficiation process of a high-iron copper mine. In actual beneficiation plants, since the properties of each copper ore are different, they cannot be generalized. Instead of blindly selecting the process flow based on the "similar" theory, it is recommended to conduct beneficiation test analysis to determine the ore properties, and then design a suitable copper ore beneficiation process flow.
Xinhai Mining has rich experience in copper ore beneficiation. It can not only conduct beneficiation test analysis, but also customize copper beneficiation processes according to the situation. It can also provide a complete set of copper beneficiation equipment and subsequent beneficiation plant equipment installation, commissioning and later operation.
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