Effect of Collector on Copper Flotation Metallurgy

Effect of Collector on Copper Flotation Metallurgy

A pretty clean and relatively easy to treat ore was tested suggesting a collector optimization strategy would probably yield only relatively minor incremental metallurgical improvements. Therefore, collector suite fine-tuning was deemed largely better left for future optimization, possibly when the plant is in operation. In earlier studies Sumitomo had adopted the use of thionocarbamate Cytec 3894, a relatively selective and more expensive nitrogen-based collector, but not particularly strong. This was also was the found to be highly effective when used alone in these studies. Cytec 3894 was compared to a standard xanthate (sodium isopropyl xanthate) and the effect on copper flotation metallurgy. This shows lower mass pulls. The reduced operating cost of the regrind and cleaner circuit would most likely warrant the extra cost of using Cytec 3894.

Effect of Collector on Rougher Flotation Metallurgy
Selective flotation of copper using varied collectors.

Cytec 3894 may sometimes be used in actual plant operation in conjunction with a little xanthate because it is not a strong collector. However xanthate tended to raise mass pull rates in this test programme, therefore it was not used in the locked cycle flotation confirmation testing.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]