Separation Test of Copper-Zinc-Sulfur Mixed Concentrate in Kazakhstan

The mixed concentrate which contains 9.97% Cu, 9.25% Zn and 38.62% S is selected from polymetallic sulfide ores in Kazakhstan. The difficulty of study is the effective separation of copper and zinc. We used the process of grinding the mixed concentrate, and then carried out separation flotation of copper, zinc and sulfur according to the properties of the mixed concentrate. Considering the poor effect of single depressant, we used the combination of zinc sulfate and sodium sulfite as the depressants for separating copper. The collector of copper floatation is 432-xanthate and the activator of zinc floatation is copper sulfate. As a result, we obtained satisfying selecting targets through closed-circuit test: The grade of copper is 21.91% and zinc is 6.95% in the copper concentrate. The copper recovery is 87.64%. The grade of zinc is 40.42% and recovery is 65.80% in zinc concentrate. The sulfur recovery is 46.39% in sulfur concentrate.