Sulfidisation Mechanism and Reasonable Mineral Processing Technology of a Composite Copper-cobalt Ore

Using sodium hydrosulfide as the sulfidisation reagent,sodium silicate and CMC as the combined depressant,Y-89 as the collector and MIBC as the frother,a flowsheet consisting of a pre-flotation desilming and a NaHS-induced simultaneous flotation has been selected to treat a composite copper-cobalt ore.When the grades of copper and cobalt are 1.14% and 0.18% for the run-of-mine ore,the copper grade and recovery in the concentrate attained 24.78% and 72.66%,respectively,while the cobalt grade and recovery reached 2.75% and 51.10%,respectively.According to the mechanism analysis on the sulfidisation reagent induced flotation of oxide ore,HS-is the most functional component in sulfidisation reagents.Both NaHS and Na2S show excellent adaptability in the flotation of copper minerals,but with the same dosage,the cobalt minerals can be better recovered by the former as a much more stable metal sulfide film can be formed on the surface of cobalt minerals.