An investigation of the factors affecting the recovery of molybdenite in the Kennecott Utah Copper bulk flotation circuit

Molybdenite in the Aitik deposit and its southern extension was studied through mineralogical/chemical analysis and laboratory flotation tests. It is demonstrated that molybdenite varies considerably in grain size, ranging from coarse (>20 μm) to very fine (<2 μm) and occurs predominantly as single grains in the groundmass of the rocks, as grain aggregates, and intergrown with chalcopyrite and pyrite. The dominating molybdenite-bearing rocks are the mica schists, the quartz-monzodiorite, and the Salmijärvi biotite-amphibole gneiss, the latter containing mostly medium-coarsegrained OPEN ACCESSMinerals 2014, 4 789 molybdenite. Later geological features, such as garnet-magnetite-anhydrite-K feldspar alteration and pegmatite dikes appear to be responsible for a significant part of the distribution pattern of molybdenite. Molybdenite grains contain up to 1587 ppm Re, with an average of 211 ± 10 ppm in Aitik molybdenite and 452 ± 33 ppm in Salmijärvi molybdenite. The higher Re concentrations are found in molybdenite associated with sericite-and quartz-amphibole-magnetite altered rocks, whereas low Re values occur in rocks in which potassic alteration is prominent. Molybdenite recovery is influenced by the mineralogy of the host rock and the alteration grade; hence both of these factors will have an impact on potential recoveries. The recovery of molybdenite was lower from flotation feeds with significant amounts of Mg-bearing clay-micas.

Section: Mo Extractioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Section: Mo Extractionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Distribution, Character, and Rhenium Content of Molybdenite in the Aitik Cu-Au-Ag-(Mo) Deposit and Its Southern Extension in the Northern Norrbotten Ore District, Northern Sweden

Wanhainen

Nigatu²,

Selby

et al. 2014

“…It has been found that calcium ions can adsorb on molybdenite as a result of electrostatic interactions and then increase the zeta potential of molybdenite or even reverse the zeta potential from negative to positive [11].Adsorbed calcium ions are attractive to negatively charged fine quartz or other gangue particles, deteriorating molybdenite flotation. These studies were conducted on Cu-Mo ores with bulk flotation of Cu and Mo at high pH and molybdenite recovered as a by-product [12][13][14][15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Interaction between Ca2+ and Molybdenite Edges and Its Effect on Molybdenum Flotation

Wan

Yang

Cao³

et al. 2017

Abstract:In this paper, the influence of Ca 2+ on the flotation of a skarn type molybdenum ore and pure molybdenite mineral at pH 8 was studied using diesel as the collector. It was found that Ca 2+ had little effect on molybdenum flotation at low concentrations. By further increasing Ca 2+ concentration, the floatability of molybdenite-especially from the fine size fractions-was depressed even without the presence of fine gangue minerals. The mechanism responsible for the deleterious effect of Ca 2+ on molybdenite flotation was studied by a range of techniques including zeta potential measurements, Scanning Electron Microscopy, and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometer (SEM-EDS) analyses and molybdenum phase analyses. It was found that Ca 2+ interacted with molybdenite edges producing CaMoO 4 precipitates which were responsible for the depression of molybdenite flotation of Ca 2+ by preventing the adsorption of diesel.

“…Atmospheric oxidation of chalcopyrite (ageing) produces compounds such as iron-oxyhydroxides and basic iron-sulphates on the chalcopyrite surface [21,22]. The oxidation of molybdenite mainly occurred in the defect point of the cleavage surface, and produced compounds like MoO 3 [23]. The anionic depressant seaweed glue (SEG, MW 32,000-200,000, the viscosity of solutions of 1% SEG (by weight) was 1000-1500 mPa·s) was supplied independently by the IMUMR Flotation Reagents Limited Company, Shandong, China.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Seaweed Glue in the Separation of Copper–Molybdenum Sulphide Ore by Flotation

Chen

et al. 2018

Flotation separation of chalcopyrite from molybdenite was studied using seaweed glue (SEG) as a depressant. Flotation process and mechanism were examined by response surface methodology, flotation tests, adsorption tests, zeta potential measurements and fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra. Response surface methodology with a Box-Behnken design suggested the optimal reagent schedule: pH 4, depressant seaweed glue 197 mg/L, collector amyl xanthate 16 mg/L and frother (methyl isobutyl carbinol) 20 mg/L, and selective separation of chalcopyrite and molybdenite was achieved by flotation. Comparison of SEG and traditional depressants indicated that the SEG could achieve a similar separation efficiency, and exhibited the advantages of environmental compatibility and economic adaptability. Co-adsorption of seaweed glue and amyl xanthate occurred on the surface of molybdenite, and is explained to happen through distinct mechanisms due to the heterogeneous nature of the surface. It is likely that seaweed glue depresses molybdenite by covering the dixanthogen resulting from adsorption of xanthate ions. It is shown that seaweed glue is as effective a depressant of Cu/Mo separation as cyanide.