Multianalysis Characterization of Mineralogical Properties of Copper‐Lead‐Zinc Mixed Ores and Implications for Comprehensive Recovery

Abstract

Copper-lead-zinc mixed ore in Tibet, China, is a complex and refractory polymetallic ore resource; thus, ascertaining its mineralogical properties is very important for comprehensive recovery of valuable elements. In this work, the mineralogical properties of this copper-lead-zinc mixed ore have been characterized in detail following a multidisciplinary approach, including chemical, phase, x-ray diffraction (XRD), electron microprobe, and mineral liberation analyses. The results show that the raw ore contained 0.53% Cu, 1.29% Pb, and 0.54% Zn; the oxidation rates of copper, lead, and zinc were 40.21%, 79.31%, and 84.83%, respectively. The Au and Ag contents in the raw ore were 0.28 g/t and 23.6 g/t, which can be comprehensively utilized along with the recovery of copper, lead, and zinc. The gangue mainly contained SiO2, CaO, and Al2O3. Copper in the raw ore mainly existed in bornite, duftite, chalcopyrite, and chrysocolla; lead mainly existed in cerussite, duftite, and galena; zinc mainly existed in willemite, hemimorphite, and sphalerite. The complexity in the embedding and wrapping relationships, fine-grained dissemination, high oxidation, and considerable differences in the floatability of various minerals result in difficulties in recovering the target minerals using a single method. Based on the systematic mineralogical properties obtained, an integrated technology of “bulk flotation-oxidation roasting-hydrometallurgy” has been proposed to enrich and separate copper, lead, and zinc in the ore, providing new ideas for the comprehensive and efficient utilization of polymetallic mineral resources in Tibet.

Beneficiation Of Artvin-Cerattepe copper-zinc ore by flotation

“…Process mineralogy has great importance in terms of determining the beneficiation process of a complex or refractory ore (Çelik et al, 2011;Bradshaw, 2014;Nayak et al, 2020;Birinci and Gök, 2021;Altınışık et al, 2022). Recent investigations have shown that effective flotation of such complex ores requires process mineralogy data to be used in developing flotation flowsheets, setting appropriate reagent regimes, and determining liberation degrees (Yang et al, 2016;Bahrami et al, 2019;Zhang et al, 2020;Nghipulile et al, 2022). The steps of this process are determined on the basis of detailed mineralogy studies (Zhao et al, 2022).…”

Synergistic effects of ferric sulfate addition and mechanical activation on leaching of Sarcheshmeh copper sulfide concentrate

“…Copper mainly exists with other metals in the form of complex sulfide ores. Such minerals can be detached from each other through the flotation process and processed via pyrometallurgical routes [1][2][3][4]. Although employing the pyrometallurgical routes is not environmentally attractive due to the production of significant SO 2 ; however, nearly 85% of the universal Cu is obtained by such processes [5,6].…”