Four key technologies for copper ore dressing

Copper ore dressing technology is a key link in the development of copper ore resources, which determines the recovery rate and economic benefits of copper ore. At present, copper ore dressing technology mainly includes gravity separation, magnetic separation, flotation and leaching. These methods have their own advantages and are suitable for different types of copper ores.

 Gravity separation method

Gravity separation method is based on the relative density difference of minerals. In moving media such as water or heavy liquid, mineral particles are subjected to fluid dynamics and mechanical forces to form loose stratification and separation, and realize the separation of ore particles of different densities. Gravity separation method is suitable for the pre-selection and purification of coarse-grained copper sulfide ores, which can reduce flotation costs, reduce environmental pollution, and improve the economic benefits of low-grade copper ores.

 Magnetic separation method

Magnetic separation method uses the characteristics of different forces on minerals in the magnetic field for sorting. The original copper ore is evenly fed into the magnetic field area by an electromagnetic vibrating feeder, and the magnetic material is adsorbed on the surface of the magnetic drum and taken to the non-magnetic area for unloading. The non-magnetic and weakly magnetic particles are thrown away by different magnetic forces and have different trajectories to achieve differentiation. The more times of magnetic separation, the finer the copper ore particle size, and the better the effect of removing impurities.

 Flotation method

Flotation method is the main technology for copper ore beneficiation in my country. Based on the difference in the physical and chemical properties of the copper ore surface, the minerals are selectively attached to the bubbles for separation through flotation agent treatment. Flotation method is divided into copper ore priority flotation method, mixed flotation method, positive flotation method and reverse flotation method. In addition, there are sulfide flotation method, fatty acid flotation method, amine flotation method, chelating agent-neutral oil flotation method and emulsion flotation method. Flotation method can process intermediate products, tailings and coarse concentrates that cannot be processed by physical beneficiation method, and can recover useful components from "three wastes", which has broad development prospects.

 Leaching method

Leaching method is suitable for difficult-to-select ores that are difficult to achieve the expected goals with ordinary flotation technology. Specific applications include heap leaching, pool leaching, in-situ leaching and agitation leaching. With the reduction of easily-selected ores, chemical leaching or flotation-chemical leaching combined method has become an important direction of copper ore dressing technology. The leaching method is easy to operate and has less environmental pollution, so it is widely used.

The selection of copper ore dressing technology needs to be comprehensively considered based on the specific properties of the ore, investment costs and environmental requirements to achieve efficient utilization and sustainable development of copper ore resources.