Ore mineral characteristics as rate-limiting factors in sphalerite flotation: Comparison of the mineral chemistry (iron and manganese content), grain size, and liberation

A sphalerite deportment study using QEMSCAN (R) was conducted to understand the distribution of the sphalerite grains with varying iron and manganese content during a multi-stage Zn-Pb-Cu flotation of a complex ore. In addition, the study aims to understand the effect of sphalerite chemistry in relation to grain size and liberation. Mineral chemistry, grain size, and degree of liberation were extracted for 497,704 sphalerite grains, composed of approximately 31 million energy-dispersive spectrometer (EDS) analysis points. Bulk chemical assay and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) were used to validate the extracted sphalerite chemistry data from QEMSCAN (R). Sphalerite recovery in the final zinc concentrate improved with increasing iron and manganese content for sphalerite grains containing up to 9% Fe and 2% Mn. At higher iron and manganese content, sphalerite recovery decreased or plateaued. Conversely, an opposite trend was observed for losses to the copper-lead concentrate. The obtained results indicated that considering the ore mineral characteristics, physical factors such as grain size and liberation have a more significant effect on sphalerite flotation than the presence of iron and manganese.

Automated summary

A QEMSCAN (R) study was conducted to investigate the distribution of sphalerite grains with different iron and manganese content during a multi-stage Zn-Pb-Cu flotation process. The study aimed to understand the effect of sphalerite chemistry on grain size and liberation. The results showed that physical factors, such as grain size and liberation, had a more significant impact on sphalerite flotation than the presence of iron and manganese.