Flotation Research on Cuprite-type Oxide Copper in XinJiang

Low-grade oxide copper ore is an important resource, reserves of which are scattered all over the world. In the present study, the characteristics of oxide copper ore are studied using multi-element analysis and X-ray diffraction. The oxide copper minerals in the ore are mainly in the form of cuprite, malachite, chrysocollite and azurite. The effects of grinding fineness and agent regulation on flotation are also investigated. Floatability was unsatisfactory because of the many kinds of oxide copper minerals present in the sample. The flotation results indicate that a concentrate grade of 18.32% at 73.46% recovery can be obtained using the closed circuit process of one-stage roughing, three-stage scavenging and two-stage cleaning flotation under the optimum parameters, with raw ore characteristics of 1.29% Cu, 92.25% copper oxidation rate, and 65.59% slime content.