Abstract
Application of flotation for upgrading and recovery of copper (Cu) and molybdenum (Mo) contained in flotation tailings from a copper/molybdenum mine was investigated in this study. The sample contained mainly pyrite (FeS2) and quartz (SiO2) as dominant phases with Cu and Mo contents at 0.38% and 0.23% respectively. A flotation system employing use of collector/frother mixture [kerosene + sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) + polyethylene alkyl ethyl] with tannic acid and sodium silicate as FeS2 and SiO2 depressants, compared against potassium amyl xanthate (PAX) and methyl isobutyl carbinol (MIBC) additions were investigated to evaluate Cu and Mo recovery. According to the results, the grades of Cu and Mo in the concentrate did not increase to above 1% when PAX and MIBC were used as collector and frother, even at increased PAX addition. Also grades for tests performed at varying pH rangig from pH 3 to 11 showed no significant improvement. However, with the use of the collector/frother mixture and tannic acid, Cu and Mo grades increased to 1.4 and 2.4% respectively. The grade of Mo was further increased to 8.0% at 52% recovery when sodium silicate was used with the collector/frother mixture. These results indicate that Cu and Mo lost in such tailings can be upgraded and offered as additional resource for possible recovery.
