CHEMISTRY AND OPTIMAL CONDITIONS FOR COPPER MINERALS FLOTATION: THEORY AND PRACTICE

Reliable information on the surface state of sulphide copper minerals and regularities of sulphidization and flotation of oxidized copper minerals, the composition of sorption layer on the mineral surface forming during its interaction with xanthate or dixanthogen, and the influence of collector forms sorption on the copper minerals floatability and on the optimal conditions for these minerals flotation and depression has been obtained at present. The determined physicochemical models in the form of quantitative equations have been derived for the optimal conditions of flotation and depression of copper minerals under changing pH value and of sodium sulphide, lime, cyanide, zinc–cyanide complexes additions. The equations derived were proven in the laboratory and industrial scale and can be used both in automatic control systems at plants and for improvement of technological processes of selective flotation of copper containing ores. Keywords: flotationcopper mineralsmechanism of reagents actionphysicochemical modelsautomatic control systems