Copper-cobalt ore flotation process

1. Pretreatment stage

Crushing: The ore is crushed by jaw crusher (to 150-300mm) → cone crusher (to 20-50mm) → short-head cone crusher (to 5-10mm).

Grinding: After fine crushing, the ore enters ball mill or rod mill and is ground to the particle size required for flotation (usually -0.074mm accounts for 60%~90%), and the particle size is controlled by spiral classifier or hydrocyclone.

2. Flotation core process

(1) Priority flotation process (copper→cobalt separation)

Copper roughing: Add collector (such as xanthate) and frother (such as pine oil) to preferentially float copper minerals.

Cobalt roughing: Add activator (such as sulfuric acid) to copper flotation tailings to float cobalt-containing minerals (such as cobalt pyrite).

Scavenging and concentration: Two scavenging processes improve the recovery rate, and multiple concentration processes improve the concentrate grade.

(2) Mixed flotation process (copper and cobalt are recovered simultaneously and then separated)

Mixed flotation: Copper and cobalt minerals are floated simultaneously to produce mixed concentrate.

Copper and cobalt separation: Mixed concentrate is dehydrated with an inhibitor (such as lime to inhibit pyrite), and copper and cobalt are selectively separated by flotation.

3. Product processing

Concentration: The flotation concentrate is dehydrated with a concentrator (the solid concentration is increased to 60%-70%).

Filtration: Vacuum filter or filter press is used for further dehydration (the moisture content of the concentrate is reduced to 8%-12%).

Tailings treatment: Tailings are concentrated, dry stacked or backfilled to reduce environmental pollution.

List of key equipment

(1). Pretreatment equipment

(2). Flotation equipment

(3). Auxiliary system

Reagent preparation: Automatic dispensing machine (precisely controls collector, inhibitor, and activator).

Dehydration equipment: concentrator → vacuum filter/filter press.

Magnetic separation equipment (optional): high gradient magnetic separator to process flotation tailings and recover weakly magnetic cobalt minerals.

Technical points

Grinding particle size: needs to be adjusted according to the particle size of mineral embedding. Too coarse will result in insufficient dissociation, and too fine will result in muddling.

Reagent system:

Collector: xanthate (copper), black medicine (cobalt);

Adjuster: lime (pH 9-10, inhibiting pyrite);

Activator: sulfuric acid (activating cobalt minerals).

Separation difficulty: The floatability of cobalt-containing pyrite is similar to that of copper minerals, so the dosage of inhibitor needs to be optimized.