Investigation of the influence of depressors on flotation-active rock-forming minerals in sulphide gold-bearing ore flotation

Processing of sulphide gold-bearing ores has significant difficulties due to decrease in quality of ore raw materials, increase in quantity of flotation-active rock-forming mineral phases in ores, thin disperse gold inclusions in concentrating minerals and thin inclusions of minerals themselves in rock-forming minerals. This makes the question of improvement of existing technologies actual. The main method of beneficiation of this type of ores is flotation methods due to their flexibility in terms of a wide range of reagent regimes and variation of technological parameters which makes it possible to involve ores of various genesis and material composition in processing. Refractory fine sulphide gold-bearing ores, which are also characterized by a high content of rock-forming minerals, were chosen as an object of the research. Analysis of the flotation process has established the need to use a combination of depressors due to the high recovery of rock-forming minerals, both silicates and carbonates, in the concentrate. Research on selection of depressor allowed to establish that the use of liquid glass and KMK leads to decrease in content and extraction of calcium and silicon in the concentrate. Based on the analysis of the data obtained, the use of a combination of depressors to reduce the extraction of rock-forming minerals in the concentrate with justified rates of sodium silicate and KMC 60 g/t and 55 g/t respectively at a set pH equal to 8 was substantiated.

Afanasova A. V., Aburova V. A., Prokhorova E. O., Lushina E. A. Investigation of the influence of depressors on flotation-active rock-forming minerals in sulphide goldbearing ore flotation. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2022;(6-2):161—174. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236_1493_2022_62_0_161.

This work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (project no. 19–17–00096).

Afanasova A. V.¹, Cand. Sci. (Eng.), assistant professor at the department of mineral processing, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8451-2489, afanasovaop-10@yandex.ru;
Aburova V. A.¹, student at the department of mineral processing, e-mail: s161043@stud.spmi.ru;
Prokhorova E. O.¹, student at the department of mineral processing, e-mail: s161028@ stud.spmi.ru;
Lushina E. A.¹, student at the department of mineral processing, e-mail: s171646@stud. spmi.ru;
¹ St. Petersburg Mining University, 199106, St. Petersburg, Vasilievsky Island, 21 line d.2, Russia.

Afanasova Anastasia Valerievna, e-mail: afanasovaop-10@yandex.ru

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