CHINA MINE ENGINEERING

Copper mainly exists in the form of primary copper sulfide in a copper mine in Hubei, and the main gangue minerals are garnet and quartz. It was difficult to obtain a high recovery rate of copper-bearing minerals because of the uneven medium-fine dissemination, complex inlaying relationship, and low liberation degree. The grind fineness of the primary grinding and regrinding were determined to be 70.59% under 0.074mm and 92.93% under 0.045mm, respectively. The mixed collector of isobutyl xanthate/ammonium butyl aerofloat (2∶1) was adopted in a flow of bulk flotation-Cu-S separation-centralized return of middling. A concentrate with a copper grade of 20.33% and recovery of 91.21% was gained from a 0.62% copper-bearing ore. The results provide guidance for process optimization and improving copper recovery rate.