Acid mine drainage activation mechanism on lime-depressed pyrite flotation from copper sulfide ore

The lime-depressed pyrite from Cu differential flotation tailings with acid mine drainage(AMD)as a natural activator was recovered.The effect of AMD on lime-depressed pyrite flotation was investigated by a series of laboratory flotation tests and surface analytical techniques.Flotation test results indicated that AMD could effectively activate the pyrite flotation with a sodium butyl xanthate(SBX)collector,and a high-quality sulfur concentrate was obtained.Pulp ion concentration analysis results indicated that AMD facilitated desorption of Ca^(2+)and adsorption of Cu^(2+)on the depressed-pyrite surface.Adsorption measurements and contact angle analysis results confirmed that adding AMD improved the adsorption amount of SBX collector on the pyrite surface and increased the contact angle by 31°.Results of Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis indicated that AMD treatment promoted the formation of hydrophobic species(S^(0) hydrophobic entity and copper sulfides)and the removal of hydrophilic calcium and iron species on the pyrite surface,which reinforced the adsorption of collector.The findings of the present research provide important theoretical basis and technical support for a cleaner production of copper sulfide ores.

First-principle study on the surface atomic relaxation properties of sphalerite

The surface properties of sphalerite （ZnS） were theoretically investigated using first principle calculations based on the density functional theory （DFT）. DFT results indicate that both the （110） and the （220） surfaces of sphalerite undergo surface atom relaxation after geometry optimization, which results in a considerable distortion of the surface region. In the normal direction, i.e., perpendicular to the sur- face, S atoms in the first surface layer move outward from the bulk （dl）, whereas Zn atoms move toward the bulk （d2）, forming an S-enriched surface. The values of these displacements are 0.003 nm for dl and 0.021 nm for d2 on the （110） surface, and 0.002 nm for dl and 0.011 nm for d2 on the （220） surface. Such a relaxation process is visually interpreted through the qualitative analysis of molecular mechanics. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic （XPS） analysis provides the evidence for the S-enriched surface. A polysulphide （S n^2- ） surface layer with a bind- ing energy of 163.21 eV is formed on the surface of sphalerite after its grinding under ambient atmosphere. This S-enriched surface and the S 2- surface layer have important influence on the flotation properties ofsphalerite. Keywords：

Microstructure Characteristic and Phase Evolution of Refractory Siderite Ore during Sodium-carbonate-added Catalyzing Carbothermic Reduction

Thermodynamic analysis of refractory siderite ore during carbothermic reduction was conducted. Micro- structure characteristics and phase transformation of siderite ore during sodium-carbonate-added catalyzing carboth- ermic reduction were investigated. X-ray diffraction （XRD）, scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive analysis of X rays were used to characterize the reduced samples. Results indicate that the solid reaction between FeO and SiO2 is inevitable during carbothermic reduction and the formation of fayalite is the main hindrance to the rapid reduction of siderite. The phase transformation of present siderite ore can be described as： siderite-magnetite-metallic iron, complying with the formation of abundant fayalite. Improving the reduction temperature （-1050 -C ） and duration is helpful for the formation and aggregation of metallic iron. The iron particle size in the reduced ore was below 20 l-m, and fayalite was abundant in the absence of sodium carbonate. With 5% Na2CO3 addition, the iron particle size in the reduced ore was generally above 50μm, and the diffraction intensity associated with metallic iron in the XRD pattern increased. The Na2O formed from the dissociation of Na2 CO3 can catalyze the carbothermie reduction of the siderite. This catalytic activity may be mainly caused by an increase in the reducing reaction activity of FeO.