Enhancing XRF sensor-based sorting of porphyritic copper ore using particle swarm optimization-support vector machine(PSO-SVM)algorithm

X-ray fluorescence(XRF)sensor-based ore sorting enables efficient beneficiation of heterogeneous ores,while intraparticle heterogeneity can cause significant grade detection errors,leading to misclassifications and hindering widespread technology adoption.Accurate classification models are crucial to determine if actual grade exceeds the sorting threshold using localized XRF signals.Previous studies mainly used linear regression(LR)algorithms including simple linear regression(SLR),multivariable linear regression(MLR),and multivariable linear regression with interaction(MLRI)but often fell short attaining satisfactory results.This study employed the particle swarm optimization support vector machine(PSO-SVM)algorithm for sorting porphyritic copper ore pebble.Lab-scale results showed PSO-SVM out-performed LR and raw data(RD)models and the significant interaction effects among input features was observed.Despite poor input data quality,PSO-SVM demonstrated exceptional capabilities.Lab-scale sorting achieved 93.0%accuracy,0.24%grade increase,84.94%recovery rate,57.02%discard rate,and a remarkable 39.62 yuan/t net smelter return(NSR)increase compared to no sorting.These improvements were achieved by the PSO-SVM model with optimized input combinations and highest data quality(T=10,T is XRF testing times).The unsuitability of LR methods for XRF sensor-based sorting of investigated sample is illustrated.Input element selection and mineral association analysis elucidate element importance and influence mechanisms.

Leaching kinetics of low-grade copper ore containing calcium-magnesium carbonate in ammonia-ammonium sulfate solution with persulfate

The leaching kinetics of copper from low-grade copper ore was investigated in ammonia-ammonium sulfate solution with sodium persulfate. The effect parameters of stirring speed, temperature, particle size, concentrations of ammonia, ammonium sulfate and sodium persulfate were determined. The results show that the leaching rate is nearly independent of agitation above 300 r/min and increases with the increase of temperature, concentrations of ammonia, ammonium sulfate and sodium persulfate. The EDS analysis and phase quantitative analysis of the residues indicate that bornite can be dissolved by persulfate oxidization. The leaching kinetics with activation energy of 22.91 kJ/mol was analyzed by using a new shrinking core model （SCM） in which both the interfacial transfer and diffusion across the product layer affect the leaching rate. A semi-empirical rate equation was obtained to describe the leaching process and the empirical reaction orders with respect to the concentrations of ammonia, ammonium sulfate and sodium persulfate are 0.5, 1.2 and 0.5, respectively.

Dissolution kinetics of low grade complex copper ore in ammonia-ammonium chloride solution

The leaching kinetics of Tang-dan refractory low grade complex copper ore was investigated in ammonia-ammonium chloride solution.The concentration of ammonia and ammonium chloride,the ore particle size,the solid-to-liquid ratio and the temperature were chosen as parameters in the experiments.The results show that temperature,concentration of ammonia and ammonium chloride have favorable influence on the leaching rate of copper oxide ores.But,leaching rate decreases with increasing particle size and solid-to-liquid ratio.The leaching process is controlled by the diffusion of the lixiviant and the activation energy is determined to be 23.279 kJ/mol.An equation was also proposed to describe the leaching kinetics.

Mechanochemical sulfidization of a mixed oxide-sulphide copper ore by co-grinding with sulfur and its effect on the flotation efficiency

Mechanochemical sulfidization of a mixed sulfide/oxide copper ore by co-grinding with sulfur and additives including Mg(NO3)2 and Fe(NO3)3 salts and iron,aluminum and magnesium powders was investigated for the first time.Also,the influence of sulfidization during the wet-milling process was examined on the separation efficiency and recovery of copper in detail.The results demonstrated that co-grinding with sulfur solely had the best flotation performance at the value of 0.5 wt.%and it was attributed to the possible existence of S\\O bonding on copper oxides surfaces.In addition,adding magnesium nitrate salt,magnesium powder,iron nitrate salt and aluminum powder as additive associated with 0.5 wt%sulfur into ball milling caused the flotation improvement at the amounts of 0.2 wt%,0.2 wt%,0.5 wt%and 0.5 wt%,respectively.Also,the effect of grinding time and sulfidization pH with 0.5 wt%sulfur solely was determined and pH s of 7.5 to 8.5 gave the best results.The highest recovery(75.76%)and separation efficiency(63.44%)were achieved at pH of 7.5 and 8.5,respectively.

Leaching kinetics of low-grade copper ore with high-alkality gangues in ammonia-ammonium sulphate solution

The leaching kinetics of low-grade copper ore with high-alkality gangues was studied in ammonia-ammonium sulphate solution.The main parameters,such as ammonia and ammonium sulphate concentrations,particle size,solid-to-liquid ratio and reaction temperature,were chosen in the experiments.The results show that the increase of temperature,concentrations of ammonia and ammonium sulphate is propitious to the leaching rate of copper ore.The leaching rate increases with the decrease of particle size and solid-to-liquid ratio.The leaching rate is controlled by the diffusion through the ash layer and the activation energy is determined to be 25.54 kJ/mol.A semi-empirical equation was proposed to describe the leaching kinetics.

Study on the mechanical activation of malachite and the leaching of complex copper ore in the Luanshya mining area, Zambia

Mechanical activation(MA) of malachite was carried out by dry planetary grinding(DPG) and wet Isa grinding(WIG) methods. When the rotational speed was increased to 400 r/min in DPG, the specific surface area of malachite reached the maximum and the particle size reached the minimum of 0.7–100 μm. Agglomeration occurred between mineral particles when the rotational speed was increased to 580 r/min in DPG.However, no agglomeration was observed among particles with sizes 0.4–3 μm in WIG. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that, at a 580 r/min rotational speed in DPG, the amorphization degree of malachite was 53.12%, whereas that in WIG was 71.40%, indicating that MA led to amorphization and distortion of crystal structures. In addition, in the Fourier transform infrared(FT-IR) spectra of activated malachite, the bands associated with –OH, CO_3^(2-)and metal lattice vibrations of Cu–O and Cu–OH were weakened, and a new H–O–H bending mode and peaks of gaseous CO_2 appeared, indicating that MA decreased the band energy, enhanced dihydroxylation, and increased the chemical reactivity of the malachite.Furthermore, the leaching behavior of copper ore was greatly improved by MA.

Kinetics of chemical leaching of chalcopyrite from low grade copper ore: behavior of different size fractions

The kinetics of the chemical leaching of copper from low grade ore in ferric sulfate media was investigated using the constrained least square optimization technique. The experiments were carried out for different particle sizes in both the reactor and column at constant oxidation-reduction potential （Eh）, pH values, and temperature. The main copper mineral was chalcopyrite. About 40% of Cu recovery is obtained after 7 d of reactor leaching at 85℃ using -0.5 mm size fraction, while the same recovery is obtained at 75℃ after 24 d. Also, about 23% of Cu recovery is obtained after 60 d of column leaching for ＋4--8 mm size fraction whereas the Cu recovery is as low as about 15% for ＋8--12.7 and ＋12.7--25 mm size fractions. A 4-stage model for chalcopyrite dissolution was used to explain the observed dissolution behaviors. The results show that thick over-layers of sulphur components cause the parabolic behavior of chalcopyrite dissolution and the precipitation of Fe3＋ plays the main role in chalcopyrite passivation. In the case of coarse particles, transformation from one stage to another takes a longer time, thus only two stages including the initial reaction on fresh surfaces and S0 deposition are observed.

Bacterial leaching of discarded copper ores from Yongping, China

The elementary and phase analysis of discarded copper ores from Yongping of China has been performed. The experi- ments of extracting copper from the discarded copper ores were done with the mixed bacteria obtained through a series of enrichment, separation, domestication and combination tests. The results show that in the process of bioleaching, the pH value rises at first and drops gradually. The Eh value keeps rising along with the time and the appropriate Eh value varying between 750 and 800 mV will benefit the bioleaching copper. The high concentration of ferric ions is detrimental to the bioleaching copper. The results of bioleaching copper are good. That is, the copper recovery is 31.8% after 27 days.

The Mechanism of Structural Control of Ore Formation and Geochemical Characteristics in the Massive Sulfide Deposits of the Wushan Copper Ore Field,Jiangxi

The ore-controlling mechanism of the bedding fault system in the massive sulfide deposits of the Wushancopper orefield may be generalized as the control of ore deposition by optimum surface in an ore-formingstructural trap. The mechanism has three major features: (1) timing of mineralization; (2) positioning of hostformation; and (3) dependence of ore-controlling structure on properties of rocks. The 'optimum surface' is adivisional structural plane which marks obvious difference in physical, chemical and mechanical properties andis favorable for mineralization. It is also a unity of structures. lithofacies and orebodies. The structural and geochemical characteristics of the ore deposits indicate the migration trend of the ma-jor characteristic clements in the ore-controlling fault belt: elements with a small radius (Si, Fe, Mg and Al)moved towards and concentrated at the center of the belt while large-radius ones (Ca, K and Na) were remotefrom the center.

Study of Water Movement in Unsaturated Copper Ore

Leaching is widely applied in the exploitation of depleted ores. In order to discover the law of leachant movement in the leaching process and calculating volumes and time intervals of spraying leachant,experiments and numerical simulation with the TOUGH2/EOS3 module were carried out in order to find out the principle of water movement in unsaturated copper ore. The results show that water volume increases at the same location over time,that copper ore tends to become saturated and that liquid velocity decreases at the same time as the distance from top in-creases. On the other hand,a comparison and analysis of our experimental and simulated results indicate that the EOS3 module could accurately simulate the water movement in an unsaturated state.

Acid equilibrium during bioleaching of alkaline low-grade sulfide copper ore

This article reports the study on acid equilibrium during bioleaching of alkaline low-grade copper sulfide ore. Adding auxiliary agents 1# （sulfur） and 2# （pyrite） makes bacterial leaching of copper and acid production carried out simultaneously because the auxiliary agents can be oxidized by bacteria and the oxidation products involve acid. The acid required for dissolving alkaline gangue during bacterial leaching is produced, and acid equilibrium is reached during the ore bio-leaching. The recovery of copper reaches more than 95%.

Well-controlled column bioleaching of a low-grade copper ore by a novel equipment

For the low-grade copper sulfide ores with 0.99% of copper, of which 41.5% was primary copper sulfide, and 54.5% was secondary copper sulfide, well-controlled column bioleaching on a novel equipment was carried out to investigate the optimal conditions of pre-leaching, particle sizes of ores, temperature, spray intensity and strain consortium. Results show that copper extraction of 91.11% can be obtained after 90 d with the optimal p H value of pre-leaching of 0.8; the p H values of pre-leaching significantly affect the final copper extractions. Copper extractions of 93.11%, 91.04% and 80.45% can be obtained for the bioleaching of ores with particles size of 5-8 mm, 5-15 mm and 5-20 mm, respectively. Copper extractions are 83.77% and 91.02% for bioleaching under the conditions of room temperature and 35 oC. Copper extractions are 77.25%, 85.45% and 91.12% for the bioleaching when flow rate of spray was 5 L/（h·m2）, 10 L/（h·m2） and 15 L/（h·m2）, respectively. Additionally, the strain consortium C3 is the best among the four strain consortia in bioleaching. By considering the energy consumption, the optimal conditions of bioleaching in this work are determined as p H of pre-leaching of 0.8, particles size of 5-15 mm, temperature of 35 ℃, spray intensity of 15 L/（h·m2）, and strain consortium C3.

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.

A cleaner production strategy for acid mine drainage prevention of waste rock:A porphyry copper case

An in-process technology approach is proposed to identify the source of acid mine drainage(AMD)generation and prevent its formation in a porphyry copper waste rock(WR).Adopting actions before stockpiling the WR enables the establishment of potential contaminants and predicts the more convenient method for AMD prevention.A WR sample was separated into size fractions,and the WR’s net acidgenerating potential was quantified using chemical and mineralogical characterization.The diameter of physical locking of sulfides(DPLS)was determined,and the fractions below the DPLS were desulfurized using flotation.Finally,the WR fractions and tailing from the flotation test were submitted to acid-base accounting and weathering tests to evaluate their acid-generating potential.Results show that the WR’s main sulfide mineral is pyrite,and the DPLS was defined as 850μm.A sulfide recovery of 91%was achieved using a combination of HydroFloat^(®)and Denver cells for a size fraction lower than DPLS.No grinding was conducted.The results show that size fractions greater than DPLS and the desulfurized WR are unlikely to produce AMD.The outcomes show that in-processing technology can be a more proactive approach and an effective tool for avoiding AMD in a porphyry copper WR.

Investigating the first-order flotation kinetics models for Sarcheshmeh copper sulfide ore

This study was performed in two phases of work.In the first stage,four conventional first-order flotation kinetics models were fitted to the measured recoveries data and the best model were selected.In the second stage,influence of pH,solid concentration,water chemistry and the amount of collector dosage were investigated on kinetics parameters including flotation rate constant and ultimate recovery.The results indicated that that perfectly mixed reactor model and Kelsall model gave the best and the weakest fit to the experimental data,respectively.It was observed that flotation rate constant and ultimate recovery were strongly affected by chemical factors investigated especially water quality.The flotation rate constant decreased with increasing the solids content,while ultimate recovery increased to certain value and thereafter reduced.It was also found that the most values of flotation rate constant and ultimate recovery obtained in dosage of collector are 30 and 40 g/t,respectively.

Empirical model for bio-extraction of copper from low grade ore using response surface methodology

The copper extraction in shaking bioreactors was modeled and optimized using response surface methodology（RSM）. Influential parameters in the mesophilic bioleaching process of a low-grade copper ore including p H value, pulp density, and initial concentration of ferrous ions were comprehensively studied. The effect of leaching time on the response（copper extraction） at the 1st, 4th, 9th, 14 th and 22 nd days of treatment was modeled and examined. The central composite design methodology（CCD） was used as the design matrix to predict the optimal level of these parameters. Then, the model equation at the 22 nd day was optimized using the quadratic programming（QP） to maximize the total copper extraction within the studied experimental range. Under the optimal condition（initial p H value of 2.0, pulp density of 1.59%, and initial concentration of ferrous ions of 0 g/L）, the total copper extraction predicted by the model is 85.98% which is significantly close to that obtained from the experiment（84.57%）. The results show that RSM could be useful to predict the maximum copper extraction from a low-grade ore and investigate the effects of variables on the final response. Besides, a couple of statistically significant interactions are derived between p H value and pulp density as well as p H value and initial ferrous ion concentration which are precisely interpreted. However, there is no statistically significant interaction between the initial ferrous ion concentration and the pulp density. Additionally, the response at optimal levels of p H value and pulp density is found to be independent on the level of initial ferrous concentration.

Bioleaching of copper oxide ore by P seudomonas aeruginosa

Bioleaching is an environmentally friendly method for extraction of metal from ores. In this study, bioleaching of copper oxide ore by Pseudomonas aeruginosa was investigated. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a heterotrophic bactermm that can produce various organic acids in an appropriate culture medium, and these acids can operate as leaching agents. The parameters, such as particle size, glucose percentage in the culture medium, bioleaching time, and solid/liquid ratio were optimized. Optimum bioleaching conditions were found as follows： particle size of 150-177 μm, glucose percentage of 6%, bioleaching time of 8 d, and solid/liquid ratio of 1：80. Under these conditions, 53% of copper was extracted.

Bioleaching of low-grade copper sulfide ores by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans

The grown conditions of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans were investigated,and then experiments were conducted to research the bioleaching behaviors of crude ore of copper sulfide and hand-picked concentrates of chalcopyrite by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans.The experimental results show that the bacteria grow best when the temperature is(30±1) °C and the pH value is 2.0.The bacteria concentration is 2.24×107 mL-1 in this condition.It is found that the copper extraction yield is affected by the inoculum size and the pulp density and the extraction yield increases as the inoculum size grows.The bioleaching rates reach their highest point in sulfide copper and chalcopyrite with a pulp density of 5% and 10%,respectively.Column flotation experiments of low-grade copper sulfide ores show that the bioleaching recovery reaches nearly 45% after 75 days.

Technological conditions and kinetics of leaching copper from complex copper oxide ore

The kinetic behavior of leaching copper from low grade copper oxide ore was investigated. The effects of leaching temperature, H2SO4 concentration, particle size of crude ore and agitation rate on the leaching efficiency of copper were also evaluated. And the kinetic equations of the leaching process were obtained. The results show that the leaching process can be described with a reaction model of shrinking core. The reaction can be divided into three stages. The first stage is the dissolution of free copper oxide and copper oxide wrapped by hematite-limonite ore. At this stage, the leaching efficiency is very fast （leaching efficiency is larger than 60%）. The second stage is the leaching of diffiuent copper oxides, whose apparent activation energy is 43.26 kJ/mol. During this process, the chemical reaction is the control step, and the reaction order of H2SO4 is 0.433 84. The third stage is the leaching of copper oxide wrapped by hematite-limonite and silicate ore with apparent activation energy of 16.08 kJ/mol, which belongs to the mixed control.

Techniques of copper recovery from Mexican copper oxide ore

Mexican copper ore is a mixed ore containing mainly copper oxide and some copper sulfide that responds well to flotation. The joint techniques of flotation and leaching were studied. The results indicate that an ore containing 19.01% copper could be obtained at a recovery ratio of 35.02% by using sodium sulfide and butyl xanthate flotation. Over 83.33% of the copper oxide can be recovered from the railings by leaching in suitable conditions, such as 1 h stirring at a temperature around 25 ℃with a mixing speed of S00 r/min, an H2SO4 concentration of 1.0 mol/L and a mass ratio of the ore-slurry-liquid to solid （mL/ms） of 3. The overall yield of refined ore after flotation and leaching is over 89.18% of the copper, which is much better than sole flotation or leaching. A copper product containing more than 99.9% copper was obtained by using the process： flotation-agitation leaching- solvent extraction-electro-winning.