Advances in depressants for flotation separation of Cu–Fe sulfide minerals at low alkalinity:A critical review

The flotation separation of Cu–Fe sulfide minerals at low alkalinity can be achieved using selective depressants.In the flotation system of Cu–Fe sulfide minerals,depressants usually preferentially interact with the pyrite surface to render the mineral surface hydrophilic and hinder the adsorption of the collector.This review summarizes the advances in depressants for the flotation separation of Cu–Fe sulfide minerals at low alkalinity.These advances include use of inorganic depressants (oxidants and sulfur–oxygen compounds),natural polysaccharides (starch,dextrin,konjac glucomannan,and galactomannan),modified polymers (carboxymethyl cellulose,polyacrylamide,lignosulfonate,and tricarboxylate sodium starch),organic acids (polyglutamic acid,sodium humate,tannic acid,pyrogallic acid,salicylic acid,and lactic acid),sodium dimethyl dithiocarbamate,and diethylenetriamine.The potential application of specific inorganic and organic depressants in the flotation separation of Cu–Fe sulfide minerals at low alkalinity is reviewed.The advances in the use of organic depressants with respect to the flotation separation of Cu–Fe sulfide minerals are comprehensively detailed.Additionally,the depression performances and mechanisms of different types of organic depressants on mineral surfaces are summarized.Finally,several perspectives on depressants vis-à-vis flotation separation of Cu–Fe sulfide minerals at low alkalinity are proposed.

Mechanism of mechanical activation for spontaneous combustion of sulfide minerals

In order to uncover the intrinsic reasons for spontaneous combustion of sulfide minerals,representative samples were collected from typical metal mines to carry out the mechanical activation experiment.The structures and heat behaviors of activated samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy（SEM）,X-ray diffraction（XRD） analysis,and simultaneous thermal analysis（STA）.It is found that the sulfide minerals after mechanical activation show many changes with increased specific surface areas,aggregation phenomenon,decreased diffraction peak intensity,broadened diffraction peak,declined initial temperatures of heat release and self-ignition points.A new theory for explaining the spontaneous combustion of sulfide minerals is put forward：the chemical reaction activity of sulfide minerals is heightened by all kinds of mechanical forces during the mining,and the spontaneous combustion takes place finally under proper environment.

New influence factor inducing difficulty in selective flotation separation of Cu–Zn mixed sulfide minerals

Selective flotation separation of Cu-Zn mixed sulfides has been proven to be difficult. Thus far, researchers have found no satis- factory way to separate Cu-Zn mixed sulfides by selective flotation, mainly because of the complex surface and interface interaction mecha- nisms in the flotation solution. Undesired activation occurs between copper ions and the sphalerite surfaces. In addition to recycled water and mineral dissolution, ancient fluids in the minerals are observed to be a new source of metal ions. In this study, significant amounts of ancient fluids were found to exist in Cu-Zn sulfide and gangue minerals, mostly as gas-liquid fluid inclusions. The concentration of copper ions re- leased from the ancient fluids reached 1.02 × 10-6 tool/L, whereas, in the cases of sphalerite and quartz, this concentration was 0.62 ×10-6 mol/L and 0.44 × 10-6 mol/L, respectively. As a result, the ancient fluid is a significant source of copper ions compared to mineral dissolution under the same experimental conditions, which promotes the unwanted activation of sphalerite. Therefore, the ancient fluid is considered to be a new factor that affects the selective flotation separation of Cu-Zn mixed sulfide ores.

Effect of mineral processing wastewater on flotation of sulfide minerals

The effects of mineral processing wastewater on sulfide minerals were investigated by flotation,infrared spectrometry and electrochemistry test. The results show that lead-concentrate water can improve the flotation of galena,while the sulfur-concentrate water has negative effect on flotation of galena compared with distilled water. The flotation behavior of pyrite is contrary to that of galena in three kinds of water. Infrared spectra indicate that the residual collector in the lead-concentrate water is beneficial to the formation of lead xanthate on the surface of galena. Electrochemistry results indicate that electrochemistry reaction on galena surface has apparent change. The anode polarization is improved and cathode polarization is depressed.

Galvanic coupling and its effect on origin potential flotation system of sulfide minerals

The galvanic coupling formed in origin potential flotation systems of sulfide minerals can be divided （into） three types: sulfide mineral-sulfide mineral-water system; sulfide mineral-steel ball-water system; and sulfide mineral-sulfide mineral-collector system. In this paper, taking lead, zinc, iron sulfide mineral systems for examples, several models of galvanic coupling were proposed and the effects of galvanic coupling on flotation were discussed. A galvanic contact between galena （or sphalerite） and pyrite contributes to decreasing the content of zinc in lead concentrate, and enhances remarkably the absorption of collector on the galena surface. During grinding, due to galvanic interactions between minerals and steel medium, Fe（OH）3 formed covers on the cathodic mineral surface, affecting its floatability.

DFT calculation on relaxation and electronic structure of sulfide minerals surfaces in presence of H_2O molecule

First-principles calculations are performed to investigate the relaxation and electronic properties of sulfide minerals surfaces(MoS2, Sb2S3, Cu2 S, ZnS, PbS and FeS2) in presence of H2 O molecule. The calculated results show that the structure and electronic properties of sulfide minerals surfaces have been influenced in presence of H2 O molecule. The adsorption of the flotation reagent at the interface of mineral-water would be different from that of mineral surface due to the changes of surface structures and electronic properties caused by H2 O molecule. Hence, the influence of H2 O molecule on the reaction of flotation reagent with sulfide mineral surface will attract more attention.

Comprehensive recovery of gold and base-metal sulfide minerals from a low-grade refractory ore

The comprehensive recovery of small amounts of valuable minerals such as gold and base-metal sulfide minerals from a low-grade refractory ore was investigated. The following treatment strategy was applied to a sample of this ore： gold flotation-gold concen- trate leaching-lead and zinc flotation from the gold concentrate leaching residue. Closed-circuit trials of gold flotation yielded a gold concen- trate that assayed at 40.23 g·t-1 Au with a recovery of 86.25%. The gold concentrate leaching rate was 98.76%. Two variants of lead-zinc flotation from the residue--preferential flotation of lead and zinc and bulk flotation of lead and zinc--were tested using the middling processing method. Foam from the reflotation was returned to the lead rougher flotation or lead-zinc bulk flotation, whereas middlings from reflotation were discarded. Sulfur concentrate was a byproduct. The combined strategy of flotation, leaching, and flotation is recommended for the treatment of this kind of ore.

Mechanism of influence of chloride ions on electrogenerative leaching of sulfide minerals

A dual cell system was used to study the influence of chloride ions on the electrogenerative leaching of sulfide minerals. The results show that the influences of chloride ions on a series of electrogenerative leaching system are similar, and chlorine ion is involved in the electrogenerative leaching process of sulfide minerals directly. The output power increases with the increase of Cl^- concentration. The influence on the electrogenerative leaching rate decreases when the Cl^- concentration reaches a certain value. The mechanisms of anodic reaction are deduced based on the reasonable hypothesis, and kinetic equations with respect to chlorine ions for each sulfide mineral are obtained. The kinetic equations show that when concentration of Cl^- is relatively low, the electrogenerative leaching rates are predicted to have 2/5,3/7,1/3 and 1/3 order dependence on Cl^- concentration for chalcopyrite concentrate,nickel concentrate, sphalerite and galena. As concentration of Cl^- increases, the correlative dependence of electrogenerative leaching rate on concentration of Cl^- becomes weak.

Selective adsorption of bacteria on sulfide minerals surface

The adsorption of bacteria on sulfide minerals surface was studied,and the selective adsorption mechanism of cells on the sulfide minerals was investigated by means of FTIR,UVS and XPS.The results show that the three strains of bacteria adsorbed more preferentially on pyrite than on other two sulfide minerals surface at neutral and alkaline pH conditions.FTIR and UVS of three strains of bacteria indicate that there are more functional groups on their surface,such as O-H,C=O,N-H,C-O,and the content of saccharide is more than that of protein.The state of every element on sulfide minerals surface was analyzed by XPS.The empty orbital number of electronic shell of metal ions on minerals surface is important in selective adsorption process,and some stable constants of metal coordinates can be used to explain the contribution of some groups in saccharide of cell wall to the selective adsorption.

Microcalorimetric studies of interaction between extracellular polymeric substance and sulfide minerals

细胞外的聚合物质(EPS ) 似乎为 bioleaching 重要。为这些进程的更好的控制，沥滤的 EPS 的函数细菌具有关键重要性。Microcalorimetric 测量被用来学习 EPS 的三个模拟部件。L 半胱氨酸的附件与它的增加的集中增加，它是兰米尔单分子的层吸附。黄铁矿上的葡萄糖的附件类似于甘露糖，它不是兰米尔单分子的层但是多层的吸附。结果证明 EPS 调停附件并且与硫醚表面反应并且导致矿物质表面的改变的化学性质。学习在 EPS 和硫化物矿物质之间的相互作用提供一个新方法。

Mechanism of influence of ferric ion on electrogenerative leaching of sulfide minerals with FeCl_3

A dual cell system was used to study the influence of ferric ion on the electrogenerative leaching of sulfide minerals. Reaction mechanisms for the ferric chloride electrogenerative leaching of a series of sulfide minerals were proposed based on the data collected from the dual cell experiments. The influences of ferric ion on the electrogenerative leaching of sulfide minerals are similar. Ferric ion plays an important role on limiting the electrogenerative leaching rate at a relatively low concentration of FeCl3 (about less than 0.15 mol/L). The mathematical models based on the Butler-Volmer relation were delineated, and kinetic equations with respect to ferric ions for each sulfide mineral were obtained. The kinetic equations show that when the concentration of ferric ion is relatively low, the electrogenerative leaching rates are predicted to be proportional to 6/7, 4/5, 2/3 and 2/3 order of ferric ion for nickel concentrate, chalcopyrite concentrate, sphalerite and galena respectively. As the concentration of ferric ion increase, the correlative dependence between electrogenerative leaching rate and concentration of ferric ion becomes weak. The above conclusions are in agreement with the experimental results.

Electrochemical mechanism of p- amino phenol depressing sulfide minerals

The effect of pulp potential on activity of p amino phenol and its electrochemical mechanism on sulfide minerals have been researched. Results of test show that pulp potential can affect the depression activity of p amino phenol. The separation of sulfide minerals can be carried out by controlling dosage of p amino phenol, pulp pH and pulp potential. The mechanism of p amino phenol depressing sulfide minerals is not an electrostatic interaction but an electrochemical interaction. p amino phenol can lower the edge level of sulfide minerals, which leads the density of electron of mineral surface increased, as a result, the collector’s coatings on the mineral surface become unstable.

Effect of radiation on wettability and floatability of sulfide minerals

The feasibility for modifying the wettability and floatability of sulfideminerals by electron beam irradiation has been studied experimentally. The wettability ofcrystalline pyrite and floatability of some sulfide as pyrite, arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite andmarmatite after irradiation were examined by flotation in a modified Hallimond tube. Experimentalresults show that the hydrophobicity of crystalline pyrite enhances with the increase of irradiationdose in a low dose range. And the flotation responses of sulfide minerals on irradiation dose varywith the mineral species and particle size. The floatability of minerals can be regulated byaltering irradiation dose. An explanation for the mechanism has been suggested based on theprinciple of radiation chemistry.

Recent advances in electrochemistry of sulfide mineral flotation

The electrochemical basis for understanding the interaction of thiol collectors with sulfide minerals is reviewed. Spectroscopic techniques are being increasingly applied to augment electrochemical studies and provide unequivocal identification of species formed at mineral surfaces in flotation systems. These include X ray photoelectron, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and, more recently, surface enhanced Raman scattering spectroscopy. The progress that has been made in the application of electrochemical measurement to monitor and control flotation plants is also considered.

Preliminary examination of electrochemical and spectroscopic features of trithiocarbonate collectors for sulfide mineral flotation

The redox potentials of xanthate/dixanthogen (dithiocarbonate/di dithiocarbonate, DTC/(DTC) 2) and trithiocarbonate/di trithiocarbonate (TTC/(TTC) 2) couples have been measured for the potassium salts. The spectroscopic characteristics of these sulfide mineral collectors were determined by FTIR and UV analysis. Electrochemically controlled contact angle measurements at a pyrite surface provided the basis to analyze the effect of the functional group ( O CS 2 versus S CS 2) on the hydrophobic surface state. Results from this preliminary examination are discussed with respect to the nature of collector adsorption and the pyrite flotation response.

Removal of arsenic from acid wastewater via sulfide precipitation and its hydrothermal mineralization stabilization

To achieve a safe treatment of arsenic-containing acid wastewater,a new process was proposed,including arsenic removal via sulfide precipitation and hydrothermal mineralization stabilization.Under optimal conditions of sulfide precipitation,99.65%of arsenic from wastewater was precipitated in the form of amorphous As2S3.The As leaching concentration of amorphous As2S3 in TCLP(toxicity characteristic leaching procedure)test was up to 212.97 mg/L,therefore,hydrothermal mineralization was adopted to improve the stability of amorphous As2S3.The results showed that the As leaching concentration of mineralized As2S3 was only 4.82 mg/L.Furthermore,the amorphous As2S3 could be transformed into crystallized As2S3(orpiment)in the presence of mineralizer Na2SO4.Simultaneously,the As leaching concentration of crystallized As2S3 was further reduced to 3.86 mg/L.Hydrothermal mineralization was an effective method for the stabilization of As2S3.Therefore,this process has a greater application in the treatment of arsenic-containing wastewater.

The Experimental Study of Iron Sulfide Mineral Evolution Under Thermal Sulfurization Condition

Iron sulfide minerals are widely distributed, of which characteristics had the identification significance of formation environment. Previously, there were more research on iron sulfide minerals under hydrothermal condition, and few studies under volcanism formation condition. To simulate volcanic mineralization, the study of different temperature from 250 to 410℃ , different iron sulfur ratio from Fe:S=2∶1 to 1∶8, and two different sources of iron, reduced iron powder (Fe) and ferrous sulfide (FeS), on iron sulfide mineral evolution was investigated under thermal sulfurization condition. By using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and other methods, the morphology, composition and structural characteristics of the products were observed and analyzed.

Mineralization of a Proterozoic Sulfide Black Smoker Chimney and Thermophilous Microorganisms in Eastern Hebei,China

A sulfide black smoker chimney exists in the Gaobanhe seabed exhalation massive sulfide deposit in the Xingiong-Kuancheng secondary fault basin of the Proterozoic Yaniiao rift trough in Hebei Province, taking the shape of mounds, individually about 2-3 cm high. Abundant fossils of thermophilous bacteria and algae in perfect preservation are found in the ore surrounding the black smoker chimney. Scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and molecular biomarker studies on the microorganismai ore fabric show that the microorganism in the sulfide ore is in fact a sedimentary product of probiotic bacteria and algae. In the special food chain based on black smoker chimney at ancient seabed- thermophilous bacteria, the thermophilous bacteria and algae reproduce in large quantity. Intermittently erupting of fluid from the chimney creats conditions for formation of sulfide deposit. In the process of exhalation action of hot fluid, thermophilous bacteria and algae grow and reproduce around the sulfide black smoker chimney, absorbing mineralizing substances brought by the fluid. Massive sulfide deposits are formed in this process of absorption of seabed black smoker chimney exhalation-mineralizing fluid pulsation-thermophilous microorganism.

Sulfide mineral bioleaching:Understanding of microbe-chemistry assisted hydrometallurgy technology and acid mine drainage environment protection

Bioleaching is regarded as an essential technology to treat low grade minerals,with the distinctive superiorities of lower-cost and environment-friendly compared with traditional pyrometallurgy method.However,the bioleaching efficiency is unsatisfactory owing to the passivation film formed on the minerals surface.It is of particular interest to know the dissolution and passivation mechanism of sulfide minerals in the presence of microorganism.Although bioleaching can be useful in extracting metals,it is a double-edged sword.Metallurgical activities have caused serious environmental problems such as acid mine drainage(AMD).The understanding of some common sulfide minerals bioleaching processes and protection of AMD environment is reviewed in this article.

Bioleaching of low grade nickel sulfide mineral in column reactor

Jinchuan 低等级镍(0.4%0.6% Ni，集体部分) 硫化物矿物质矿石包含氧化镁的一个显著地高的内容(30%35% MgO，集体部分) 在主要脉石矿物质在场。Bioleaching 被执行调查可行性由于它花去要求的相对简洁， eco 友好的操作和低资本处理矿物质。混合 mesophiles 从在中国从几个酸矿收集的酸矿排水样品被充实。认为氧化镁被酸答案和过多的 Mg2+ 容易提取将超过混合 mesophiles 的忍耐，三个有效工具被用来在 bioleaching 操作期间减少氧化镁的劣势。他们是混合 mesophiles 的改编改进忍耐；预先沥滤移开很可滤取的氧化镁并且周期怀孕沥滤答案的部分流血基于混合 mesophiles 的忍耐控制 Mg2+ 的水平。镍(90.3%) 和钴(88.6%) 的抽取成功地在沥滤的 300 d 以内被完成从用在周围的温度的一个列反应堆的 Jinchuan 低等级镍硫化物矿物质矿石的过程。