Flotation and adsorption studies of chalcopyrite with cupferron

Abstract

Flotation tests were conducted in a Hallimond tube on chalcopyrite, with a collector system of cupferron and fuel oil. The reagent concentration, pH and conditioning time were studied as variables. The necessity of the fuel oil was verified by conducting experiments without it. Contact-angle measurements have been conducted by the captive bubble technique. From the results it was found that fuel oil is necessary to promote adhesion of the conditioned mineral particles to the air bubbles. Adsorption experiments were carried out in a column apparatus under similar conditions as in flotation, except for the addition of fuel oil. The adsorption density and flotability were high at weakly acidic range where the reagent complexes the metal ions effectively in an aqueous medium.