FLOTATION OF SULPHIDE

MINERALS

Submitted by:-
MALLIKARJUN [17MT024]
MOHAMMED SAFWAN [17MT025]
 CONTENTS

Copper sulphide flotation

Sphalerite flotation

Pyrite flotation
 COPPER SULPHIDE FLOTATION
Chalcocite (Cu2S) and chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) are the two most commonly floated copper sulphide minerals.
Bornite (Cu5FeS4), covellite(CuS), and enargite (Cu3AsS4) are normally present in smaller quantities. Both
chalcocite and chalcopyrite are floated readily with common sulfhydryl collectors.

Flotation recovery of chalcocite as a function of

Flotation recovery of chalcopyrite as a
pH with various additions of ethyl xanthate,
function of pH with two additions of ethyl
diethyl di-thiophosphate, and diethyl di-
xanthate
thiophosphatogen
 The active species of collector when xanthate is added to the chalcocite system is xanthate
ion. Dixanthogen does not form on the chalcocite surface.
 Xanthate adsorption on chalcocite is a two-stage process similar to that for galena. The
formation of an unleachable chemisorbed layer, multilayers of cuprous xanthate form
and adsorb on the surface.
 Ion exchange experiments similar to those in the galena-ethyl xanthate system were also
conducted in the chalcocite-amyl xanthate system. The two principal anions exchanged
when xanthate chemisorbs on chalcocite are hydroxyl and carbonate.
 The rest potential of chalcopyrite is so close to the reversible xanthate Di-xanthogen
potential that xanthate has been shown to chemisorb on chalcopyrite mineral or be floated
by the formation of di-xanthogen. Whether xanthate or di-xanthogen is the active
species depends on the sample(chalcopyrite).
 SPHALERITE FLOTATION
 The flotation characteristics of sphalerite have received
considerable attention, both in the absence and presence of
activating ions.
 Some investigators have observed flotation with ethyl and
amyl xanthates in the absence of activators, others have
not.
 These differences in response may have been caused by
differences in the oxidation characteristics of the
sphalerites involved. In other words, the formation and
adsorption of bulk precipitates of zinc xanthates on sphalerite
have been shown to be necessary for flotation in the absence
of activators.
 With sphalerites that are refractory to oxidation, only a
limited quantity of Zn2+ will be available for the formation of
multilayers of zinc xanthate on the surface. Ethyl xanthate
floats un-activated sphalerite but a high concentration is Flotation recovery of sphalerite as a
required. function of xanthate concentration
and hydrocarbon chain length at pH
3.5
 Xanthate adsorption on sphalerite is similar to that on chalcocite and galena, in that
xanthate appears to adsorb via two stages. The first stage involves chemisorption of an
initial layer of xanthate at 1:1 coordination. The second stage involves the formation
and adsorption of bulk-precipitated zinc xanthate on the sphalerite surface.
 After exposure to xanthate, the collector species on the surface, which are readily
identifiable with infrared analysis, is bulk-precipitated zinc xanthate. Di-xanthogen is not
present on the surface.
 Plaksin and Anfimova concluded that two forms of adsorption occur in the sphalerite
system. Weakly attached xanthate is removed by water washing and firmly attached
xanthate is dissolved with pyridine. Under flotation conditions, four to five times
monolayer coverage is adsorbed.
 PYRITE FLOTATION
 The mechanism, by which pyrite is floated with sulfhydryl
collectors are well understood.
 The species of xanthate responsible for flotation of pyrite
in the presence of short-chained xanthates is di-
xanthogen.
 This conclusion has been drawn from electrochemical,
electrokinetic, flotation, spectroscopic, and thermochemical
data.
 In the case of electrokinetic experiments, the zeta potential
of pyrite is the same in the absence and presence of
ethyl-xanthate, indicating that an electrically neutral
species is adsorbed on the surface.
Zeta potential of pyrite as a function of pH in
the absence and presence of ethyl-xanthate in
the presence of air
 Di-xanthogen is formed by anodic oxidation of xanthate ion on the surface of pyrite, coupled with cathodic
reduction of adsorbed oxygen.

2X– ⇔ X2 + 2e– Anodic

1 /2O2(ads) + H2O + 2e– ⇔ 2OH– cathodic

where X– represents xanthate ion and X2 represents di-xanthogen. Because sulfhides are electrical conductors,
electron transfer occurs through the solid. Schematically,

The overall reaction: 2X– + 1/2O2 + H2O ⇔ X2 + 2OH-

 This reaction occurs up to about pH 11, above this pH, xanthate ion is the stable species of xanthate.
 Flotation of pyrite, is possible below pH 11 with short-chained xanthates, but it is not possible above pH
11.

 Flotation recovery of pyrite as

a function of pH with various
addition of ethyl xanthate.

 Addition of low levels of ethyl xanthate gives two regions of flotation from pH 3 to pH 9. The
intermediate region of depression is not related to a lack of di-xanthogen. However, this phenomenon has
been described as the formation of basic ferric xanthate.
 Another collector, dithiophosphate, has been
shown to function similarly in the pyrite
system.
 Dithiophosphate(DTP), is more difficult to
oxidize to dithiophosphatogen, compared to that
of xanthate to dixanthogen. That is,
 X2(l) + 2e– ⇔ 2X– Eo = –0.06 v
 (DTP)2(l) + 2e– ⇔ 2DTP– Eo = 0.25v

Diethyl di-thiophosphatogen has been found

experimentally to form at pH 4 and below in
the presence of pyrite but not at pH 6 and
above, and flotation of pyrite with
dithiophosphate does not occur above pH 6.
Bubble contact curves for several sulfide minerals
as a function of diethyl dithiophosphate
concentration and pH.
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