Investigating the optimal conditions of copper flotation in Bayche Bagh mine (Case study: Khoshnodi vein)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Ph.D Student, Department of Mining Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

2 Master of Science in Mineral Processing, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

In this research, after preparing a representative sample from the Khoshnodi vein's. Identification and property evaluation studies were conducted. Based on petrographic and microscopic studies, the main minerals in the sample include chalcopyrite, pyrite, iron oxide minerals such as hematite, goethite, and limonite, and copper carbonate minerals such as malachite and azurite. The XRD analysis reveals that the sample primarily consists of quartz, albite, muscovite-illite, dolomite, potassium feldspar, kaolinite, smectite group clay minerals, and calcite. AAS analysis results showed that the copper and gold grades in the sample were 0.5% and 186 ppb, respectively. Based on scanning electron microscopy studies, no free gold was observed, and gold was mainly present as a substitute in the chalcopyrite mineral lattice and in small amounts in iron oxides. Effective parameters such as pH, collector concentration and type, and sulfidation concentration in flotation enrichment were investigated. Optimization of parameters can have various impacts on mining operations, such as reducing costs as well as decreasing pollution levels or improving the utilization of resources. The results showed that under optimal conditions, at pH = 10, a concentration of 150 g/ton of potassium amyl xanthate (PAX) collector and a concentration of 200 g/ton of sodium sulfide, the recovery of oxidized and sulfide copper was 66.6% and 75.3%, respectively, and with two stages of cleaning on the obtained concentrate, a concentrate with a copper grade of 24.09% was obtained.

Keywords

References

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Construction science and technology
Volume 6, Issue 2 - Serial Number 19
Summer 2025
November 2025
Pages 65-76

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