Flotation of a Tetrahedrite-type Copper-silver Sulfide Ore in Inner Mongolia by a New Collector

Non-ferrous metal sulfide ore resources are complex, and the value of associated elements is large. It is difficult to obtain ideal indicators with a single collector. Combined collectors have complementary and synergistic effects, which is conducive to the efficient separation and comprehensive recovery of complex polymetallic sulfide ore resources. Objective In order to find out the effect of new collector YL-1 on the separation of copper and silver from tetrahedrite. Method The effects of YL-1, YL-2 and Z200 collectors on flotation indexes were compared by flotation test. Result The results show that the new collector YL-1 is superior to other collectors, not only the recovery rate is higher than other collectors, but also the silver grade is improved. The ' copper-silver mixed flotation ' process is adopted. A copper concentrate with copper grade of 18.38% and recovery of 87.80% was obtained in the -0.074 mm closed-circuit test. The silver grade is 1 253.11 g/t and the recovery rate is 73.69%. The flotation tailings are fed into the subsequent tin recovery operation, which realizes the good recovery of copper and silver in the ore and the comprehensive utilization of mineral resources. Conclusion The collector YL-1 can realize the efficient collection of copper-silver minerals at the condition of coarse grain size. In a wide range of grain size, the copper-silver concentrate has higher copper grade and silver grade. While efficient sorting, it can effectively achieve the goal of energy saving, environmental protection, cost reduction and efficiency increase.