Abstract:
A copper cobalt oxide mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo contains high content of calcium and magnesium impurities. Direct leaching results in high acid consumption and low economic benefits. A combined experimental study is conducted on the flotation and metallurgy of copper cobalt oxide mine. The asynchronous flotation process of first flotation of sulfide mine and then flotation of oxidized mine is adopted, and open-circuit and closed-circuit flotation experiments are conducted with 5 rounds of rough selection and 2 rounds of sweeping selection. Leaching tests are conducted on the original mine and the oxidized concentrate obtained from flotation, and the leaching efficiency and acid consumption indicators of the two processes are compared. Compared to the direct leaching process, the combined process of flotation and metallurgy by closed-circuit reduces the leaching acid consumption by 15.6%, and the comprehensive recovery rates of copper and cobalt are as high as 86.83% and 51.72%, respectively. This combined metallurgical process is suitable for the extraction of complex copper cobalt minerals with high content of calcium and magnesium impurities, and has broad industrial application prospects.