Home – Home – Jornals – Chemistry for Sustainable Development 2018 number 4

The effect of nonpolar reagent, sulphury aromatic concentrate (SAC) and its composition with potassium butyl xanthogenate (PBX) on the floatation and sorption characteristics of gold-containing pyrite was studied. Mineral fractions -0.074+0.044 and -0.044+0.02 mm in size with the mass fraction of pyrite 91.8 and 92.2 %, with gold content 50.5 and 54.5 g/t, respectively, were used for floatation experiments. Experiments were carried out in the apparatus for micro-floatation in the presence of foam-forming agent Т-80. It was established that SAC possesses the collecting capacity with respect to pyrite samples with different particle sizes, but its activity is lower than that of PBX. It was shown that the floatation activity of pyrite fraction under the action of PBX and SAC decreases with a decrease in the size of mineral grains. The consumption of PBX may be decreased to 50 % without the loss of recovery for the floatation of pyrite with particle size-0.074+0.044 and -0.044+0.02 mm if it is used in composition with SAC. For the floatation of the fine pyrite fraction, PBX/SAC composition (SAC fraction being 25 % of PBX consumption) promotes an increase in the degree of pyrite extraction into the foamy product by 5 %. It was established that the treatment of the mineral with particle size-0.074+0.044 mm in the aqueous emulsion of SAC is accompanied by reagent sorption, which explains its collecting capacity with respect to pyrite. The nature of sorption is most probably physical because SAC passes into water partially during subsequent washing with water. The presence of SAC on the mineral surface hinders the sorption of PBX and thus promotes a decrease in its consumption for floatation.