A Case Study of Enhanced Sulfidization Flotation of Lead Oxide Ore: Influence of Depressants

Abstract

The refractory lead oxide ore has become an important source of lead metal with the continuous depletion of lead sulfide minerals. Lead oxide ore is of poor floatability and there are few cases to concentrate it successfully. In this study, the sulfidization-xanthate flotation method is applied for the beneficiation of lead oxide ore in Yunnan Province (China) with sodium hexametaphosphate and carboxymethyl cellulose as depressant. Chemical analysis and phase analysis was performed to explore the physicochemical property of raw ore, which provides a research basis for process design and operational control. The main influencing factors during the process, including grinding fineness, reagent types, and dosage, etc., have been studied through flotation tests. Zeta potential measurements and Fourier transfer-infrared spectrometry (FTIR) analysis were conducted to reveal the function mechanism of the reagents. Based on the determined experimental conditions, open circuit tests and closed circuit tests with one stage rougher, three-stage scavenger, and two-stage cleaner flotation, were carried out with the run-of-mine ore with a lead grade of 4.57%. Through close circuit bench test, the lead concentrate with a lead grade of 64.08% and recovery of 92.30% was obtained. This study is of special value, as it provides referencing significance for economically exploiting lead oxide ore.

Enhancing flotation of smithsonite by using 1,3,5-Triazinane-2,4,6-trithione as sulfidation

“…The analysis shows that a layer of ZnS film is formed on the surface of smithsonite after sodium sulfide treatment. However, due to less unstable H2S and HS -, the newly formed sulfide film is thin and unstable, and the improvement of the floatability of smithsonite is very limited (Xie et al, 2020).…”

Smelting a Zn – Pb Sulfide Ore with Magnetite and Carbon for the Production of a Silicon Alloy and Extraction of Zinc and Lead into Sublimates

“…(For this reason, there are additional problems associated with the processing and disposal of concentration tailings (as well as leaching tailings) of not only zinc ores but also other ores [16][17][18][19][20][21][22]). In recent years, various methods and schemes have been introduced into the lead-zinc ores concentration technology to improve its efficiency and to increase the complexity of the use of the raw materials [23][24][25][26].…”

Influence of hydrated Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ complexes on the sulfidization of smithsonite: Density functional based tight binding (DFTB+) study

“…According to previous investigations, sulfidization-xanthate flotation and sulfidization-amine flotation are the commonly used method for beneficiation of zinc oxide minerals (Herrera- Urbina and Sotillo, 1998). The optimum pH for zinc oxide minerals flotation with amine as collector is approximately 12; under this condition, S 2− is the dominant species that interacts with zinc oxide minerals (Xie, 2020). As for sulfidization-xanthate flotation, the optimal pH is about 10, and HSmainly interacts with zinc oxide minerals (Feng et al, 2016a(Feng et al, , 2016b.…”