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.