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Industrially valuable antimony ores are primarily stibnite (Sb₂S₃), along with antimony oxides (such as antimony fluoride) and complex antimony sulfide minerals (such as antimony oxysulfide).
Antimony, an important strategic metal, is widely used in flame retardants, lead-acid batteries, alloys, ceramics, and the semiconductor industry. Global antimony resources are highly concentrated, with major deposits located in countries such as China, Russia, Bolivia, South Africa, and Mexico.
The main beneficiation processes for antimony ore include hand sorting, gravity separation, and flotation. The selection of a specific process requires comprehensive consideration of factors such as ore type, mineral composition, structural structure, particle size distribution of useful minerals, the content of valuable components, and metallurgical requirements.
Hand sorting is suitable for coarse-grained ores sized 28–150 mm and is typically carried out on a conveyor belt or at the pithead. This process produces a lump concentrate with an antimony grade exceeding 7%, suitable for direct smelting. To improve efficiency, ore washing is often required to remove slime before separation, and hand-selected tailings are subsequently processed through gravity separation.
Gravity separation is one of the most economical and effective methods for processing antimony ores, particularly those with large differences in density between the mineral and gangue, and with coarse intergrowth. Common antimony minerals such as stibnite and antimony chalcanthite are suitable for gravity separation. This requires sufficient dissociation of the antimony minerals, which often requires crushing and grinding to break up intergrowth structures. Gravity separation offers low investment costs and simple operation, making it the preferred process or flotation pre-concentration method for many concentrators.
Flotation is the primary method for processing fine-grained and complex polymetallic antimony ores. It is suitable for single antimony sulfide ores, mixed sulfide-oxidation ores, and polymetallic deposits such as tungsten-antimony-gold, antimony-arsenic-gold, tin-lead-antimony-zinc, and other polymetallic deposits. Through reagent adjustment, effective separation of antimony minerals from associated minerals can be achieved, resulting in high overall recovery value.
Open-pit mining, as a crucial method for mineral resource extraction, focuses on efficiently, safely, and environmentally recovering valuable minerals from the earth's surface.
Lead-zinc sulphide ores constitute the primary global source of lead and zinc resources, and their efficient recovery is crucial for securing metal supply. Owing to their excellent natural floatability, these ores can achieve recovery rates exceeding 90% through relatively straightforward processing, making them among the most economically viable beneficiation materials.
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