Basic Flotation Process for Copper-Nickel Sulfide Ore

Nickel typically occurs in association with copper and cobalt, existing as sulfide minerals. Employing flotation to preferentially concentrate copper-nickel mixed concentrates for subsequent processing can significantly reduce production costs. During flotation, the effectiveness of slime suppression directly determines the quality of the flotation concentrate. Therefore, in process designs for sulfide copper-nickel ores with high slime content, priority should be given to removing slime to minimize its impact on downstream operations.

Mixed Flotation

Chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite in sulfide copper-nickel ores exhibit inherent floatability. By adding appropriate flotation reagents, significant differences in surface properties between sulfide minerals and gangue minerals can be created. This enables the flotation process to concentrate copper and nickel sulfide minerals into a mixed concentrate. Subsequently, based on indicators such as copper and nickel grades and recovery rates in the mixed concentrate, further flotation or alternative processes can be applied to separate copper and nickel, yielding compliant copper concentrate and nickel concentrate.

Preferential Flotation Process

For sulfide copper-nickel ores with relatively simple mineral composition and texture, minimal mutual inclusion between copper and nickel, and higher copper grades than nickel, the preferential flotation process can be employed. In practice, nickel suppression and copper flotation are predominantly used to achieve separation. This involves adding inhibitors during preliminary flotation to reduce the floatability of nickel minerals, to preferentially recover copper concentrate. Subsequently, activators are added to the copper tailings to enhance nickel floatability, enabling the recovery of nickel concentrate through flotation.