A new chemical for activation of sulphide zinc ores

In this thesis, the use of ZnFL which can be used as an alternative activator to copper sulphate (CuSO4) in the activation of sphalerite minerals in sphalerite flotation was investigated. ZnFL is a copper-amine complex liquid produced by Metal-Kim. ZnFL has lower active copper and sulfate content compared to CuSO4. This can be seen as an advantage especially for the plants where the sulphate concentration is high, and the sulphate removal is essential Flotation experiments were conducted as, in the presence and absence of collector, kinetic flotation tests and open-circuit flotation tests. In order to determine the quality of the concentrate, material balance and closed-loop simulations were performed using JK SimFloat v6.4 program and the estimated amount, grade and recovery of the zinc concentrate to be produced were determined. Cost calculations were made based on the specification of possible zinc concentrates to be obtained from closed circuit simulations. When two chemicals were compared, it was determined that ZnFL could be used at much lower dosages than CuSO4 and even though it was used at low dosages, higher zinc flotation recoveries and grades were obtained. In addition, it was determined that ZnFL could be an alternative to CuSO4 for only two of the ores studied in this study, whereas ZnFL could not be an alternative to CuSO4 for the complex sulfide ore used in this study.