What is Zinc Oxide Ore Flotation Process and Details

The minerals of Zinc Oxide include sphalerite, xenolite, silicate Zinc ore, and water Zinc ore. The main components of Zinc Oxide ore are Zinc, iron, and silicon dioxide. The grade of Zinc Oxide ore is generally determined by the content of Zinc. The chemical composition of Zinc Oxide ore is relatively stable, and the Zinc Oxide content varies among different minerals. Zinc Oxide ore has a high hardness and is generally not suitable for direct refining. It needs to undergo mineral processing first to improve production efficiency and product quality.

The flotation separation of Zinc Oxide minerals and gangue minerals containing calcium, magnesium, iron, etc. at room temperature has always been a challenge. Due to the interaction between dissolved components and mineral surfaces, mineral surface transformation occurs, making flotation separation of Zinc Oxide minerals from vein minerals such as calcite, dolomite, and limonite containing calcium, magnesium, and iron particularly difficult.

At present, the flotation of Zinc Oxide ore mostly adopts the sulfide flotation process, in which lead oxide is mainly flotation with xanthate after sulfidation, while the recovery of Zinc Oxide is mainly flotation with xanthate after heating sulfidation and Copper sulfate activation, or flotation with fatty amine (primary amine) after sulfidation. Due to the sensitivity of amine flotation of Zinc Oxide ore to sludge and soluble salts, despite extensive research and practice on the flotation process of Zinc Oxide ore both domestically and internationally, the problems of low selection indicators, complex process flow and reagent varieties, and high costs have not been solved. Therefore, adopting the simplest flotation process, conventional reagents, and economically efficient flotation of Zinc Oxide ore is a very meaningful research direction.

Considering the high content of CaO and MgO in some Zinc Oxide raw ores, it has a significant adverse effect on the flotation of Zinc Oxide. Under these circumstances, the mineral processing collector cannot effectively react with Zinc Oxide and the consumption of reagents is very high, it is difficult for Zinc Oxide to be effectively floated. To address this issue, efficient Zinc Oxide collectors and efficient depressants for dolomite and calcite have been developed based on the existing Zinc Oxide collectors, optimizing the mineral processing technology.

The recommended high-efficiency Zinc Oxide collector YX300S and depressant DZ063 is based flotation experiment verification, with better mineral processing efficiency.

【Test Method for Reference】

Purpose: Test the effectiveness and dosage of the collector;

Flotation Equipment: 1.5L?Flotation Machine (Speed: 1992r/min，Aeration rate: 200L/H)；

Mineral Sample Amount: 600 g；

Experimental procedure is as follow：

1. Grinding fineness refers to the grinding parameters used in production;
2. Types and?dosages of adjusting reagent and frother refer to production;
3. Change the type of collector and conduct comparative experiments with the same amount to demonstrate the optimal type of collector;
4. Change the amount of collector used and evaluate its effectiveness to determine the optimal amount of collector used;
5. The concentrate and tailings after the flotation experiment will be filtered, dried, weighed, and analyzed.

【Final Experimental Data】

Flotation experiment of a Zinc Oxide mine. The grade of lead concentrate obtained from closed-circuit testing is 55.66%, with a recovery rate of 78.30%; The grade of zinc oxide concentrate is 38.15% and the recovery rate is 84.49%.

【Product Name】Collector YX300S

【Ingredient Content】Effective mineral processing active substance content?≥80%

【Appearance】Light yellow liquid

【Water-Solubility】Easy to dissolve in water

【Product Appearance】

【Packaging Specifications】1000kg/IBC?or 200kg/Barrel

【Typical Applicable Minerals】Zinc Oxide ore

【Product Features】High efficiency Zinc Oxide?collector with certain foaming properties, mainly used for flotation of Zinc carbonate and sphalerite, can effectively avoid the interference of mud gangue minerals on Zinc Oxide?flotation, the flotation process is stable, and Zinc Oxide?recovery is good.

【Usage and Dosage】?The usual dosage of chemicals is 50-500 g/t of raw ore.

【Preparation?Method】This product can be added to the original solution or used in any proportion that is miscible with water.

【Product Name】Depressant DZ063

【Ingredient Content】Effective mineral processing active substance content?≥80%

【Appearance】White solid particle powder

【Water-Solubility】Dissolve in water

【Product Appearance】

【Packaging Specifications】25kg/bag or 1000g/ton bag

【Key features】Strong depress effect, good selectivity, suitable for Zinc Oxide minerals

【Product Features】

(1) Selective interaction with calcite and dolomite forms a hydrophilic film on their surface, preventing calcite and dolomite from interacting with or adhering to bubbles, avoiding their inclusion in Zinc Oxide concentrate products, and improving concentrate grade;

(2) Depressant has a strong dispersing effect, reducing the surface potential of minerals and increasing the electrostatic repulsion between mineral particles, avoiding the cover and adsorption of fine-grained gangue minerals on the surface of the target mineral. This allows collectors, frothers, etc. to effectively interact with the target mineral and improve the recovery rate of concentrate.

【Usage and Dosage】?The concentration of the prepared solution of this product is ≤ 5%, and it is generally added to the mixing tank or flotation tank. The specific addition point will be determined according to on-site needs, with a dosage of 100-1000 g/t of raw ore.

【Preparation?Method】This product has good solubility and can be prepared with room temperature water. When preparing, first add water to the mixing tank, then slowly and evenly add the depressant, and stir thoroughly until it is completely dissolved. The industrial mixing time is generally 0.5-1 hour.