Process for beneficiating sulfide ores
AssigneeHazen Research, Inc.
InventorsJames K. Kindig, Ronald L. Turner
Life of this patent
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Abstract
One or more mineral values of sulfide ores are beneficiated by cotreating the sulfide ore with a metal containing compound and a reducing gas under conditions such as to selectively enhance the magnetic susceptibility of the mineral values to the exclusion of the gangue in order to permit a physical separation between the values and gangue.
Claims57
In a process for the beneficiation of a sulfide ore from the gangue, excluding coal, wherein the ore is treated with a metal containing compound under conditions which cause the metal containing compound to react substantially at the surface of the metal sulfide particles to the substantial exclusion of the gangue particles so as to alter the surface characteristics of the metal sulfide values thereby causing a selective enhancement of the magnetic susceptibility of one or more metal sulfide values of the ore to the exclusion of the gangue in order to permit a physical separation between the metal sulfide values and the gangue, the improvement comprising:
- cotreating the ore with a reducing gas during the metal containing compound treatment and wherein the reducing gas used in the cotreatment is in addition to any reducing gas which may be produced from the metal containing compound treatment.
In a process for the beneficiation of a metal sulfide ore from gangue, excluding coal, wherein the ore is treated with a metal containing compound under conditions which cause the metal containing compound to react substantially at the surface of the metal sulfide particles to the substantial exclusion of the gangue particles so as to alter the surface characteristics of the metal sulfide values thereby causing a selective enhancement of the magnetic susceptibility of one or more metal sulfide values contained in the ore to the exclusion of the gangue in order to permit a physical separation between the metal sulfide values and the gangue in improvement for the ore in a specific system comprising:
- cotreating the ore with a reducing gas at a rate of at least about 1 percent of the reactor atmosphere and from about 0.1 to about 100 kilograms of a metal containing compound per metric ton of ore at a temperature within a range of 125.degree. C. less than the general decomposition temperature of the metal containing compound in the specific system for the ore being treated for a period of time from about 0.05 to about 4 hours and wherein the reducing gas used in the cotreatment is in addition to any reducing gas which may be produced from the metal containing compound treatment.
In a process for the beneficiation of a metal sulfide ore from gangue, excluding coal, selected from the group consisting of galena, molybdenite, sphalerite, bornite, cinnabar, arsenopyrite, smaltite, chalcocite, chalcopyrite, orpiment, realgar, pentlandite, stibnite and tetrahedrite wherein the ore is treated with an iron containing compound under conditions which cause the iron containing compound to react substantially at the surface of the metal sulfide particles to the substantial exclusion of the gangue particles so as to alter the surface characteristics of the metal sulfide values thereby causing a selective enhancement of the magnetic susceptibility of one or more metal sulfide values contained in the ore to the exclusion of the gangue in order to permit a magnetic separation between the metal sulfide values and the gangue, the improvement for an ore in a specific system comprising:
- cotreating the ore with a reducing gas at a rate of about 100 percent of the reactor atmosphere and from about 2 to about 20 kilograms of an iron containing compound per metric ton of ore at a temperature within a range of 125.degree. C. less than the general decomposition temperature of the iron containing compound in a specific system for the ore being treated and wherein the reducing gas used in the cotreatment is in addition to any reducing gas which may be produced from the metal containing compound treatment.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.