Flotation Process for Removing Lead from Lead-Bearing Gold Concentrate

01Mixed flotation process of copper, lead and zinc in gold ore

In addition to lead metal, there are also copper and zinc in gold concentrate, and the acid leaching process in the roasting-cyanidation gold extraction process of gold ore can effectively recover copper metal. Since galena in the ore is activated by copper ions, sphalerite and pyrite are activated by copper ions and lead ions, and pyrite is activated. In order to improve the recovery rate of gold flotation, a large amount of oil and flotation reagents will be added to the flotation process of gold concentrate. Some ore concentrators even use copper sulfate to activate pyrite to increase the recovery rate of gold concentrate. Therefore, there is almost no difference in floatability of chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena, pyrite and other ores in gold mines. Therefore, the gold concentrate flotation lead removal process uses mixed flotation of copper, lead, and zinc concentrates, and then uses flotation to separate these valuable metal minerals.

02Gold and silver extraction by cyanidation (carbon paste method)

After the gold concentrate is ground, its surface is fully exposed, and it is sent to the flotation gold for mixed flotation. During flotation, flotation agents such as dixanthate need to be added to the pulp to improve flotation efficiency. After flotation, the mixed concentrate of copper, lead and zinc can be obtained, and then the valuable metal gold and silver can be extracted by carbon slurry method. Due to the close relationship between galena and sphalerite in gold mines, when lead floats up, zinc also floats up. When zinc is inhibited, lead is also inhibited. Although there are greater difficulties in the separation of copper and lead, the difficulty is less than that of lead and zinc. Therefore, after the gold extraction process, the rest of the mixed concentrate needs to be sent to the flotation machine for separation of copper concentrate and lead-zinc concentrate. When flotation copper concentrate, pine alcohol oil and sulfur nitrogen No. 9 need to be added to the slurry.

03Separation of lead-zinc mixed concentrate by flotation

After flotation of the copper concentrate, the mixed lead-zinc concentrate is sent to the grinding equipment for re-grinding, and the lead-zinc ore is fully dissociated. Then adopt the flotation process to inhibit the flotation of zinc concentrate and lead concentrate. During flotation, No. 9 and No. 2 oils are added to the slurry. The grade of lead concentrate after flotation can reach the product level and can be sold, increasing the economic benefits of the concentrator.

The above content is the process of removing lead by flotation of high lead-containing concentrate. Due to the small particle size of gold concentrate, high humidity, high sulfur content, deep oxidation degree, and fast deterioration speed, in order to ensure the deleading effect, it is necessary to shorten the time for gold concentrate from the concentrator to the smelter, so as to reduce the oxidation degree , the effect of flotation to remove lead is better. In addition, the lead content in gold concentrates treated by different processes is different. This process should be selected according to the actual situation after analyzing the concentrate grade. The components of gold ore obtained from different deposits are different, and the separation process used will also be different. Xinhai Minerals recommends that the ore beneficiation test and analysis be carried out on the raw ore, and the appropriate gold ore beneficiation process should be determined according to the test results plan. Xinhai Mining can customize gold ore beneficiation plans and equipment for your gold mine, welcome to consult.