Sustainable Use of Copper Resources: Beneficiation of Low‐Grade Copper Ores

Abstract

The global market has announced copper as a modern energy metal and finds its extensive utilization in the construction industry, electrical wiring, power transmission lines, alloying, anti-corrosive coating, heat exchangers, refrigeration tubing, etc. Copper ore is primarily beneficiated from sulphide mineral deposits. Due to high‐grade copper sulphide deposit exhaustion, the focus has now shifted towards recovery from different lean‐grade oxide and mixed ore deposits. The present paper summarizes the utilization of copper as a clean energy mineral and its importance in the current renewable energy sector. Extensive research has been carried out on the flotation of copper sulphide ore as compared to copper oxide and mixed type ores. Besides flotation, other beneficiation techniques (selective flocculation and gravity separation) are also discussed in the present review. A few novel pretreatment methods are currently being studied for copper ore to intensify the separation for higher productivity.