Relating the mineralogical characteristics of tampakan ore to enargite separation

Abstract

The mineralogical characteristics of enargite-bearing copper ores from the Tampakan deposit have been investigated as the means to understanding the separation of enargite from other copper sulphides (chalcopyrite and bornite). It was found that a separation of these minerals was possible after grinding the ore samples to a P80 of 90 microns; enargite tends to be ground more readily than the other copper sulphide minerals present in ore samples tested, and consequently, it mostly reported to the fine size fractions.