Process Mineralogy Study and Flotation Testwork of a Complex Lead–Gold Rougher Concentrate

Abstract

A lead–gold rougher concentrate was studied to investigate the efficiency of mineral processing. Using process mineralogy as the guiding theory, mineralogical parameters such as chemical composition, mineral composition, mineral particle size, and symbiotic association between minerals were studied in detail. A systematic lead flotation testwork program was carried out to obtain the optimal flotation and separation conditions, and the products obtained were analyzed. The results show that the concentrate contains a wide variety of minerals with complex material composition, and the lead mineral was mainly galena with a relative content of 3.43% and a particle size −37 μm accounting for 94.72%, while the gold minerals were dominated by electrum. The grades of gold, silver, and lead in the balland obtained through the flotation closed-circuit test were 512.10 g/t, 1632.80 g/t, and 40.38%, and the recoveries were 70.65%, 73.86%, and 75.37%, respectively. The gold lost in the flotation tailings was mainly dominated by gold encapsulated in metal sulfide (accounting for 55.67%), and the lead lost was mainly in gangue and metal oxides (accounting for 62.72%).