On the issue of unification of flotation separation technology of copper-nickel concentrates for ore types of the same genesis

In 2027, it is planned to launch the 3rd start-up complex (hereinafter referred to as 3SC) of the Talnakh concentrator for processing the charge of disseminated and cuprous ores in a single flow using gravity-flotation technology. The ore flow under consideration is characterized by a lower content of valuable components in comparison with the second start-up complex (hereinafter referred to as 2SC), which was launched in 2016 and processes rich and cuprous ores. Also, the promising ores of 3SC have a complex mineral and phase composition, represented by various modifications of sulfide and oxidized, ore and rock minerals. The dissemination of useful minerals of 3SC varies from nanosized and finely dispersed particles to aggregate formations of ore and rock particles, there is also a close intergrowth of sulfides with each other. The possibility of using a collective-selective flotation scheme for different types of ores of the Talnakh and Oktyabrskoye deposits is studied. Joint flotation processing of collective copper-nickel concentrates obtained from mixtures of different types of ores is considered. Comparative studies are carried out on their autonomous beneficiation, as well as when combining collective copper-nickel concentrates obtained from a charge of rich and cuprous ores of 2SC and a promising charge of disseminated and cuprous ores of 3SC. The degree of disclosure of sulphide minerals during joint regrinding of concentrates of collective flotation is separately studied. The results of mineralogical analysis of the combined bulk flotation concentrate from processing various charges have determined that the decrease in the share of main sulphides in the bulk concentrate relative to the current 2SC technology will be ~6% (relative) with a simultaneous increase in the share of non-metallic components in it from 17.81 to 21.87% (mass.) and proportional to the ratio of their mixing. The technological parameters of finished concentrates obtained by separating the combined concentrate of bulk flotation of different ore flows have been determined. The research results have shown that the proposed method for processing ores of different types does not lead to a decrease in the selectivity index level and allows obtaining concentrates of similar quality.