Hydrometallurgy Department of Scientific and Production Association “RIVS”, Saint Petersburg, Russia:

A. Ya. Boduen, Head of Liquid Processing Department, e-mail: A_Boduen@rivs.ru
B. S. Ivanov, Production Engineer
I. V. Ukraintsev, Chief Executive Officer

Increasing of technological indices (extraction, quality of concentrates) with concentration of sulfur ores (which include the considerable part of Russian balance reserves (~20%)) is an urgent task for Russian mineral raw materials complex. Analysis of existing industrial data on processing of Russian copper-zinc sulfur ores is the evidence that reconstruction of factories with introduction of improved ore preparation methods, changing of technological flotation schemes, and use of new types of flotation agents, contribute to the growth of extraction of special metals and slight increasing of selective concentrates’ quality. Obtained substandard copper concentrates, containing 15–25% of copper and considerable part of zinc, have low market value. Their further pyrometallurgical processing with black copper obtaining is accompanied with high costs and irretrievable losses of valuable components. Together with maximal use of possibilities, connected with concentration cycle, modernization of lowqualitative copper concentrates processing, with application of hydrometallurgical processes (autoclave conditioning, in particular) is an urgent way of improvement of existing technologies of this processing. Well-known autoclave conditioning technologies are considered, taking into account the variety of substantial composition of Cu – Zn-lime ores. Attention is paid to the problems of finding of optimal individual conditions of these ores’ opening.

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