Company "Nornickel" , Polar Division, Norilsk, Russia:
A. A. Umysheva, Chief Specialist, Laboratory of Engineering Support of Production at Talnakh Concentrator, Center for Engineering Support of Production, e-mail: TslSP@nornik.ru
V. V. Velichko, Leading Processing Engineer, Laboratory of substantial and chemical analysis, Center for Engineering Support of Production, e-mail: Velichkovv@nornik.ru
E. V. Tchertok, Deputy Head of Engineering Department, Talnakh Concentrator

Siberian Federal University, Krasnoyarsk, Russia:

V. N. Knyazev, Assistant Professor at the Department of Deposits Geology and Exploration Methods, School of Mining, Geology and Geotechnology, Candidate of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences, e-mail: vnknyazev@mail.ru

Talnakh Concentrator processes the copper-nickel ore blend from the Talnakhskoye and the Oktyabrskoye deposits via bulk-selective flotation. The Concentrator is focused on recovery of valuable metals and stable quality of the concentrates produced under the conditions of fluctuating ore blend composition. The major task at bulk flotation step is to provide selective separation of sulfides and rock minerals producing bulk sulfide CuNi concentrate. Currently, a decrease in waste rock separation degree at the bulk flotation step leads to the occasional increases of SiO₂ content in nickel-pyrhotite concentrate of Talnakh Concentrator. As a result, there is a decline of the thickening rate of nickel-pyrhotite concentrate, as well as a rise of heat consumption during treatment of the Ni-feed containing this concentrates at the smelting furnaces, and a formation of built-up in the transition area between uptake shaft of flash-smelting furnace and waste-heat boiler. The host rock represented by serpentine, pyroxene, plagioclase etc. contains about 30–50% of SiO₂ and its derivatives indirectly indicating the floatability of nonmetallic minerals based on recovery of equivalent SiO₂ (hereinafter SiO₂eq.) into intermediate and final concentrates of Talnakh Concentrator. The article summarizes the results of the complex study of SiO₂ distribution within the products of current ores blend and its components processing at Talnakh Concentrator. It was defined that SiO₂eq. recovery into the concentrate of bulk floatation for disseminated cupriferous ore blend from Oktyabrsky mine is 9.94 и 5.51% abs. higher compared to that of the high grade ores from Skalisty and Taimyrsky mines, respectively. The weight content of minerals was measured by powder diffraction using Rietveld method.

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