Research Institute of Comprehensive Exploitation of Mineral Resources – IPKON, Russian Academy of Science, Moscow, Russia:

Matveeva T. N., Head of Department, Doctor of Engineering Sciences
Getman V. V., Senior Researcher, Candidate of Engineering Sciences, viktoriki.v@gmail.com
Karkeshkina A. Yu., Leading Engineer

The possibility of using a thermomorphic polymer with a phosphine group as a collecting reagent for the selective concentration of tin during flotation enrichment of sulfide-tin tails was first investigated in the work. A detailed description of the experimental scheme of flotation concentration of sulfide-tin ore tailings and the reagent mode are given. The main mineral of tin is cassiterite, highly brittle and inclined to sludging, which leads to large losses of tin with tails; the granulometric composition of the initial tails of the Solnechnyi mining and processing plant has showed that 50% of the sample is represented by size grade of –0.04 mm. The output of a slimy product of –20 μm is 20% with a tin content of 0.46% (according to chemical analysis). This product is one of the sources of tin losses (up to 33.5%) in the flotation concentration process and requires additional technological solutions. It has been shown that the use of selective concentration of the +20 μm class using a thermomorphic polymer (TMPF) for flotation of tin ores allows not only to reduce the loss of tin with thin classes, but also significantly increase the flotation rate of cassiterite and technological parameters when beneficiating mature tailings of tin-sulfide ore processing. The main tin flotation using TMPF results in obtaining a rough tin concentrate I with a content of 0.55% Sn and extracting 49% of the operation. Rough tin concentrate II with a content of 0.38% Sn and 42% recovery was obtained by reextraction using TMPF. The total recovery of tin in the combined rough tin concentrate amounted to 90.71% of the operation. Subsequent purification of the obtained concentrate and gravity enrichment on the table concentrator will make it possible to obtain the concentrates richer in tin content required for their further processing. Further research will be aimed at developing scientifically based technological solutions to improve the quality of rough tin concentrate and extracting tin from the sludge product –0.02 microns using new reagent compositions.

The study has been implemented at the expense of the Russian Science Foundation grant (project No. 17-17-01292).

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