Projects |
Research Project
Jinhong Zhang, Principal Investigator
Water is in high demand and short supply in arid area such as Arizona, and the opening of new mines and expansion of existing mines in many areas of the world depend on access to water for converting raw ores into salable products. The mining industry uses large quantities of water to recover copper and molybdenum by conventional milling of sulfide ores. Sulfide ore is ground in the presence of water and mixed with small amounts of chemicals that change the surface chemistry of the particles. Copper-bearing minerals are floated to the surface on bubbles, and the non-copper-bearing minerals sink to the bottom and are disposed of as mine tailings. This technology, called froth flotation, represented a major technology breakthrough during the early part of the 20th Century. Fresh water is used in the flotation process because of the need for tight chemical control of the process. Dissolved organics currently preclude use of municipal reclaimed water in the recovery process. The organics lower the oxygen content of the water and bind with reagents, thus preventing the flotation of the copper sulfide minerals. Research indicates that the organics interfere with the oxidation of the reagent xanthate to dixanthogen and also coat the sulfide grains and prevent them from floating. The outcome of this research will make the maximum use of low-quality water in a concentrator without impairing the flotation efficiency. |
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