CORRELATION STUDY OF COPPER RECOVERY TO ARSENIC RECOVERY WITH VARIATIONS OF ORE, PH, AND PAX DOSE ON COPPER-SULFIDE ORE FLOTATION AT PT AMMAN MINERAL NUSA TENGGARA

• Main Author: Siltor, Ricky
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Subjects: Metalurgi
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/51489
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

PT Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara (PT AMNT) is a company in Indonesia that is engaged in copper mining and processing. PT AMNT currently processes 100,000 tonnes of ore per day. The final product from PT AMNT is copper concentrate which will be sold as raw material for the copper smelter. High arsenic content in copper concentrates is undesirable for copper smelters, thus reducing the economic value of copper concentrates. In this regard, the relationship between copper recovery and arsenic recovery in the concentrate is investigated. Variation of ore, pH and dosage of PAX were used to determine their effect on copper and arsenic recovery. This research begins with the preparation of the ore sample so that it is ready for flotation. The preparation was carried out in the form of reducing the size of the stockpile ore sample and followed by homogenization in order to obtain three variations of ore, namely fresh ore, stockpile ore, and blended ore (a mixture of 70% fresh ore and 30% stockpile ore). Initial assay is carried out to determine the initial content of each ore sample. The rougher-scavenger flotation is carried out in a four-stage with a gradual scheme. Each ore will be flotated with a pH variation of 8.5, 9, 9.5, 10, 10.5, and 11 as well as a PAX dose of 5 g/t in preliminary trials. Meanwhile, in the secondary experiment, a variation of the PAX dose will be given, namely 2.5 g / t, 5 g / t, and 7.5 g / t as well as three points of pH variation. The concentrate from each flotation stage and the final tailings is collected and dried. Concentrates and tailings were assayed and the copper and arsenic recoveries were calculated. In the fresh ore flotation experiment, it was found that the optimum conditions were at a pH of 10.8 and a PAX dose of 7.5 g/t. The Cu and As recoveries were 92.56% and 27.39%, respectively. Then on the stockpile ore flotation, the optimum conditions were at a pH of 9.8 and a PAX dose of 7.5 g/t. The Cu and As obtained were 80.24% and 15.77%, respectively. Meanwhile, in the ore blend flotation experiment, the optimum conditions were at pH 9.3 and the PAX dose at 2.5 g/t. The Cu and As obtained were 87.58% and 34.32%, respectively. The results showed that the trend of copper and arsenic recovery increased with the increasing dose of PAX given. The increase in pH did not show a significant trend in copper recovery and arsenic recovery, but it can be seen that there is an optimum point at a certain pH. The NaSH reagent is used in the flotation of ore blends and stockpiles of ore in the form of oxide ores. This also affects the yield generated in the flotation process.