From Ore to Concentrate: Innovation and Practice of Copper Ore Dressing Technology

1. Ore Dressing Technology: The Core Hub of Copper Value Enhancement

In the copper processing industry chain, ore dressing technology serves as the key hub for "turning stones into gold"—the current status of China's low-grade copper ores accounting for over 70% has driven the dressing technology to iterate from "extensive separation" to "precise concentration". At present, a technical system integrating crushing and grinding innovation, intelligent flotation control, and multi-metal collaborative recovery has been formed, increasing the grade of copper concentrate from 20% 20 years ago to over 30%, with a recovery rate exceeding 90%.

2. Technical Matrix: Breaking through the Efficiency Bottleneck in Multiple Dimensions

1. Crushing and Grinding: From "Brute Force Crushing" to "Energy-Saving Dissociation"

• Equipment Upgrading: High-pressure roller mills (power ≥2000kW)      replace traditional jaw crushers, reducing energy consumption by 30% and      increasing the crushing ratio to 1:10; semi-autogenous mills (diameter      over 8m) combined with ball mills form a "more crushing and less grinding"      process, increasing ore dissociation from 60% to 85%.

• Process Optimization: The combination of three-stage closed-circuit      crushing (coarse crushing + medium crushing + fine crushing + screening)      and stage grinding (coarse grinding to -200 mesh accounting for 60%,      re-grinding to -325 mesh accounting for 90%) improves subsequent flotation      efficiency by 15%.

2. Flotation Technology: "Precision Separation" of Minerals under Intelligent Control

• Process Innovation:

• Single sulfide ore: Adopting "mixed flotation +       cleaning" process, with xanthate dosage optimized to 200g/t and       terpineol 50g/t, the concentrate grade reaches 35%;

• Oxidized ore: The combination of sulfidation-flotation       combined process (sodium sulfide dosage 500g/t) and hydrometallurgical       leaching breaks through the bottleneck of copper oxide recovery rate       below 70%;

• Polymetallic ore: The preferential flotation-mixed separation       process realizes collaborative recovery of valuable metals such as       copper, gold, and silver, with a comprehensive recovery rate exceeding       85%.

• Intelligent Control: The introduction of AI visual recognition      systems real-time monitors the flotation foam diameter (1-3mm is optimal)      and automatically adjusts the reagent dosage, increasing flotation      stability by 20%.

3. Auxiliary Technologies: Synergistic Enhancement of Magnetic and Gravity Separation

• Magnetic separation: High-gradient magnetic separators process      composite copper ores containing magnetite, with an iron impurity removal      rate of 90%, reducing slag loss in subsequent smelting;

• Gravity separation: The combination of spiral chutes and shaking      tables processes copper ores associated with alluvial gold, achieving      efficient enrichment of copper particles using density differences, with a      daily processing capacity of 500 tons per device.

3. Technical Breakthroughs: The Key to Developing Low-Grade and Complex Ores

• Treatment of fine-grained disseminated ores: For copper ores      disseminated below 0.01mm, the "stage grinding-asynchronous      flotation" process increases the recovery rate of fine-grained      copper, which was difficult to recover by traditional technologies, to      88%;

• Combined copper oxide ores: Hydrometallurgical      technology breaks through the problem of symbiotic      "copper-sulfur-iron", and high-purity copper is extracted from      ores with a grade of only 0.3% through bacterial leaching (cycle 6-12      months) and electrowinning process;

• Energy consumption and environmental protection: The unit energy      consumption of the whole process is reduced to 280kg standard coal/ton of      copper, 40% lower than that ten years ago; the reuse rate of tailings      wastewater reaches 90% after treatment, achieving the goal of "zero      discharge".

4. Future Trends: Dual-Drive of Intelligence and Greenization

Currently, ore dressing technology is breaking through towards "digital twin + green process":

• Intelligent dressing plant: Based on PLC and DCS      system full-process automatic control, precise regulation of grinding      concentration (accuracy ±1%) and flotation liquid level (fluctuation ≤5cm)      is realized, reducing labor costs by 50%;

• Biological ore dressing: R&D of efficient      leaching strains shortens the leaching cycle of low-grade copper ores from      12 months to 4 months, reducing reagent costs by 60%;

• Circular economy: The tailings re-selection technology recovers      associated elements such as magnesium and iron, creating annual benefits      of over ten million yuan, promoting the industry's transformation from      "resource consumption" to "circular value addition".