Copper-bearing sulfur-silver ore, also called copper-bearing pyrite-silver ore, refers to a type of low-sulfur silver ore with disseminated copper minerals. Copper-bearing sulfur-silver ore contains a small amount of copper minerals, is an important silver and lead-zinc symbiotic mineralization system, and is mainly inserted between monomer and cluster deposits. Copper-bearing sulfur-silver ore is mainly composed of pyrite, sphalerite, galena, and a large number of accessory minerals, such as quartz, chlorite, and pyrrhotite.
Copper-bearing sulphide-silver ore is mainly distributed in South Korea, China, Mexico, South Africa and other countries. Due to its wide distribution and different local geological environment, copper-bearing sulfur-silver ore shows great differences in ore-forming characteristics and ore-forming environment. In addition to the different copper mineralization-related mineralization zones such as copper-gold, copper-lead-zinc, and copper-iron sulfide, the copper-bearing sulfur-silver ore also shows different characteristics and different mineragenesis.
In the metallogenic stage, the copper-bearing sulfur-silver ore was formed by the multi-stage and multi-source supply of ore-controlling fluid. In the primary ore formation stage, the ore-forming fluid is mainly hydrothermal water, and the ore-forming mode is widely developed. In the secondary ore formation stage, the ore-bearing fluid is mainly meteoric water, and the ore-forming pattern is complex.
In terms of metallogenic process and ore composition, the mineral composition of copper-bearing sulfur-silver ore is various and complex. Generally, in addition to the main ore-forming minerals, there are a variety of ore minerals such as pyrite, sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, magnetite, and siderite. The main metallic minerals are sphalerite and galena, and the main non-metallic minerals are quartz and calcite, which account for most of the ore.
At present, there are many beneficiation methods for beneficiation of copper-bearing sulfur-silver ore, including some simple physical beneficiation processes, such as gravity separation, flotation, and magnetic separation. However, due to the complexity of the ore, there is no single method that can effectively beneficiate the ore. Therefore, combined beneficiation should be adopted for complex polymetallic sulfide ores.
Gravity separation and flotation are the most commonly used beneficiation processes for copper-bearing sulfur-silver ore. In the gravity beneficiation process, the ore is firstly crushed, then the obtained ore classifier is screened, and the ore is then processed by the jig to obtain a different product from the tailings.
In the flotation beneficiation process, the froth flotation machine is used to separate the target minerals and gangue minerals. The flotation process has two parts: the roughing process and the scavenging process. The roughing process is used to obtain a high-grade concentrate, and the scavenging process is used to obtain a qualified tailings.
In the beneficiation process of copper-bearing sulfur-silver ore, effective control of its beneficiation indicators, such as copper grade, sulfur grade, and silver grade, is very important. With the development of science and technology, new technologies such as reverse flotation will be developed and applied to better beneficiation of copper-bearing sulfur-silver ore.
