Au-Ag recovery from complex ore by flotation

The lead-zinc ore sample containing 3.45 per cent Pb, 3.15 per cent Zn, 12.2g/t Au and 256 g/t Ag was subjected to this experimental study and taken from Bolkardag-Nigde, south eastern part of Anatolia. According to the mineralogical studies, the representative ore sample contains primarily native gold, electrum, native silver, and argentojarosite as gold and silver minerals, cerusite, anglesite, galena, pyromorphite, mimetite and plumbojarosite as lead minerals, smithsonite, hydrozincite, hemimorphite, adamite and sphalerite as zinc minerals, limonite, hematite, goethite, pyrite, magnetite and siderite as lead minerals and quartz, feldspar, albite and muscovite as gangue minerals. Beneficiation of complex lead and zinc ore was investigated using flotation method. Various parameters such as particle size, flotation stages, collector type, collector amount, control reagents were investigated to recover of gold and silver bearing minerals. At the end of the experimental studies, the flotation experiments performed with Aero 208+Aerophine 3418 A (350 + 350 g/t) collectors at pH 4.5 gave the best result. -38 microns particle size and 1000 g/t of Na2SiO3 as depressant were used at these conditions. At the end of the experiments, a process was designed for evaluation of the ore. According to the process, a concentrate having 920 g/t Au and 10100 g/t Ag can be obtained with the recoveries of 54.1 per cent and 31.1 per cent, respectively.