Minerals Engineering, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp.

227-241, 2001
Pergamon © 2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd
All rights reserved
0892-6875(00)00178-3 0892-6875/01/$ - see front matter

OPTIMISATION OF GOLD RECOVERY BY SELECTIVE GOLD

FLOTATION FOR COPPER-GOLD-PYRITE ORES

K. FORREST ~, D. YAN t and R. DUNNE*

§ Croesus Mining Pty Ltd, Kalgoorlie, WA, Australia

t Western Australian School of Mines, Curtin University, Locked Bag 22, Kalgoorlie, WA, Australia
~: Newcrest Mining Ltd., Perth, WA, Australia
(Received 5 July 2000; accepted 28 October 2000)

ABSTRACT

Gold flotation is often overlooked as a processing option as the precious metal is viewed as being
associated with the sulphide particles present in the ore, even when a proportion of the gold is free.
Gold does float readily, however, and the free gold can be selectively floated away from an ore
containing sulphides. This may be an alternative treatment route for gold room applications where
fine gold losses can occur when treating gravity concentrates with pyrite and copper sulphides
present. Floating gold from the sulphides could produce a directly smeltable product. Copper
sulphides are selectively floated from pyrite ores at high pH's in excess of 11. It is less clear how the
free gold behaves under these conditions. In addition, for extra gold recovery, further collectors are
added, such as the monothiophosphates, which are known to be selective gold collectors. What form
does this additional gold recovery take ? These are some of the questions left unanswered from the
literature.

To answer some of these questions, the effect of collector type, and various operating variables,
including pH, grind size and collector additions on goM flotation performance were investigated.

At high pH, selectivity of gold against pyrite was possible with a number of collectors. However,
there was no selectivity against chalcopyrite in the flotation tests performed. Increasing the pH
using lime showed no gold depression. Fine gold was easily floated while some coarse gold
reported to the flotation tail ©2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords
Gold ores; flotation collectors; sulphides ores

INTRODUCTION

Gold extraction involving flotation can be split into four categories, free milling gold ores, copper gold
ores, refractory gold ores and partially refractory gold ores. It may be beneficial for those circuits where
free gold is present, to involve selective flotation of the free gold to improve the overall gold recovery.

A problem with copper-gold ores is the high cyanide consumption. A better option is to float a copper-
gold concentrate and sell this to a smelter. If pyrite is also present then the copper has to be selectively

227
228 K. Forrestet al.

floated from the pyrite. This is normally achieved at high pH. Many references in the literature refer to the
depression of gold at high pH, however it is not clear if this is due to depression of gold associated with
pyrite or poor free gold recovery. Specific collectors are used to enhance gold recovery in this region.

The coarse gold fraction is easily removed by gravity concentration with the use of equipment such as
Knelson and Falcon concentrators. These centrifugal concentrators are capable of achieving 96% recovery
of free liberated gold coarser than 30~tm. The recovery of gold by gravity means is reduced considerably as
the gold particle size diminishes. The removal of as much coarse gold as possible from a closed circuit
grinding mill is important to reduce the recirculating load of gold, thus reducing the gold holdup in the mill
and entrapment within the ball mill liners and to remove coarse flattened gold particles that will not float in
the flotation circuit. Flotation devices such as the Skim Air (Flash Flotation) unit have been introduced into
the grinding circuit to remove the recirculating load of floatable materials such as gold and gold containing
sulphides.

The fine gold fraction is considered relatively easy to float. The natural floatability of gold is enhanced
with the use of collectors. Collectors used in the gold industry (e.g. xanthate) produce a concentrate
containing free gold as well as large quantities of sulphide minerals such as chalcopyrite or pyrite which are
usually associated with the gold. These sulphides reduce the free gold grade of the concentrate. If selective
gold flotation can be achieved effectively, the grade of the gold concentrate could be substantially
increased. If the gold concentrate grade was high enough, alternative methods of treatment of the
concentrate, other than cyanide leaching, may be viable (e.g. smelting).

GOLD FLOTATION

Collectors

The use of charged water soluble collectors such as xanthates and dithiophosphates slow down the rate of
flotation of naturally floatable minerals, including native gold, at lower concentrations (Klimpel, 1997).
Only the larger chained carbon groups (amyl and butyl) appear to be good gold flotation reagents. Recent
studies (Klimpel and Isherwood, 1993, Nagaraj et al., 1991) have brought about specialized selective gold
collectors such as Dicresyl Monothiophosphoric Acids to further enhance the recovery and grade of the
gold in the concentrate.

Modifiers

p H modifiers

The operating pH for the flotation of gold is dependent on the collector. In a study by Klirnpel and
Isherwood (1993), the collector S-701 exhibits its highest gold recovery from a gold-pyrite ore at a pH of
4.5 while F-100 performs at its best with the same ore at a pH greater than 12.

Activators

The use of copper sulphate as an activator for the surface of pyrite is common. In early studies copper
sulphate was also considered to be an activator of the gold surface (Leaver and Woolf, 1934). However,
more recent studies have shown it not to affect the floatability of gold using xanthate at a pH of 11.3
(Duchen and Carter, 1986). Bulatovic (1997) and Lins and Adamian (1993) both found Cu 2÷ ions actually
reduced the floatability of gold at concentrations above 400g/t CuSO4, using xanthate as collector.

Bulatovic found activators that increased the recovery of gold were ammonium chloride additions between
400 and 600 g/t and nitric acid, beneficial above 400g/t. He found that oxalic acid and citric acid also could
be used to increase the gold recovery, at a pH of 11.5.
 Optimisationof gold recoveryby selectivegold flotation 229

Depressants

Calcium ions depress pyrite by physical adsorption on the mineral surface, which is negatively charged at
high pH (Fuerstenau, 1982). This is not so effective when high concentrations of xanthate collector are
used. Lins and Adamian (1993) establish that CaO had no significant effect on the recovery of free gold up
to a concentration of 2000 g/t using amyl xanthate as a collector at a pH of 11.8, but using ethyl xanthate
there was a significant drop in gold recovery. The recovery of gold and the depression of pyrite could be
achieved at a pH greater than 11 using amyl xanthate as the collector. Ethyl xanthate was foimd to be a
weaker collector for gold than amyl xanthate, which may have attributed to the drop in recovery of gold
with the addition of CaO.

It is usual practice to add sodium cyanide (NaCN) as a depressant of sphalerite and pyrite in the selective
flotation of copper-zinc and lead-copper-zinc ore. Low levels of NaCN are enough to depress gold and
pyrite flotation. NaCN causes the metal xanthate to become more soluble preventing absorption of the
collector onto the metal surface. Lins and Adamian (1993) found that NaCN concentrations of up to 200 g/t
did not affect the recovery of gold, but at concentrations above 500g/t, the depression of free gold is
observed.

Selective flotation of gold from pyrite under oxidizing conditions

It was recently discovered by Monte et al. (1997), that the selective flotation of free gold from sulphide
minerals was possible by the addition of hydrogen peroxide.

The addition of hydrogen peroxide to a gold and pyrite surface causes them both to become hydrophilic in
conditions where they normally exhibit collectorless flotation properties. Monte et al. suggested that the
inert gold surface absorbs OH- at a pH of 2. At a pH of <6 the sulfide mineral shows signs of natural
floatability caused by the formation of elemental sulfur (Ekmekci and Demirel, 1996). At a pH above 7,
both pyrite and gold become completely hydrophilic when high concentrations of hydrogen peroxide are
used.

The addition of potassium amyl xanthate (PAX) renders the gold surface hydrophobic at a pH above 10,
while pyrite is completely hydrophilic (depressed) at a pH of 10 with the addition of the hydrogen peroxide
in the presence of the xanthate.

The depression of pyrite is possible without the need for oxidizing conditions if shorter chained xanthates
are used..

Selectivity of gold in pyritic ores

Klimpel and Isherwood (1993) studied the efficiency of gold flotation. A comparison test was used with
three different collectors, S-701, F-100, Mercapto-benzothiazole (MBT) and a 50/50 combination of MBT
and F-100.

The recovery of gold with respect to the pH is shown in Figure 1. In the pH region of 4-5, S-701 had the
greater effect on the recovery of gold with recoveries in the region of 75%, but it was also effective in the
recovery of pyrite. At a pH of 8 and above, S-701 recovered only small amounts of pyrite but this was
accompanied by a drop in gold recovery of more than 20%.

The F-100 collector produced its highest gold recoveries, around 82%, at a pH greater than 11. When other
collectors were used in this pH range, gold recoveries were in the vicinity of 25%. The F-100 also shows a
peak in the recovery of gold in the acidic pH range, but only half (approximately 37%) of the recovery
obtained by S-701 and less than half the gold recovery which is achieved at a pH of 13. MBT showed
similar characteristics to the S-701 collector with the same maximum recovery at a pH between 4-5. MBT
produced a significantly lower overall recovery compared to the S-701 collector.

When the F-100 and MBT were combined at the same total concentration of 0.035 kg/tonne, the results
showed that the recovery was greater than or equal to addition of the individual collectors. Klimpel and
230 K. Forrest et al.

Isherwood found the synergistic nature of a mixture of F-100 and MBT in the acid range gave high gold
recoveries. Similarly, adding F-100 and other thiol collectors gave higher recoveries than the single
collector in the basic pH range.

1.0
0.9

0.8
E" 0.7

0
0.6
0.5
--e--F-lO0
0.4
o
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0 i i t i i

3 5 7 9 11 13

pH
Fig. 1 Recovery of gold from a pyritic ore (Klimpel and Isherwood, 1993).

Enhanced recovery of gold from chalcopyrite

Klimpel and Isherwood (1993) studied the effect of recovery of gold associated with chalcopyrite,
molybdenite and pyrite. In this particular ore the optimal recovery of copper using xanthate was 88.4 %
occurring at a pH of 10.5. Using F-100, the optimal recovery was 88.1% occurring at a pH of 11.5. These
copper recoveries were approximately the same, but a gain of 8% gold recovery was achieved over the use
of xanthate. This increase in gold recovery suggests that the F-100 is a better gold collector than thiol
reagents in mixed sulphide ores. Figure 2 shows the F-100 collector having higher gold recover than
potassium amyl xanthate at a pH greater than 11. The recovery of gold is increased with increasing pH
while using PAX, the gold recovery starts to drop at a pH above 10.5. The gain in gold recovery with F-100
comes at the expense of increasing the pH from 10.5 to l 1.5.

1.0
0.9
0.8
E" 0.7

O 0.6
n, 0.5
"O 0.4
O • $-701 prefloat1
(.9 0.3
0.2
0.1 --a--KAXPostaoatJ
0.0
3 5 7 9 11 13

pH

Fig. 2 Recovery of gold associated with chalcopyrite/molybdenite/pyrite (Klimpel and Isherwood,

1993).
 Optimisation of gold recovery by selective gold flotation 231

S-701 was shown to give optimal recovery in an acid float, at an approximate pH of 4.5. S-701 could be
used to recover the majority of the pyrite associated gold and then with either xanthate or one of the other
new collectors (e.g. F-100) the copper could be recovered at the basic pH. The gold recovery is then
maximized to approximately 90%, with 70% of the gold being recovered with the pyrite and 20% with the
copper concentrate.

Iliev et al. (1996) studied the enhanced gold and silver recovery from the chalcopyrite/pyrite ore, from the
Bucim copper and gold mine in Macedonia. The study involved the use of two new collectors; ORFOM
C0800 (Phillips Chemical Company) and Penflot 3 (Merks). These two collectors showed a significant
improvement in gold and silver recovery over the standard xanthate collectors used.

Gold selectivity from sulphides using dicresyi monothiophosphoric acids

Monothiophosphoric acids were found to recover gold selectively from sulphides when applied to some
specific ores in slightly alkaline conditions (Fander, 2000). Dithiophosphates, xanthates and other thio-
compounds do not selectively separate gold and associated sulphides. The monothiophosphorous acids
have a P(=S)O group replacing the P(=S)S in the functional group of the dithiophosphates. Using dicresyl
monothiophosphoric acids (DCMTP), selectivity for gold over sulphides was good above a pH of 7
provided there was a high content of silver alloyed with the native gold. The gold recovery decreases above
a pH of 4 where the gold recovery is at its highest. The gold recovery then increases and reaches a constant
value at a pH of 7 and above as shown in Figure 3.

lOO

9o

8o

70

6o
1
03
>
0 5o
¢J
®
Iz 4o
Gold
3o ~ Pynte
2o

lO

o
4 5 6 7 8
pH

Fig.3 Gold and pyrite flotation recovery with 50g/t DCMTP as a function of pH (Nagaraj et al., 1991).

The pyrite recovery is also at its highest at a pH of 4. The recovery of pyrite is then reduced significantly
with increasing pH to a pH of 6 after which the recovery is a constant 5%. This suggests that gold can be
recovered selectively against pyrite at relatively high recoveries (80% in this case) using DCMTP. It was
shown by XPS spectroscopic analysis that the higher the silver content the more DCMTP was absorbed
onto the gold surface hence higher recoveries of gold were observed.

Further studies, Basilio et al. (1992), suggested that DCMTP had no effect on the floatability of pure gold
itself. They found there was no indication of interaction between the DCMTP and the gold surface using
volumetric studies. This was also confirmed with IR spectroscopic measurements. Weak physical
adsorption of DCMTP on the gold surface was not ruled out. The work previously carried out on the
improvement of gold recovery using DCMPT, may in fact only be attributed to Ag-DCMTP and therefore
only applicable to free gold containing significant silver concentrations.
232 K. Forrestet al.

Monothiophosphates have also been used to promote the flotation of free gold at Freeport and Ok Tedi.
AERO 7249, a monothiophosphate based collector is currently being used at Freeport, where it has
improved the gold recovery in the copper concentrate by 4.5% when replacing AERO 3477 (sodium
diisobutyl dithiophosphate) (Hartati et al., 1997). Since many free gold containing ores have a silver
content, this collector may be applicable at other sites.

Liberated native gold ores

Klimpel and Isherwood (1993) showed the sensitivity of the collectors S-701 and F-)00 as a function of pH
on free gold recovery. The results of gold recovery can be seen in Figure 4. The optimum pH range for the
two collectors was between 6 and 8. The F-100 collector had a lower sensitivity to the changes in pH but
the S-701 collector gave the greatest recovery for native gold in silica at a grind size of 76% minus 75
microns.

1.0

--m-- S-701
0.8 - ~ - - F-IO0
Z"
0.6
o

0.4
o

0.2

0.0 i i i i i i i i [

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
pH

Fig. 4 Flotation recovery of liberated native gold in silica. (Klimpel and Isherwood, 1993).

In further studies with a Russian ore containing native gold, F-100 and S-701 were used in comparative
tests with the standard reagent n-butyl xanthate, recovering 94.6% of the gold at a grade of 218.6 g/tonne. It
was shown in subsequent tests that over dosing of F-100 was detrimental to the recovery of gold.

Klimpel (1997) studied the equilibrium recovery and flotation rate constant of native gold from South
America. It was observed that charged water soluble collectors such as xanthate slowed down the rate of
gold flotation except under conditions of high collector dosages. Klimpel suggests that for naturally
floating particles such as gold, insoluble uncharged collectors should be used. The addition of pH modifiers
may in fact be detrimental to gold flotation and it is suggested that little or no modifiers be used.

Percent solids

Lins and Adamian (1993) conducted a study on the effects of percent solids on the gold recovery of four
different size fractions of gold. The results showed little change in recovery for the smallest size range
used, 160gm. Only a slight increase in recovery was observed with lower percent solids. For the 0.71mm
and 0.50ram sizes, the gold grains showed a greater performance in the more dilute pulp.

For the gold particle size of 0.5ram, when the percent solids was decreased from 33% to 18% the recovery
increased from 30% to 80% respectively. These results don't correspond to previous reports in the literature
where 'higher pulp densities are required with coarser grinds and heavier gravity minerals to assist in the
particle suspension' (Weiss, 1985).
 Optimisation of gold recoveryby selectivegold flotation 233

Lins and Adamian also conducted an investigation into the effect of pulp density on the grade of the
concentrate produced by varying the pulp density on the four gold particle sizes. The grade increased with
decreasing pulp density over all four particle sizes.

Aeration
The variation of aeration rates can affect recovery of different size gold particles (Lins and Adamian,
1993). The fine particle size of 160~tm showed a good recovery from 1.8 L/min though to 5.4L/rain, after
which the recovery dropped with increasing airflow rate. The larger particles exhibited narrower and lower
ranges of airflow rates for maximum gold recoveries. The low optimum airflow rate would be attributed to
the bubble-particle aggregate breakage with increasing turbulence and/or to the reduced capacity of the
particle suspension with increasing aeration, the coarse particles being the most effected.

Lins and Adamian showed that the concentrate grade is also influenced by the airflow rate. The grade of the
concentrate increases to a maximum, at an airflow rate of approximately 3L/rain. Above this optimum
aeration rate, the grade of the concentrate is reduced by entrainment of gangue. The coarser size fraction
was observed to have a greater sensitivity to the variable airflow rate.

High intensity conditioning

Valderrama and Rubio (1998) studied the effect of High Intensity Conditioning (HIC), of fine gold
particles (68% -38gm) in a copper gold ore, using amyl xanthate as the collector. It was found that at low
levels of HIC the larger gold particles were more likely to be floated first with the finest particles having
the lowest probability of floating. Tests showed that there was two optimal recovery values as a function of
energy input. At the first crest it was established that there was a relationship with increasing intensity of
conditioning which coincided with fine gold particles attachment with pyrite and medium sized gold
particles. The second peak, at higher energy transfer, was attributed to the gold fines attachment to other
fine gold particles. The second peak, having greatest recovery, was due to the high proportion of fine gold
present in the ore.

Agitation speed

Lins and Adamian (1993) demonstrated the importance of agitation speed for maximizing the recovery of
gold particles. The influence of the agitation speed on the finest size fraction used, 160~tm, showed that the
recovery of the gold tended to increase with increasing impeller speed.

This suggested that the limiting step in the flotation of fine gold particles is the collision frequency between
the gold particle and the bubbles. The high turbulence resulting from the increased agitation speeds on the
fine gold particles was shown to be less sensitive than for the larger particle sizes, suggesting that for this
size fraction, the increased number of particle-bubble collisions outweigh the increased losses due to the
turbulence. The grade was not affected with increasing speed suggesting that there was more fine gold
floating with increasingly more gangue minerals.

The larger particles sizes, 0.36 and 0.50mm, when subjected to varying agitation speeds, showed a
minimum agitation speed was required to start flotation. This corresponded with a minimum agitation
speed required to stop the larger gold particles from settling at the cell bottom. With increasing agitation
speed the recovery was increased to a maximum. Exceeding this speed, the recovery of the coarser particles
decreased with increasing agitation speed due to the coarser gold particle-bubble aggregate not surviving
the turbulence produced with the excessive agitation speed. The grade was reduced dramatically over this
same interval suggesting that not only was less gold being recovered at this agitation speed but increasingly
more gangue material was being entrained within the froth.
234 K. Forrestet al.

Potential control in the flotation of gold

Hintikka and Leppinen (1995) completed a study into potential control in the flotation of sulphide minerals
and precious metals. The study used Aerophine 3418A as the collector and a gold electrode for measuring
the potential.

The investigation using Saattopora ore found that at potentials lower than +50mV, recovery of the gold was
below 20%, where as at a potential of +270mV, the recovery increased to 80%. There was also a dip in the
recovery at a potential of +230mV, which was thought to be due to changes of the gold's surface or
changes in the collector layer. The grade of the concentrate was also greatest at +270mV due to the lower
recovery of pyrite compared to that at the lower potentials tested.

The iron sulphide recovery was highest at a potential of +50mV and decrease beyond this potential. The
recovery of the copper minerals increased to a maximum at +200mV and leveled off at the +230 to +270
mV range.

Hintikka and Leppinen also applied this study to a second ore from Pirila. The gold in this ore had a high
silver content, which contributed to higher recoveries at lower potentials, consistent with work done by
Leppinen et al. (1991). With the Pirila ore there was an increase in recovery with increasing potential. The
iron sulphide minerals showed the same characteristics as exhibited in the Saattopora ore. This Pirila ore
contained arsenic minerals, which reach a maximum recovery between + 150mV and +220inV.

The results from this study suggest the recovery of gold by flotation can be maximized by using a potential
between +250mV and +300mV. The grade of the gold in the concentrate can also be increase by reducing
the recovery of the iron sulphide minerals (pyrite and pyrrhotite) and arsenic minerals (lollingite and
arsenopyrite) with potential control (Hintikka and Leppinen, 1995).

Gold particle size with respect to recovery

Lins and Adamian (1993) showed the effect of particle size on the recovery of free gold. It was shown that
the upper size limit for the floating of gold was 0.71 ram, where 80% recovery was achieved. This was only
attainable with conditions of very high physical conditions such as high agitation speeds e.g. 1350 rpm.
Above a gold grain size of 0.71 mm, the recovery dropped considerably. It was also observed that the finer
particle sizes of gold floated more easily and the effect of the agitation rate was not significant. At a size of
0.16mm the recovery of gold was +90%.

Newcrest (1996) conducted a study on the effect of grind size on grade and recovery. This was performed
on the Cadia Hill deposit in NSW. The study consisted of 5 composites with a p80 of 120 to 212gm. A
relationship between the recovery and the grind size was found. With a finer grind there appeared to be an
increase in the recovery of gold. Composite 1 consisted of a gold grade of 1.13g/t with pyrite and
chalcopyrite as the major components. The gold recovery was 75.5% at a size of 250gm. This recovery was
increased to 92% when the size was further ground down to 104gin. With the finer grind sizes came the
increased recovery but at a loss of the selectivity. The mass of the concentrate rose from 6.8% of the initial
weight at the 250gin size through to a mass of 12.8% at 104~tm. The effect of grind size on the recovery of
gold is most likely to be the increased degree of liberation of gold and not due to the reduction of gold
particle size.

Particle shape

The shape of the gold particles, from a number of different ore deposits, has been observed to change with
particle size (Fander, 2000). For example, gold particles greater than 50-60 microns tend to be flat while
the gold less than this size are predominantly angular. Presumably the larger particles protect the smaller
ones from being squashed during the comminution process. This flattened shape of the larger particles
could be a contributing factor to the reduced flotation recovery at the coarser sizes.
 Optimisationof gold recoveryby selectivegold flotation 235

EXPERIMENTAL

The gold bearing copper/pyrite ore from the Telfer Gold Mine was supplied by Newcrest Mining Ltd. It
was estimated that 50% of the total gold was recoverable by gravity, with the remaining gold associated
with the sulphide minerals chalcopyrite/chalcocite and pyrite. The aim of the testwork was to optimise the
free gold recovery by; (1) enhancing the copper and gold recovery into a copper concentrate and (2)
floating the gold away from the copper sulphides and pyrite.

The ore was crushed to - 2 mm and ground in a stainless steel laboratory rod mill to a p80 of 106 ~tm for the
flotation tests. At this size, a substantial proportion of the free gold is liberated.

A 5 litre laboratory Agitair flotation cell was used as a single stage rougher flotation cell.

The reagents used in this study were supplied by Cytec and are shown in Table 1. These reagents were
suggested by Cytec as being most effective for free gold flotation.

TABLE 1 Flotation reagents

REAGENTS CHEMICAL FAMILY

S-5688 Di cresyl monothiophosphate collector
Aero 7249 Di-isobutyldithiophosphate/
di-isobutylmonothiophosphate blend collector
Aerofloat 208 Dithiophosphate collector
Aero 6697 Di-isobutylmonothiophosphate collector
PAX Potassium amyl xanthate collector

Aerofroth 763 mixed alcohols, heavy aldehydes, frother

esters and glycols

The flotation tests were carried out with the five collectors with Aerofroth 763 as the standard frother. For
each test the collector and frother additions were kept constant at 30g/t each. This was maintained for all
tests except when studying the effect of varied 7249 collector concentration. In that case the collector
additions were 0, 13, 30 and 67 g/t.

pH was varied between a range of 8.4 (the natural pH of the ore) and 13. Lime was used to increase the pH
of the flotation slurries.

Air addition was kept constant at 7 L/min and the agitator speed was kept constant at 1000 rpm.
Conditioning and flotation times were kept constant at 4 minutes for both in all tests.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Effect on gold recovery

Figure 5 shows the response of the collectors when varying the pH with respect to gold recovery. Varying
the pH between the natural pH and +12, showed little or no effect on the recovery of gold. The drop in
recovery for the 6607 collector at a pH of 11.6 is most likely due to a spike in the tails assay. This is most
likely due to the coarse nature of the gold particles in the ore and the problems associated with sampling
and assaying this low grade material. The scatter in the results in Figure 5 reflects this assay problem.

Potassium amyl xanthate was used for comparison against the Cytec collectors as it is considered to be one
of the strongest free gold collectors. PAX achieved the greatest recovery of gold over the pH range.
236 K. Forrestet al.

100

90

80

70 • S.-5688

60 = 7249
~, 208
50
x 6697
O
¢j 40
PAX
r,,'
30

20

10

0 i ~ i i i

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

pH
Fig. 5 Total gold recovery vs pH. (flee gold and gold associated with sulphides).

Effect on gold grade

The effect of pH on gold grade can be seen in Figure 6. Tests showed that pH had a significant effect on the
gold grade in the concentrate when using Aerofloat 7249 and Aerofloat 208. Both of these collectors
experienced this increase at the same pH, where the pyrite depression had the major influence. The pyrite
has the effect of diluting the concentrates gold grade. Consequently depressing the pyrite improved the
concentrate grade.

350

300

250
i .--.--- S-56881
. - ~ - 7249 /
.t 208
x 6697 /
x PAX ]
lOO

50

o
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
pH

Fig. 6 Effect of pH on concentrate gold grade.

 Optimisationof gold recoveryby selectivegold flotation 237

The results displayed in Figure 5 and 6 are summarised in the form of a grade-recovery curve in Figure 7.
This Figure indicates that the gold grade and recovery generally increases with increasing pH, in part due to
the depression of pyrite at the higher pH.

100
12 12
90 tU • 11 1,: x x 10 12
i~
mll •
m • •
x
• 12
80 8.5
11 • 1118.5 10 10~°~2x--I
70 -* 12
I'0 u8.5 x
• 5688
60 lO .t 11 • 7249
> 8.5
o 50 • 208
rj
x 6697
40
x PAX
30

20

10

0
0 100 200 300 400

Grade

Fig. 7 Effect of pH and collector type on the gold grade and recovery. Numbers on the graph represent
the pH of the test. Gold grade is in g/t.

E f f e c t o n c h a l c o p y r i t e and pyrite recovery

Chalcopyrite and pyrite grades and recovery were calculated from the copper, iron and sulphur grades of
the flotation products. This assumes that the only copper mineral present was chalcopyrite and the only
sulphur bearing minerals present were chalcopyrite and pyrite. While there is a small percentage of
chalcocite in the ore, the calculation procedure has too many degrees of freedom for a three way mineral
estimation based on only the copper and sulphur analyses. The iron grade could not be used as there are
many iron bearing minerals present. Examination of polished sections of the flotation concentrates showed
predominantly chalcopyrite and pyrite, with very little chalcocite present. It is therefore believed that the
error in the above calculations for pyrite content is small.

Flotation tests, shown in Figure 8, indicate that the pH has little effect on the recovery of chalcopyrite over
the pH range 8-13. The recovery remained high at 70-85% for all collectors.

I00
90
80
70
- - * - - S-5688
60 --=-- 7249
Z"
@ 50 --k-- 208
O x 6697
0 40
re x PAX
30
20
10
0
9 10 11 12 13 14
pH

Fig.8 Effect of pH on chalcopyrite recovery.

238 K. Forrest etal.

Figure 9 shows the effect of pyrite recovery with changing pH. Pyrite recovery stays constant for PAX,
which is expected as it is a strong and most unselective xanthate collector. Collector 7249, the
dithiophosphate with monothiophosphate chemistry, is the second least selective against pyrite. The
dithiophosphate is a stronger sulphide collector than monothiophosphate and hence the higher pyrite
recoveries obtained across the pH range.

100 m

90
;IP-
80

70
e S-5688
60
E" 72493
?, 50 •= 208
o
t~ 40 x 6697
n,' 30 x PAX

20

10
0 i i i i

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

pH

Fig.9 Effect of pH on pyrite recovery.

Collector 6697, the di-isobutylmonothiophosphate, showed pyrite depression across the whole pH range.
This suggests that the 6697 collector is a more selective collector against pyrite than other collectors
including the dithiophosphate salt collector 208. Collector 208 possesses strong collecting ability for pyrite
at a pH less than 10.6. At a pH greater than 10.6 the recovery of pyrite is significantly reduced. The S-5688
collector possesses similar properties to collector 208 with respect to pyrite depression. The recovery of
pyrite is slightly lower at a pH between the natural pH and 10.2 where the depression of pyrite occurs.
After pH 11.2 the depression of pyrite is not as effective as collector 208. The 7249 collector showed less
tendency for pyrite depression than the other collectors. This property is likely to be cause by the
dithiophosphate contained in the collector's composition. The assays suggest that 50% of the pyrite is still
remaining in the concentrate.

Effect of grind size

The effect of grind size on component recovery can be seen in Figure 10. An improvement in the recovery
of gold of 36% was found when decreasing the grind size of the ore from 60% passing 106 p.m to 90%
passing 106 ~m. The improvement in gold recovery is due to either the reduced gold particle size, an
increase in the degree of gold liberation or a higher mass recovery. The concentrate mass did increase
slightly from 28 g for the coarse grind to 33 g for the fine grind. The result of this is a small decrease in
concentrate grade for copper, iron, sulphur and gold, with increasing grind size. The decrease in gold grade
was more than matched by the increase in concentrate mass so that the overall recovery of gold increased.
This was not the case for the other elements.

Since the non-free gold is associated mostly with the sulphides, the greatest effect on the increased gold
recovery due to increasing the fineness of grind must be the reduced gold particle size. The reason for that
is that the recovery of copper, iron and sulphur have not changed with grind size. The drop in gold
recovery, after a 90% passing 106~tm size, may be due to the production of slimes forming a slime coating
on the gold particles.
 Optimisation of gold recovery by selective gold flotation 239

100
90
80
70
• Gold
60
--B-- Iron
O 50
t,.1 i Sulphur
IZ 40
• Copper
30
20 & .k .t .t.
- _ _-- -- --
10
0
50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100
G r i n d Size, % Passing 106 l~m

Fig. 10 Effect of grind size on recovery, 30 g/t collector 7249.

Effect of gold particle size

It could be seen from gravity separation of the fine grind float samples (feed and rougher tail sized to +250,
250-150, 150-106 and -106 ~tm), using a Superpanner, that higher recoveries of free gold were attainable
at the low particle sizes. No gold could be seen in the flotation tail at -1061am. In contrast, a substantial
proportion of free gold could be seen in the -106tam size fraction of the flotation feed. Lower recoveries
were achieved for the larger gold particles. For example, considerable amounts of gold were observed in
the +150~tm flotation tail compared to that of smaller size fractions.

Effect of collector concentration

The results of flotation tests carried out while varying the concentration of Aerofloat 7249 collector at the
constant pH of 12, showed that the recovery of gold increases to a concentration of 30g/t of collector, after
which it drops considerably (Figure 11). Aerofloat 7249 was chosen for these tests because it gave a high
gold grade and low iron and sulphur grades at pH 12. Figure 11 shows the importance of not overdosing
collector when floating free gold. This was also experienced by Klimpel and Isherwood (1993) using PAX
as a collector, with a liberated native gold ore.

100
90
80
70
= Gold
. Copper
50
.--B-- Iron
~ 40
A Sulphur

20 __~
10
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Collector Concen~ation glt

Fig. 11 Effect of collector concentration on recovery, using Aero7249 collector.

240 K. Forrestet al.

There appears to be two optimum concentrations of collector for this ore. One at a dosage of 12 g/t where
the copper recovery levels out and at 30 g/t collector, the gold recovery reaches a maximum. In what form
is the extra gold recovered between 12 and 30 g/t ? It appears that a greater proportion of the coarser
liberated free gold particles are reporting to the concentrate at the collector dose up to 30 g/t, since the
copper and iron sulphide recoveries have not increased over this collector range.

At higher collector concentrations the drop in gold recovery is caused by a loss of liberated gold. This is
shown by the copper, iron and sulphur recoveries improving slightly over this higher collector dosage,
indicating that the gold loss is not associated with sulphide recoveries. This drop in gold recovery is based
on one sample analysis which, as discussed earlier, can be subject to large assay errors, and would need
confirmation with additional testwork. However, the loss of floatable gold may be associated with the
shape of the coarse gold particles and the crowding of the bubble surface with the additional sulphides
floating. Coarse gold particles have been observed to be flat, as a result of grinding, compared to a more
cubic shape for finer gold. These flatter and heavier shaped particles would be more weakly attached to an
air bubble and subject to rejection when crowded by a higher bubble loading.

CONCLUSION

Using the collectors tested, flotation of free gold was not selective against the copper minerals in the
supplied ore. However, tests showed that gold could be selectively floated against pyrite.

The results of the current investigations suggested that:

• Gold recovery was not affected by increased pH by lime addition

• The best pH for increasing gold grade was at 11.5 and above, where depression of pyrite occurred.
• Coarser gold particles had a lower probability of reporting to the concentrate compared to smaller gold
particles.
• Increased collector concentration give higher gold recoveries to a point, overdosing collector
concentration can be detrimental to free gold recovery. The best collector dosage was found to be 30
g/t when using collector Aerofloat 7249.
• Free gold can be selectively floated from pyrite at high pH.
• The best grind size for gold recovery using this ore was 90% passing 106 ~tm.
• The best collector for high gold recoveries was Aerofloat 7249
• The best collector for increasing the gold grade at a pH less than 11.5 was Aerofloat 6697. At a pH
greater than 11.5, Aerofloat 7249 and Aerofloat 208 both exhibited gold grades of greater than 250
ppm for the ore tested.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors wish to thank Newcrest Mining Ltd and Cytec Australia Holdings Pty Ltd for their support for
this project.

REFERENCES

Basilio, C.I., Kim, D.S., Yoon, R.H. and Nagaraj, D.R., Studies on the use of monothiophosphates for
precious metals flotation, Minerals Engineering, 1992, 5(3-5), 397-409.
Bulatovic, S.M., Flotation behaviour of gold during processing of porphyry copper-gold ores and
refractory gold-bearing sulphides, Minerals Engineering, 1997, 10(9), 895-908.
Duchen, R.B. and Carter, L.A.E., An investigation into the effects of various flotation parameters on the
flotation behavior of pyrite, gold and uranium contained in the Witatersrand Type ores and their
practical exploitation, International Conference on Gold, 1986, 505-525.
Ekmekci, Z. and Demirel, H., Electrochemical behaviour and collectorless flotation of pyrite. In Changing
Scopes in Mineral Processing, eds. M, Kemal, V. Arslan, A. Akar and M. Canbazoglu, A.A. Balkema,
Rotterdam, 1996, pp.197-202
 Optimisation of gold recovery by selective gold flotation 241

Fander, W., Private communication, May 2000

Fuerstenau, M.C., Sulphide mineral flotation. In Principles of flotation, ed. R King, 8, SAIMM,
Johannesberg, 1982.
Hartati, F., Mular, M., Steward, A. and Gorken, A., Increased gold recovery at freeport indonesia using
Aero ® 7249 promoter. In Proceedings Sixth Mill Operators Conference, AusIMM, Madang, 1997,
pp.165-167
Hintikka, V.V. and Leppinen, J.O., Potential control in the flotation of sulphide minerals and precious
metals, Minerals Engineering, 1998, 8(10), 1151-1158.
Iliev, S., Konzuloulv, G., Gocev, Z., Krstev, B. and Golomeov, B., Recovery enhancement of gold and
silver in chalcopyrite flotation Bucium-Macedonia applying new collectors. In Changing Scopes in
Mineral Processing, eds. M. Kemal, V. Arslan, A. Akar and M. Canbazoglu, A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam,
1996, pp.289-293
Klimpel, R., An approach to the flotation of complex gold ores containing some free gold and/or some
gold associated with easily floatable sulphide minerals, Worm Gold '97 Conference - Singapore, 1997,
109-113.
Klimpel, R. and Isherwood, S., Some new flotation products for the improved recovery of gold and
platinum, Randol Gold Forum - Beaver Creek '93, 1993, 105-111.
Leaver, E. S. and Woolf, J.A., More facts on the flotation of free gold, Engineering Mining Journal, 1934,
136(3), 116-118.
Leppinen, J. O., Yoon, R-H. and Mielczarski, J. A., FI'-IR studies of ethyl xanthate adsorption on gold,
silver and gold-silver alloys, Colloids and Surfaces, 1991, 61, 189-203.
Lins, F.F. and Adamian, R., Some chemical aspects of gold flotation, XVilI International Mineral
Processing Congress, Sydney, 1993, 1119-1122.
Lins, F.F. and Adamian, R., The influence of some physical variables on gold flotation, Minerals
Engineering, 1993, 6(3), 267-277.
Monte, M.B.M., Lins, F.F. and Oliveira, J.F., Selective flotation of gold from pyrite under oxidizing
conditions, International Journal of Mineral Processing, 1997, 51, 255-267.
Nagaraj, D.R., Brinen, J., Farinato, R. and Lee, J., A study of interactions of dicresyl monothiophosphate
with noble metals by electrochemical and spectroscopic methods. SME Annual. Meeting, Denver,
Colorado, 1991.
Newcrest Metallurgy Meeting Perth, 1996.
Valderrama, L. and Rubio, J., High intensity conditioning and the carrier flotation of gold fine particles,
International Journal of Mineral Processing, 1998, 52, 273-285.
Weiss, N.L. (ed), SME Mineral Processing Handbook, SME, New York, 1985, 5-9.

Correspondence on papers published in Minerals Engineering is invited b y e-mail to

bwills @ min-eng.com