Innovative study on chalcopyrite flotation efficiency with xanthate and ester collectors blend using response surface...

The Malanjkhand chalcopyrite deposit, India's primary copper ore producer, has potential for enhanced flotation performance. This study employs standard flotation experiments using a mechanical cell, integrating a conventional collecting agent with a novel ester-based collector blend. A three-factor, three-level Box-Behnken design systematically evaluated experimental parameters, analysed using ANOVA, cubic plots, response surface methodologies. Investigation examines the effects-interactions of three key parameters in chalcopyrite flotation: dosages of sodium silicate (depressant), (SIPX- collector) and acetoacetic acid n-octyl ester (AoE) (co-collector/modifier). Both high-grade (HG) and low-grade (LG) ore samples were tested to compare process outcomes. Results showed that incorporating AoE with optimized SIPX dosages increased copper grade by at least 15%, with favorable recovery rates. For the HG sample, optimal conditions for a 93.64% recovery were 0.001 kg/t sodium silicate, 0.005 kg/t SIPX, and 0.00125 kg/t AoE. Achieve an optimized grade of 3%, a 78.1% increase from the feed sample, the ideal conditions were 0.00175 kg/t sodium silicate, 0.005 kg/t SIPX, and 0.0005 kg/t AoE for the HG sample. Validation experiments confirmed the results, aligning well with statistical model predictions. Calculated (SPI) value of 0.1241 capita kg^-1 falls within the desirable range of 0 to 1, indicating the reliability-accuracy of the outcomes.