ABSTRACT

Flotation was identified as a suitable method to recover valuable lead and zinc from a highly oxidized smithsonite ore that contained 3.80% zinc and 1.40% lead. Satisfying results were obtained using a grinding fineness of 90.83% passing 0.074 mm. The flowsheet comprised one rougher stage, one cleaner stage, and one scavenger stage for lead recovery, and one rougher stage, two cleaner stages, and one scavenger stage for zinc recovery. SDP-6 was used as the collector and SDQ-4 as the foaming agent. The grade and recovery of lead concentrate were 52.29% and 80.18%, respectively, using a preferential flotation process and the new reagent. Zinc concentrate grade and recovery were 36.80% and 71.48%, respectively. In the flotation process, the collector SDP-6, the frother SDQ-4, and a new process of simultaneous flotation of zinc oxidized ore and sulphide ore were used to improve the flotation index of lead-zinc ore.