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A Fundamental Study of Disodium Carboxymethyl Trithiocarbonate (Orfom® D8) in Flotation Separation of Copper-Molybdenum Sulfides

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Extraction 2018

Part of the book series: The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series ((MMMS))

Abstract

The chalcopyrite -molybdenite (Cu-Mo ) flotation industry is increasingly turning to organic depressants as suitable replacements for inorganic reagents, such as NaHS, due to environmental and safety concerns as well as high consumption rates of the inorganic reagents. This presents an opportunity for improvements or design and synthesis of alternative reagents. Disodium carboxymethyl trithiocarbonate (Orfom® D8) depressant is an organic depressant with a carboxylate group on one end and a trithiocarbonate group at the other end. Fundamental results are shown regarding the interaction of the Orfom® D8 depressant in the bulk flotation of a Cu-Mo concentrate from an operating North American mine. Cyclic Voltammetry on pure copper and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR ) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) measurements on pure chalcopyrite with Orfom® D8 depressant treatment are also reported. Through such characterization techniques a potential adsorption mechanism of Orfom® D8 on the mineral surface was identified and its depressant characteristics in the Cu-Mo flotation systems explained.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the help of Dr. Richard LaDouceur, Ethan Baily, Skylar Dickson and Conner Windmueller in running the experiments. We are also thankful to Chevron Philips Chemical Company (CPChem) for sponsoring the research. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the official guidelines or policies, either expressed or implied of CPChem.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Montana Tech, 1300 W Park St, Butte, MT, 59701, USA

    Simon Timbillah, Courtney Young & Avimanyu Das

Authors
  1. Simon Timbillah
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  2. Courtney Young
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  3. Avimanyu Das
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Simon Timbillah .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Kingston Process Metallurgy Inc., Kingston, Canada

    Boyd R. Davis

  2. Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, USA

    Michael S. Moats

  3. Rio Tinto Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation, South Jordan, USA

    Shijie Wang

  4. RHI Magnesita, Leoben, Austria

    Dean Gregurek

  5. BBA Inc., Montreal, Canada

    Joël Kapusta

  6. Extractive Metallurgy Consultant, Kingston, Canada

    Thomas P. Battle

  7. Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, USA

    Mark E. Schlesinger

  8. Aurubis, Hamburg, Germany

    Gerardo Raul Alvear Flores

  9. University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia

    Evgueni Jak

  10. XPS-Glencore, Falconbridge, Canada

    Graeme Goodall

  11. University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA

    Michael L. Free

  12. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

    Edouard Asselin

  13. University of Lorraine, Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, France

    Alexandre Chagnes

  14. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

    David Dreisinger

  15. Newmont Mining, Elko, USA

    Matthew Jeffrey

  16. University of Arizona, Tucson, USA

    Jaeheon Lee

  17. Miller Metallurgical Services Pty Ltd., Brisbane, Australia

    Graeme Miller

  18. University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Australia

    Jochen Petersen

  19. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

    Virginia S. T. Ciminelli

  20. Shanghai University, Shanghai, China

    Qian Xu

  21. MetNetH20 Inc., Peterborough, Canada

    Ronald Molnar

  22. Hatch, Mississauga, Canada

    Jeff Adams

  23. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

    Wenying Liu

  24. SGS Minerals, Lakefield, Canada

    Niels Verbaan

  25. J.R. Goode and Associates Metallurgical Consulting, Toronto, Canada

    John Goode

  26. Avalon Rare Metals Inc., Toronto, Canada

    Ian M. London

  27. University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    Gisele Azimi

  28. SGS Minerals, Lakefield, Canada

    Alex Forstner

  29. Newmont Mining, Greenwood Village, USA

    Ronel Kappes

  30. Newmont Mining Corporation, Greenwood village, USA

    Tarun Bhambhani

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Timbillah, S., Young, C., Das, A. (2018). A Fundamental Study of Disodium Carboxymethyl Trithiocarbonate (Orfom® D8) in Flotation Separation of Copper-Molybdenum Sulfides. In: Davis, B., et al. Extraction 2018. The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95022-8_247

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