Document Type : Original Research Paper

Authors

• Zaheer Ahmed ¹
• Muhammad Bilal ²
• Zulfiqar Ali ¹
• Muhammad Badar Hayat ¹
• Kazutoshi HAGA ³
• Atsushi Shibayama ³

¹ Mining Engineering Department, University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore, Pakistan

² Reko Diq Mining Company (Private) Limited, Balochistan, Pakistan

³ Graduate School of International Resource Sciences, Akita University, 1-1 Tegata-Gakuenmachi, Akita 010-8502, Japan

Abstract

Low-grade copper–gold porphyry ores present significant processing challenges due to poor mineral dissemination and high gangue content. In this study, a representative ore sample from the Saindak Copper–Gold Project, Pakistan, with an average copper grade of 0.4 wt%, was investigated to optimize flotation parameters for improved copper recovery. Mineralogical characterization using XRD, XRF, SEM–EDS, and ICP-OES confirmed chalcopyrite as the primary copper-bearing mineral finely disseminated within silicate gangue and iron sulfides. A series of batch flotation experiments were conducted by systematically varying particle size, slurry pH, collector dosage, and flotation time. The results showed that optimal conditions (particle size <75 μm, pH 12, and 1-min flotation time) enabled selective chalcopyrite recovery. Optimal flotation performance was achieved at pH 12 with a collector dosage of 5 g/t and a flotation time of 1 min, yielding a copper recovery of approximately 93% and a concentrate grade of 23 wt% under multistage flotation conditions. Flotation kinetics analysis indicated that the first-order kinetic model provided the best fit to the experimental data. The findings demonstrate that efficient copper upgrading from low-grade Saindak ore can be achieved with minimal collector consumption, offering a potentially cost-effective and sustainable processing strategy for similar porphyry copper deposits.

Keywords

• Mineral Processing
• Copper ore flotation
• Comminution

Main Subjects

• Flotation