Acid agglomeration and mechanism analysis of a low-grade oxide-sulfide mixed copper ore

Agglomeration technology is one of the most effective measures to enhance the poor heap permeability of ores caused by the presence of fine particles. Selecting the proper acid resistant binder is key to the successful heap leaching of copper ore. The agglomeration of oxide-sulfide mixed copper ore was studied in this paper, and results show that Biometek-WLAG001 is an ideal acid resistant binder. The effects of binder amount, water spray amount, rotational speed, curing time, aging acid addition amount, and aging time on the compressive and wet strengths of agglomerated pellets were investigated in single-factor experiments. The effects of binder amount, curing time, aging acid addition amount, and aging time on the wet strength of agglomerated pellet were further studied via a response surface methodology, and results were optimized and analyzed by Design-Expert 8.0 software. The interaction mechanism between the binder and the ore was investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis and Zeta potential measurements. Results reveal that the binder and ore undergo chemical adsorption but not electrostatic attraction.