Extracting Gold Fines from Pyrite Slag by Hydrophobic Flocculation Flotation

In order to extract gold fines from pyrite slag, the hydrophobic flocculation flotation (HFF) was studied and compared with conventional flotation. The main parameters of HFF such as flotation reagent, surfactant dosage. the duration of agitation and the amount of non-polar oil were investigated, and the effect of non-polar oil was analyzed particularly. It is demonstrated that the HFF is better for gold extraction from pyrite slag than the conventional flotation, and the non-polar oil and the intensive agitation are the key to improve the Au contents and recovery in the concentrate. HFF was used to treat the pyrite slag from the west of Jiangxi province, whose gold contents are 2.949/t and the size of which are smaller than 10μm. The gold concentrate with gold grade 126.3 g/t and 51.35% recovery was obtained. Thus, a new method of extracting gold fines from pyrite slag is developed using HFF.