How We Transform Raw Ore into High-Grade Copper Concentrate

Jiangxi Hengchang Mining Machinery Company is dedicated to efficiency and sustainability in copper production. The journey from raw, mined ore to the high-quality copper concentrate essential for global industries is a complex and precise operation. Today, we provide a detailed look at the sophisticated beneficiation process that powers our operations.

Copper ore straight from the mine contains a mixture of valuable copper minerals and worthless gangue (waste rock). Our primary goal is to liberate and separate these copper minerals to produce a concentrate with a copper content typically between 20-30%, a significant upgrade from the original ore, which may contain as little as 0.5% to 1% copper.

Copper ore processing involves several critical stages:

1. Crushing and Grinding: Liberation of Minerals
The process begins with the primary crushing of run-of-mine (ROM) ore into smaller, manageable pieces. Secondary and tertiary crushers further reduce the size before the ore is fed into large rotating ball mills. Here, it is ground with water into a fine powder or slurry. This crucial step liberates the individual copper mineral particles from the waste gangue, preparing them for separation.

2. Froth Flotation: The Heart of Concentration
The slurry is then introduced into flotation cells. We add carefully selected reagents:
Collectors: Chemicals that attach to copper mineral surfaces, making them hydrophobic (water-repelling).
Frothers: Agents that create a stable foam on the surface of the flotation cell.

Air is pumped through the slurry, creating bubbles. The hydrophobic copper particles attach to these air bubbles and rise to the surface, forming a froth. The hydrophilic (water-attracting) gangue particles sink to the bottom. The copper-rich froth is skimmed off, resulting in our initial copper concentrate.

3. Dewatering: Creating a Shipable Product
The copper concentrate froth from the flotation cells contains significant water. This slurry is first thickened in large tanks to recover process water for reuse in the plant. The thickened concentrate is then filtered using vacuum or pressure filters to remove most of the remaining water, resulting in a damp cake. This final product is stable, transportable, and ready for shipment to smelters for further refining into pure copper cathode.

4. Tailings Management: Our Commitment to Sustainability
The leftover material from flotation, called tailings (mostly ground-up gangue and water), is piped to our modern tailings storage facility (TSF). We employ advanced technologies to manage these tailings responsibly, ensuring environmental protection and water recovery. Our focus is on the safe, long-term storage and exploring opportunities for the reprocessing or use of tailings.