METHOD OF UPGRADING OF SULFIDE ORES Russian patent published in 2004 - IPC

FIELD: mining industry; upgrading of polymetallic sulfide ores. SUBSTANCE: the invention presents a method of upgrading of sulfide ores and may be used in mining industry for upgrading of polymetallic sulfide ores and in particular copper-nickel ores. The technical result is a decrease of labor inputs and power consumption costs at upgrading, decrease of hazardous impurities discharge in the atmosphere and improvement of an environment in the area of the ore processing. The method provides that the initial ore is comminuted up to the sizes of no more than 0.25 mm. Then the comminuted ore is subjected to the flotation separation for nonmetallic minerals and middlings. The middlings dehydrated up to residual humidity of no more than 2 % is directed for the further processing, that is conducted by its feeding in a stream of an indifferent gas in a plasma-chemical reactor, where a finely dispersive phase of the middlings in the stream of the indifferent gas is subjected to high-speed, high-temperature heating. After the heated mixture exit from the plasma-chemical reactor, it is exposed to sharp cryogenic refrigeration with consequent separation of elemental sulfur and a powdered bulk concentrate. EFFECT: the invention allows to decrease labor inputs, power consumption and discharge of hazardous impurities in the atmosphere in the process of polymetallic sulfide ores upgrading. 4 cl, 1 tbl, 1 ex