Abstract:Industrial development has led to an increase in production capacity within the smelting industry, resulting in the accumulation of large quantities of smelting slag. This slag occupies significant land resources, poses a threat to the environment due to its toxic elements, and fails to effectively utilize valuable metal resources contained within. A study conducted on copper slag from a smelter in Yunnan focused on its process mineralogy. The findings revealed that the main recoverable valuable element in the slag was copper, with a grade of 3.42%. Copper minerals in the slag predominantly consisted of copper sulfide ore, with a monomer dissociation rate of approximately 65%. The particle size of embedded copper minerals ranged from 0.005mm to 0.64mm, showing non-uniform distribution between coarse and fine sizes. Coarse particles larger than 0.106mm accounted for about 40% of the sample, displaying good monomer dissociation, while micro-fine-grained minerals made up around 20%, exhibiting significant continuity. Improper treatment of these coarse and micro-fine-grained copper minerals could complicate subsequent flotation enrichment. To address the characteristics of high dissociation in coarse-grained minerals and pronounced continuity in micro-fine-grained minerals, a beneficiation process involving "step milling and step selection - fast flotation - synergistic capture" was developed. This process introduced a new ester sulfide ore capture agent, LS-201, known for its enhanced capture capacity and faster flotation speed compared to traditional agents like yellow drug. The agent was found to synergistically capture with butylated yellow drug. The study also delved into the impact of grinding fineness, agent type, and dosage on copper flotation recovery.Under the given conditions, the grinding fineness of the first section is -0.074mm, accounting for 70% of the total, with a dosage ratio of 2:1 between butylflavonoid and LS-201 for the fast flotation collector totaling 120g/t. The grinding fineness of the second section is -0.045mm, accounting for 85%, with an activator of sodium sulphide at 40g/t. The dosage ratio for the fast flotation tailings reelection collector is 2:1 between butylflavonoid and LS-201, totaling 90g/t, and the frothing agent is 2# oil at 20g/t. The flotation closed-circuit test resulted in a mixed concentrate with a copper grade of 21.89% and copper recovery of 95%. With a foaming agent dosage of 20g/t, the test yielded a mixed concentrate with a copper grade of 21.89% and a copper recovery rate of 95.60%, showing promising results. The tailings had a low copper grade of only 0.18%, with a copper loss rate of 4.44%. This study successfully demonstrates the effective recovery of copper resources from copper furnace slag, offering a new approach for the secondary utilization of this material.