Abstract: Copper produced in China primarily originates from chalcopyrite,which is typically separated and concentrated using the flotation process. Grinding is an essential pre-treatment step before mineral flotation,and the choice of grinding media significantly impacts the flotation recovery efficiency of minerals. In order to clarify the effect of grinding media on chalcopyrite flotation recovery,pure chalcopyrite minerals were selected as the research subject. Using steel balls,alumina ceramic balls,zirconia ceramic balls,and silicon nitride ceramic balls as grinding media in a stirred mill,the influence of these four media types on the surface characteristics and flotation behavior of ground chalcopyrite products was investigated using various analytical techniques. The research results indicated that the higher the density of the grinding media,the finer the resulting ground product. Under steel ball grinding,the particle surfaces of the ground product were rougher,which inhibited the adsorption of the collector sodium butyl xanthate onto the mineral surfaces. In contrast,under ceramic ball grinding,the particle surfaces were relatively smooth and flat,with no significant corrosion observed,demonstrating better floatability. When zirconia ceramic balls were used as the grinding media,the ground product contained a higher proportion of particles with greater elongation. Additionally,the product exhibited a lower isoelectric point and enhanced hydrophobicity,proving more conducive to the flotation recovery of chalcopyrite. 

Key words: grinding media,steel ball,alumina ceramic ball,zirconia ceramic ball,silicon nitride ceramic ball,chalcopyrite,surface property,floatability