Abstract: A Mg-rich copper-nickel lean ore with low grade of copper and nickel, high content of talc and serpentine, and nickel bearing in poor floatable pyrrhotite, is a refractory mineral. The process of desliming and Cu-Ni bulk flotation is adopted on-site, which did not separate from copper and nickel, and lowered the low recovery of copper and nickel due to desliming. In order to realize the efficient utilization of the ore, new activator WT-02 and new inhibitor WY-003 are developed and a new process of copper-nickel bulk flotation and Cu-Ni separation without desliming is proposed. Both two agents and the new process are verified to be effective and reasonable through laboratory tests and pilot tests. Based on these, industrial tests are carried out. The results show that compared with the original process, the new one can realize high effective separation of copper and nickel, and increase Cu and Ni recovery of 17.89% and 17.24% respectively. Additionally, 120.53 t of nickel and 54.31 t of copper metal will be recovered each year, with the yearly output value increased by 14 220 200 yuan.

Key words: Mg-rich copper-nickel lean ore, New activator WT-02, New inhibitor WY-003, Cu-Ni bulk flotation, Cu-Ni separation