Separation of Copper and Molybdenum from Bulk Cu–Mo Concentrate Using a Novel Process Combined Pressurized Water Leaching with Flotation

This work investigated the separation of copper (Cu) and molybdenum (Mo) from bulk Cu–Mo concentrate using pressurized water leaching (PWL) and Hallimond tube flotation. The effects of pressure, temperature, stirring speed, and solid–liquid ratio on the dissolution efficiency of copper and molybdenum were investigated using PWL. The results showed that under the optimal conditions, the copper and molybdenum leaching rate was 95.28% and < 5%, respectively. The Hallimond tube flotation of the residue obtained by PWL showed that 99% of Mo was recovered in the concentrate, and its grade reached around 56.57%, while the Cu grade was less than 0.53%. Moreover, 98% of Cu was rejected into the tailing, and its grade is about 8%. A novel process for separating copper and molybdenum from bulk Cu–Mo concentrate was proposed by combining PWL with Hallimond tube flotation, in which the overall copper and molybdenum recovery was 95.28 and 94.54%, respectively.