Stage 2: Froth flotation The powdered ore is mixed with a special paraffin oil which makes the copper mineral particles water repellent.
Uses of copper Amongst other things copper is used for: electrical wiring. However, as the concentration of copper in the ore bodies decreased, the energy costs of smelting the whole ore also became prohibitive, and it became necessary to concentrate the ores first.
The very dilute solution is brought into contact with a relatively small amount of an organic solvent containing something which will bind with copper II ions so that they are removed from the dilute solution. Smelting The smelter separates the copper from the sulphur in CuFeS2 in one stage: Copper and Oxygen are reduced, sulphur is oxidised, and iron is oxidised.
Questions to test your understanding If this is the first set of questions you have done, please read the introductory page before you start.
Lifting the solidified anodes into cooling tanks. Initial concentration techniques included hand-sorting [10] and gravity concentration.
Pure copper cathodes are arranged between the blister copper anodes and a current of over A passes through the solution. Find the two furnaces that send sulfur dioxide gas to the acid plant.
Chile exported 8.