A novel synthesized reagent, O,O-bis（2,3-dihydroxypropyl） dithiophosphate （DHDTP）, was investigated as depressant on the depression of chalcopyrite and galena, when ammonium dibutyl dithiophosphate （DDTP） was used as the collector in flotation tests. Zeta potential and adsorption measurement were performed to study the interaction between depressant and minerals. The flotation tests of two minerals show that DHDTP has slight depression on chalcopyrite in the whole pH range and strong depression on galena in the pH range of 6-10. When DHDTP dosage is increased, the recovery of galena decreases rapidly, while that of the chalcopyrite decreases slightly. The satisfied separation results of artificially mixed samples are that the copper grade and recovery rates of concentrate are 24.08% and 81%, respectively, when the pH is 6 with 278 mg/L DHDTP. Zeta potential and adsorption measurements show that DHDTP has more strongly adsorotion capacity to galena than chalcoovrite.
2,3-disulfanylbutanedioic acid（DMSA） was found to be a selective depressant in the flotation separation of coppermolybdenum sulfides.The flotation results suggest that a low dosage of DMSA has a strong depression effect on chalcopyrite in the p H range between 4 and 12.At p H 6,the recoveries of molybdenum are up to 85%,75%,and 80% while those of chalcopyrite are 15%,5%,and 20% respectively when flotation tests are carried out with single minerals,mixed minerals and molybdenum-bearing copper concentrates.Adsorption isotherms measurement indicates that DMSA adsorbs more strongly on chalcopyrite than on molybdenite.The frontier orbital calculation reveals that the two S atoms of DMSA molecule are active centers for the adsorption of the DMSA molecule on chalcopyrite surface.Fermi level calculation shows that chalcopyrite can obtain electrons from the DMSA molecule while molybdenite cannot.
