Mineralogy-constrained interpretation of rougher flotation kinetics in a copper sulphide ore

As the mining industry increasingly treats low-grade, finely grained sulphidic copper ores, flotation performance is often constrainedby inadequate liberation after grinding and by entrainment of fine gangue, which dilutes concentrate grade.Although process mineralogy is widely applied to diagnose such issues, limited integration remains between mineralogical indicators of surface exposure andthe time-based recovery data used for flotation modelling and process simulation. In practice, flotation kinetic models are commonlycalibrated directly to measured test data, with limited explicit linkage to underlying ore mineralogy.In this study, a modelling framework is developed to integrate quantitative mineralogical information with rougher flotation kineticsfor a low-grade, finely grained copper sulphide ore. Feed modal mineralogy, copper deportment, and free-surface liberation data are combined withmeasured rougher flotation kinetic data and bulk rougher concentrate mineralogy. Copper recovery is represented as the sum of two contributions:(i) true flotation of sulphide particles, expressed as a function of mineral liberation and surface exposure, and(ii) recovery of residual copper associated with middlings, locked particles, and non-sulphide copper species through entrainment.The results indicate that early recovery is primarily associated with liberated and highly exposed sulphide particles, whereas laterrecovery is increasingly influenced by entrained and partially liberated material. The apparent slow-floating component of the cumulative recovery curve is consistent with an increasing contribution of entrainment relative to selective flotation, rather than necessarily indicating the presence of a distinct slow sulphide population. Part of the slow tail also reflects the exponential decline in incremental recovery inherent in the first-order kinetic representation used for sulphide flotation. Within experimental uncertainty, the model reproduces measured recovery trends and remains consistent withindependent mineralogical observations. The framework demonstrates how integrating mineralogical constraints with flotation kinetics can improve interpretation of rougher flotation behaviour.