difficulties in the treatment of copper porphyry ores

a high percentage of world copper production is obtained from porphyry copper reserves, these reserves are characterized by: very high tonnage, greater horizontal dimensions than vertical, association with stock like intrusion masses, dispersed minerals in the porphyry mass and in its neighbor rocks, intense sericitization and inplace silicification. the porphyry coppers are concentrated by flotation. the main problems in the flotation of these ores are: slime, excessive pyrite, oxidized pyrite, oxide and oxidized copper minerals,various of copper sulphide minerals and finally, operational parameters. the present study deals with the effect of these trouble making factors in the flotation process.