Author 1:
Name & Surname: Chanturiya E. L.
Company: Mining Institute of National University of Science and Technology MISiS (Moscow, Russia)
Work Position: Professor
Scientific Degree: Doctor of Engineering Sciences
Contacts: e-mail: elenachan@mail.ru

Author 2:
Name & Surname: Vishkova A. A.
Company: Mining Institute of National University of Science and Technology MISiS (Moscow, Russia)
Work Position: Senior Lecturer

Author 3:
Name & Surname: Ananiev P. P.
Company: Innovative Mining Technologies Research and Education Center (Moscow, Russia)
Work Position: General Director
Scientific Degree: Candidate of Engineering Sciences

Author 4:
Name & Surname: Tomskaya E. S.
Company: Research Institute of Comprehensive Exploitation of Mineral Resources — IPKON (Moscow, Russia)
Work Position: Engineer

Author 5:
Name & Surname: Koporulina E. V.
Company: Research Institute of Comprehensive Exploitation of Mineral Resources — IPKON (Moscow, Russia)
Work Position: Principal Geologist
Scientific Degree: Candidate of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences

The article reports the data on grindability of base metal ore during grinding with introduction of catalite, the product of electrolysis of water, as a liquid phase and putting the ore under magnetic-impulse treatment (MIT) before grinding. The research investigation using optomineralogical analysis methods, potentiometric measurements, screen analysis, sedimentation analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM, LEO 1420VP) and energy-dispersive microanalyzer (Oxford INCA Energy) has shown that catalite and MIT almost equally stimulate ore grinding. Energy deposition increases the content of size grade –0.074 mm in finished ground product, with higher content of size grade 0.040+0.030 mm by 6–7%, and raises the output of mills in terms of the finished size grade by 5.5–5.9 kg/(dm³·h) as against the control experiments. The grindability ratio relative to the check samples was 1.2. As a result of MIT, cracks formed along interfaces of mineral phases, and substantial disintegration of pyrite aggregates was observed, when new cracks grew mainly at the interfaces between grains of pyrite and small amount of fine cracks cut the pyrite grains. This conditions the decrease in strength characteristics of interfaces between metal and nonmetal phases. The authors have drawn the conclusion that: the mechanism of ore grinding stimulation by catalite consists in the wedging effect on walls of cracks, which prevents them from closing, under the action of ions ОН^–, fine-disperse electrolysis hydrogen and catalite-induced new phases on the surface of mineral particles; the mechanism of ore grinding stimulation by MIT lies in the weakening of ore particles by cracks formed along interfaces of mineral phases and in the disintegration of mineral aggregates at interfaces of their grains; the joint application of catalite and magnetic-impulse treatment allows 1.2 times intensification of copper-zinc sulfide ore grinding, which creates conditions for additional gain in efficiency of grinding equipment.

The research is supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, Grant No. 14-05-00036a.

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