CHARACTERISTICS ANALYSIS OF A BASTNAESITE RARE EARTH MINERAL FOR RECOVERY OF CERIUM

摘要

The demand for cerium (Cs) and other rare earth elements for advanced materials applications isrnincreasing constantly. Rare earths can be used either as single elements or compounds. The mainrnnatural sources of rare earth elements are bastnaesite, monazite, and xenotime. Of these, bastnaesiternis the main natural source of cerium. To expand and develop the use of the rare earths, the search forrnnew mineral sources is important.rnIn this study, the samples, which were from a Vietnamese mine, were used. Bastnaesite ((Ce,La)rnCO_3)F), varite (BaSO_4) and fluorite (CaF_2) are found in these samples. Zeta-potential, density andrnmagnetisation of these minerals were analysed using pure minerals samples. Flotation was employedrnfor separating bastnaesite using difference of zeta-potential. The effect of the following parameterrnwas investigated (1) concentration of surfactant, (2) pulp density of sample, (3) pH in solution, etc..rnThe experimental results indicated the effect of the above mentioned parameters as a function of therngrade and the recovery of the recovered product.