Optimizing the industrial flotation performance of sulfide minerals having some natural floatability

摘要

This paper summarizes the various flotationpractices that have been shown to improve the recovery of sulfideminerals having some inherent natural floatability. In particular,she various operating advantages of using low dosages ofuncharged water insoluble collectors on natural or near-naturalpH slurries of these ores are demonstrated. Some data arepresented on the effect of the hydrocarbon chain length upon theperformance of various sulfur-hydrocarbon collectors. Ascompared to classical collector practice of using higher dosagesof water-soluble collectors at elevated pH, it is possible to lowerreagent costs, achieve faster flotation kinetics, and improveselectivity over iron sulfides.