Coagulation of fines in fluorite froth flotation

Fluorite, a valuable mineral in the metallurgical industry, can be found together with silicates, carbonates and oxides in ore deposits. Commercial concentrates with more than 95 % of CaF2 are obtained processing the mineral in flotation plants and using oleic acid as fluorite collector. Depressor r...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Sarquis, Pedro Edgardo, Gonzalez, Mercedes Isabel, Moyano, Silvia Adriana, Bazan Brizuela, Vanesa Lucia
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2011
País:Argentina
Institución:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repositorio:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Idioma:español
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/199033
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/199033
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:COAGULATION
FLOTATION
FLUORITE
REAGENTS
SLIMES
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/2.4
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/2
Descripción
Sumario:Fluorite, a valuable mineral in the metallurgical industry, can be found together with silicates, carbonates and oxides in ore deposits. Commercial concentrates with more than 95 % of CaF2 are obtained processing the mineral in flotation plants and using oleic acid as fluorite collector. Depressor reagents such as sodium silicate, tannin and sodium carbonate are commonly employed to allow the oleic acid selective performance. These reagents cause a dispersant effect separating the solid-liquid solution on tailing plants. Fine particles in the recovered water enter the circuit and affect the flotation efficiency. The effect of coagulant ions was studied as a method to clarify the returned water. The problem of the presence of these ions is related to its reactions with the collector by the formation of compounds and possibly on the selectivity. Variable quantities of Al3+, Fe3+ and Ca2+ ions were added to the flotation to evaluate its effect on the fluorite recovery, in the selectivity and in solids content in recirculation water. Results show that some ions fail to improve water quality and are detrimental to flotation. On the contrary, some ions contribute to reduce fine content in suspension. Therefore, although there is a recovery reduction, such effect can be counteracted increasing the collector consumption a little.