Abstract
The depressive efficiency of sodium silicate, sodium hexametaphosphate, and tartaric acid on the flotation separation of molybdenum oxide from fluorapatite were examined using cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) as the collector. The corresponding depression mechanisms of all three depressants were studied with the use of laboratory measurements. Individual mineral flotation tests and adsorption studies showed that all these depressants have a higher depression effect on fluorapatite than molybdenum oxide. Sodium hexametaphosphate has the strongest depression effect on fluorapatite and can reduce the flotation recovery as low as less than 20%. Infrared spectroscopy and zeta potential tests proved the rationality of the flotation results, indicating that when CPC was used as a collector, the effect of sodium hexametaphosphate on the surface of molybdenum oxide was smaller than that on fluorapatite. The adsorption of hexametaphosphate on the surface of fluorapatite was determined to be physical adsorption.
Highlights
The nickel-molybdenum ore resources were found mainly in specific regions of China, such as Guizhou, Hunan, Zhejiang, and the Eastern Yunnan Province, usually associated with other metals, such as, Se, Re, Au, Ag, Pt, Pd, etc.) [1,2,3,4]
The purities of the molybdenum oxide and fluorapatite used in this study were 99.60% and 99.00%, respectively
The flotation recovery of fluorapatite was greatly decreased in the presence of the depressants
Summary
The nickel-molybdenum ore resources were found mainly in specific regions of China, such as Guizhou, Hunan, Zhejiang, and the Eastern Yunnan Province, usually associated with other metals, such as, Se, Re, Au, Ag, Pt, Pd, etc.) [1,2,3,4]. The molybdenum minerals in the Ni-Mo ore are mainly jordisite, but the mine contains various other materials composed of molybdenum and sulfur in different ratios [5,6,7]. The nickel minerals observed in this area are mainly nickel sulfide and gersdorffite. The hardness of the nickel and molybdenum minerals varies greatly. A large amount of fluorapatite and mica contained in the ore crumbles only a small selection of flotation reagents is available for the flotation of minerals with these characteristics. Compositional analysis of the NiMo ore indicates that it contains certain amounts of molybdenum oxide with minimal floatability, which adversely affects the recovery rate of the elemental molybdenum. A suitable depressant was selected for the depression of gangue minerals and is important for increasing the recovery rate of elemental molybdenum
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