Abstract
Cassiterite is the most common and important tin-bearing mineral, and calcite, a primary gangue mineral is generally found in tin deposit. The flotation separation of cassiterite from calcite remains a challenge due to their similar response to traditional reagents. In cassiterite flotation, sodium oleate (NaOL) and sodium silicate (SS) have been widely used as a collector and a depressant, respectively. However, the low selectivity of NaOL and the large amount of SS required (which leads to serious problems in wastewater treatment) remain a difficult issue. In this study, a novel reagent scheme using lead nitrate as the activator, salicylhydroxamic acid (SHA) as the collector and carboxymethyl cellulose as the depressant was employed to improve the separation selectivity of cassiterite from calcite. Results of the flotation experiment using this new reagent scheme showed that compared with the previously reported scheme using benzohydroxamic acid (BHA) as the collector, the separation of cassiterite from calcite exhibited a higher selectivity and selectivity index (SI). The mechanism of the selective separation was investigated by zeta potential measurements, Fourier transform infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis.
Highlights
Tin and its compounds have a broad range of applications due to their special properties such as malleability, ductility and corrosion resistance [1,2,3,4]
The results indicate good reagent selectivity of the reagent forcalcite the separation became
The mechanism of the selective separation of cassiterite from calcite was carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) depressant were employed to improve the separation selectivity cassiterite from calcite
Summary
Tin and its compounds have a broad range of applications due to their special properties such as malleability, ductility and corrosion resistance [1,2,3,4]. Cassiterite (SnO2 ), the primary ore mineral for tin, is related to the granitic host rock in hard-rock deposits [5]. Cassiterite was mainly recovered from tin ore by gravity separation using equipment including jigs, spiral chutes and shaking tables, at a relatively coarse particle size [6,7]. Due to the increasing fine-grained dissemination of cassiterite with gangue minerals, flotation has become a supplementary and/or alternative method for comprehensive cassiterite recovery. The flotation separation of cassiterite from gangue minerals (especially calcite (CaCO3 )) remains a challenge due to their similar response to traditional reagents. Increasing importance has been attached to selective reagents due to their dominant roles in high quality and high recovery concentration
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