Abstract
The main challenge in scheelite flotation lies in the contamination of the concentrate by other calcium-bearing minerals, mainly calcite. To remedy this problem, sodium silicate is frequently used as a depressant. According to the literature, one hypothesis for the mechanism of water glass consists in its absorption onto calcite through colloidal silica formation, preventing hydrophobization by the collector. This short communication presents research conducted on the direct use of colloidal silica as a depressant in scheelite flotation. Colloidal silica is shown to have an impact on scheelite flotation, especially by depressing silicates.
Highlights
This short communication presents research conducted on the direct use of colloidal silica as a depressant in scheelite flotation
The main challenge in scheelite flotation is the contamination of the concentrate with other semi-soluble salt minerals, mainly calcite, fluorite and apatite, as these minerals display flotation behavior analogous to scheelite due to similar surface properties [1]
By directly using colloidal silica in the flotation, it was demonstrated that colloidal silica did have an impact on scheelite flotation, even at a low dosage
Summary
The main challenge in scheelite flotation is the contamination of the concentrate with other semi-soluble salt minerals, mainly calcite, fluorite and apatite, as these minerals display flotation behavior analogous to scheelite due to similar surface properties [1]. Sodium silicate is one of the main depressants against calcite and fluorite used in the scheelite flotation industry [2]. The literature describes how water glass can adsorb as colloidal silica in the case of calcite [2,4], preventing the adsorption of the collector. This short communication presents the primary results of research conducted on froth flotation using colloidal silica directly as a depressant
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