Studies on Carrier Flotation of Ultrafine Wolframite

Abstract

Carrier flotation of ultrafine wolframite (-5μm) was investigated using coarse wolframite (37∼53μm, etc.) as carriers and sodium oleate as collector. Effects of some factors on the carrier flotation of ultrafine wolframite were studied. It was found that the recovery of ultrafine wolfromite was significantly increased from about 41 % by conventional flotation to 76 % by carrier flotation. Furthermore, the recovery of ultrafine wolframite was enhanced from 76 % to 97 % by addition of Fe3+ ions during carrier flotation. Similar results were obtained for flotation of a mixture of wolframite (-5μm) and quartz (-10μm). The improved flotation results were explained by the size enlargement of the ultrafine wolframite due to the addition of carriers and stirring at high speed. The collision energy between the coarse and ultrafine particles is much greater than that between ultrafine particles. Therefore, aggregation between coarse and ultrafine particles occurs more easily. The stability of aggregate of particles is also strengthened with the addition of sodium oleate due to the hydrophobic forces between particles. Fe+3 ions decrease the zeta potential of the particles, lower the energy barrier between particles and promote aggregation.