TY - JOUR
T1 - Floatability of molybdenite and chalcopyrite in artificial seawater
AU - Suyantara, Gde Pandhe Wisnu
AU - Hirajima, Tsuyoshi
AU - Miki, Hajime
AU - Sasaki, Keiko
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Science Research ( JSPS KAKENHI Grant No. JP15H02333 ) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science ( JSPS ) – Japan, the Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd., Japan, and the Ministry of Education , Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan ( MEXT ).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2018/1
Y1 - 2018/1
N2 - Seawater has been reported to depress the floatability of molybdenum in copper-molybdenum (Cu-Mo) flotation circuits under alkaline conditions (pH > 9.5). However, the seawater used in the process contains various minerals and flotation reagents, which make it difficult to investigate the depression mechanism. This paper presents a fundamental study into the effect of artificial seawater as a seawater model solution on the floatability of molybdenite and chalcopyrite, which are the main minerals in the Cu-Mo flotation process. Floatability tests in the absence of flotation reagents (i.e., frothers and collectors) reveal that artificial seawater adversely affects the floatability of molybdenite and chalcopyrite at pH > 9. This phenomenon can be attributed to the adsorption of hydrophilic Mg(OH)2 precipitates formed under alkaline conditions on the mineral surfaces, which increases the surface wettability of the mineral particles, as shown by contact angle measurements and atomic force microscopy (AFM) images. The effect of kerosene as a molybdenite collector has also been investigated to assess its potential in the selective flotation of molybdenite and chalcopyrite in artificial seawater.
AB - Seawater has been reported to depress the floatability of molybdenum in copper-molybdenum (Cu-Mo) flotation circuits under alkaline conditions (pH > 9.5). However, the seawater used in the process contains various minerals and flotation reagents, which make it difficult to investigate the depression mechanism. This paper presents a fundamental study into the effect of artificial seawater as a seawater model solution on the floatability of molybdenite and chalcopyrite, which are the main minerals in the Cu-Mo flotation process. Floatability tests in the absence of flotation reagents (i.e., frothers and collectors) reveal that artificial seawater adversely affects the floatability of molybdenite and chalcopyrite at pH > 9. This phenomenon can be attributed to the adsorption of hydrophilic Mg(OH)2 precipitates formed under alkaline conditions on the mineral surfaces, which increases the surface wettability of the mineral particles, as shown by contact angle measurements and atomic force microscopy (AFM) images. The effect of kerosene as a molybdenite collector has also been investigated to assess its potential in the selective flotation of molybdenite and chalcopyrite in artificial seawater.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.mineng.2017.10.004
DO - 10.1016/j.mineng.2017.10.004
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85032222034
SN - 0892-6875
VL - 115
SP - 117
EP - 130
JO - Minerals Engineering
JF - Minerals Engineering
ER -