Collector for beneficiating carbonaceous phosphate ores

An ore beneficiation process for separating alkaline earth metal carbonate impurities from phosphate ore, the process comprising:

• pulping ore with water to about 20% to 60% solids to produce an ore slurry;
• reagentizing the ore slurry to produce a reagentized slurry by adding:
• a pH modifier such that the ore slurry has a pH of about 4 to about 6;
• and
• a collector comprising:
• a fatty acid, where the fatty acid comprises a majority of the collector;
• a chemical with sulfonate or sulfate groups, the chemical with sulfonate or sulfate groups comprising dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid (DDBSA) or salt, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), sodium coco sulfate (SCS), or a combination thereof, where the chemical with sulfonate or sulfate groups comprises 0.5% to 20% of the collector;
• and
• a balance of a phosphorous-bearing chemical, where the phosphorous-bearing chemical is sodium phosphate, sodium pyrophosphate, sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP), other sodium polyphosphate salt, their partially acidified or fully acidified forms, or a combination thereof;
• subjecting the reagentized slurry to flotation to produce an overflow and an underflow;
• separating the overflow as waste;
• and
• collecting the underflow as phosphate concentrate.

A flotation method for removing carbonate impurities from phosphate ores, the method comprising:

• producing an ore slurry comprising phosphate ore and a collector comprising:
• a fatty acid, where the fatty acid comprises a majority of the collector;
• a chemical with sulfonate or sulfate groups, the chemical with sulfonate or sulfate groups comprising dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid (DDBSA) or salt, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), sodium coco sulfate (SCS), or a combination thereof, where the chemical with sulfonate or sulfate groups comprises 0.5% to 20% of the collector;
• and
• a finite, effective amount of a phosphorous-bearing chemical, where the phosphorous-bearing chemical is sodium phosphate, sodium pyrophosphate, sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP), other sodium polyphosphate salt, their partially acidified or fully acidified forms, or a combination thereof;
• and
• subjecting the ore slurry to flotation.