Process for producing high purity sodium chloride from potassium mineral flotation tailings

A process for recovering sodium chloride of sufficiently high purity to make it suitable for industrial use from potassium mineral flotation tailings which consist essentially of sodium chloride, inert materials and potassium mineral, comprising:

• (a) washing said mineral flotation tailings with a sufficient amount of both a first stream comprising water and a second stream comprising a mother liquor from one or more successive process steps to give a mixture of a solid phase and a liquid phase, the solid phase consisting essentially of sodium chloride and containing nearly all of the sodium chloride contained in said mineral flotation tailings, said mother liquor comprising a solution containing undissolved sodium chloride;
• (b) separating the mixture obtained in step (a) into a first turbid portion enriched in said solid phase, and a second turbid portion enriched in said liquid phase;
• and
• (c) separating the solid phase from the liquid phase of said first turbid portion obtained in step (b) and recycling the resulting liquid phase to said second stream in step (a).