Base metal mineral flotation processes
AssigneeBOC Gases Australia Limited
InventorsDavid Clark, Andrew Newell
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Abstract
A process for recovering a secondary base metal mineral from a material containing it involving treatment of a pulp of the material with surface modifying reagent such as a water soluble sulphide. The pulp is subjected to deaeration by introduction of a non-oxidising gas to prevent oxidation of the reagent. The process is applicable to recovery of secondary minerals such as azurite, malachite, cerussite, anglesite and zinc ferrites from host materials.
Claims45
A process for recovering a secondary base metal mineral component from a material containing the mineral component comprising the steps of:
- preparing a pulp of the material containing the secondary base metal mineral;
- conditioning the pulp by treating the pulp with a substantially non-oxidising gas and an oxidisable surface modifying reagent;
- and
- subject the conditioned pulp to flotation to recover the secondary base metal mineral.
A process for recovery of a base metal mineral, said process comprising the steps of:
- forming a pulp containing said base metal mineral;
- adding an oxidisable surface modifying reagent to the pulp:
- introducing a non-oxidising gas to the pulp to prevent oxidation of the oxidisable surface modifying reagent added to the pulp to render said base metal mineral amenable to substantial recovery by flotation;
- and
- subjecting the pulp to flotation to recover the base metal mineral.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.