UTILIZATION OF HYDROXAMATES IN MINERALS FROTH FLOTATION

Following a critical review of the utilisation of chelating reagents ( hydroxamates) in minerals flotation, results of a series of experiment s performed in the presence of an experimental commercial hydroxamate as collector, at bench scale with two different ores and in a microflo tation cell with several combinations of minerals (most of them ''spar ingly soluble minerals'') are presented. The conclusion is that the se lectivity of minerals flotation with hydroxamates depends on a balance between the solubility of the mineral and the stability of the comple x formed with the cation of the lattice, A favourable condition for th e selective utilisation of hydroxamates as collectors is visualised if the mineral to be floated is the most soluble in the system and the c helate formed between the cation in the lattice and hydroxamate is the most stable.