FLOTATION OF HETEROCOAGULATED PARTICULATES IN ULEXITE SDS/ELECTROLYTESYSTEM/

Salt-type minerals can be usually floated with either anionic or catio nic collectors. In a number of systems, flotation has been reported to remarkably increase above the concentrations where precipitation of t he collector salt is initiated. Some studies attribute this phenomenon to heterocoagulation of oppositely charged colloidal precipitate and mineral particles. In this study, ulexite, a semisoluble boron mineral , in the presence of various multivalent ions, i.e. Ba2+, Mg2+, Ca2+, and Al3+, was found to exhibit excellent flotation even when particles , colloidal precipitates, and bubbles acquire a similar charge, which indicates that attractive structural forces exceed the forces of elect rostatic repulsion. (C) 1998 Academic Press.