The amenability of column flotation for the beneficiation of fluorspar wets
investigated, and the overall performance of the column flotation was comp
ared to the performance of the existing conventional flotation cells at the
plant. It was established that improved grades and recoveries could be obt
ained by adopting column technology. Acidspar concentrates assaying 97% CaF
2, suitable for HF manufacturing, can be produced by adopting two-stage col
umn cleaning in place of multistage cleaning by conventional cells. Similar
ly, metspar concentrates assaying 90% CaF2, suitable for metallurgical appl
ications, can be achieved in a single-stage cleaning by column flotation. T
his is an improvement over what is now being achieved using the existing co
nventional rougher and three-stage cleaning cells in the plant. The number
of stages, i.e.,four in the acidspar circuit and four in the metspar circui
t, including rougher stages, can be eliminated by adopting a three-column c
onfiguration. Thus, the cost of production, the complexity of the circuit a
nd the power consumption cart be effectively reduced with other attendant b
enefits.