Falconbridge Limited

Highwood Resources Ltd.

Huntsman Petrochemical Corporation

Sumiko Consultants Co., Ltd.

Avalon Ventures Ltd.

Falconbridge Copper Limited

Srdjan Bulatovic

Tim M Jessup

James F Jackson

Robert S Salter

Timothy Jessup

Gordon Leighton

The present invention provides a process for the recovery of bastnaesite and other minerals containing rate earth oxide from complex, weathered ores containing barite, borite, fluorites and/or barite, fluorites, silicates and iron oxides, and comprises reverse barite flotation using a barite collector containing the following individual reagents: 

Process for separation of bastnaesite from weathered bastnaesite barite fluorite ores

A method for recovering petalite from a mixture comprising petalite and feldspar minerals comprises the steps of forming an aqueous slurry of the mixture and adding to the slurry a depressant selected from the group consisting of alkaline earth metal chlorides, alkali metal chlorides, and mixtures thereof. Next, a collector comprising a quaternary ammonium salt is added to the slurry. The slurry is then subjected to a froth flotation process and petalite that is substantially free of feldspar minerals is selectively recovered from the flotation process.

Recovery of petalite from ores containing feldspar minerals

A new depressant for use in enhanced separation of polymetallic sulphides is described. The depressant agent is used in conjunction with conventional collector agents and frothing agents in the flotation separation of copper, nickel, lead, zinc sulphides by depressing iron sulphides such as pyrrhotite, pyrite and marcasite in the tailing. The depressant consists of a chemically-modified carbohydrate polymer, a polyacrylate and low foaming lignin sulphonate.

Depressant for flotation separation of polymetallic sulphide ores

A process for the froth flotation separation of phosphate containing minerals by the use of a new collector agent is described. The new phosphate collector agent is prepared by mixing a fatty acid, tall oil pitch, an amine, and optionally sarcosine with fuel or furnace oil, and subsequently oxidizing the mixture by known methods. The new phosphate collector agent is added to the conditioned slurry of the ground and deslimed phosphate containing ore. The slurry is then subjected to froth flotastion in one or more stages to collect the phosphate concentrate in the froth. The phosphate collector agent is also effective in recovering phosphates from slime.

Phosphate beneficiation process

A new depressant for use in enhanced separation of polymetallic sulphides is described. The depressant agent is used in conjunction with conventional collector agents and forthing agents in the flotation separation of copper, nickel, lead, zinc sulphides by depressing iron sulphides such as pyrrhotite, pyrite and marcasite in the tailing. The depressant consists of a cross-linked starch chemically combined with a polyacrylate and sugar free lignin sulphonate.

Depressant for flotation separation of polymetallic sulphidic ores

A new depressant composition is provided for the enhanced separation into separate value metal concentrates of copper, nickel, zinc, lead present in polymetallic and massive sulphide ores. The depressant is added in an aqueous solution prepared by dissolving first a mixture of quebrachio and dextrin, or quebracho and guar gum. To the solution of modified quebracho a water soluble salt of lignin sulphonate is added. The aqueous polymer of modified quebracho lignin sulphonate is further mixed with one or more of the following inorganic reagents: water soluble cyanide, metal sulphates and water soluble sulphites. The resulting depressant is added together with conventional flotation reagents in conventional mineral separation stages as required.

Separation of polymetallic sulphides by froth flotation

A new depressant composition is provided for the enhanced separation into separate value metal concentrates of copper, nickel, zinc, lead present in polymetallic and massive sulphide ores. The depressant is added in an aqueous solution prepared by dissolving first a mixture of quebracho and dextrin, or quebracho and guar gum. To the solution of modified quebracho a water soluble salt of lignin sulphonate is added. The aqueous polymer of modified quebracho lighin sulphonate is further mixed with one or more of the following inorganic reagents: water soluble cyanide, metal sulphates and water soluble sulphites. The resulting depressant is added together with conventional flotation reagents in conventional mineral separation stages as required.

A new depressant for use in enhanced separation of polymetallic sulphides is described. The depressant agent is used in conjunction with conventional collector agents and frothing agents in the flotation separation of copper, nickel, lead, zinc sulphides by depressing iron sulphides such as pyrrhotite, pyrite and marcasite in the tailing. The depressant consists of a cross-linked starch chemically combined with a polyacrylate and sugar free lignin sulphonate.

A process is described for the mineral separation of rare earth metal compounds, such as bastnaesite, contained in oxidic minerals. The process is a froth flotation process utilizing a novel collector emulsion, which is an emulsified mixture of:

Froth Flotation of bastnaesite

Froth flotation of bastnaesite

A process and reagents are described for separating beryllium silicate concentrates by flotation from oxidic minerals. The process is especially suitable for the separation of phenacite and bertrandite present in ores with complex gangue compositions. The ore is ground and subjected to acid pretreatment, then conditioned by the addition of pH modifier, alkali fluoride activator and a depressant containing sodium hexametaphosphate and carboxymethyl cellulose, or hexametaphosphate and quebracho. The conditioned ore is thereafter treated with a tall oil fatty acid-based collector mixture, of general formula C.sub.17 H.sub.31-35 COOH; which also contains cresylic acid, kerosene and a branched short-chained aliphatic alcohol, such as methyl-iso-butyl carbinol. Mercapto acetic acid and alkali metal hydrogen sulphide may also be added in the second and third stages of conditioning, respectively, for increasing selectivity. The mineral concentration process includes conventional rougher and cleaner flotation steps. Yttrium and rare earth oxides, if present will be retained in the tailings.

Beryllium flotation process

An aqueous solution containing a water soluble polyvalent metal sulphate, an alkali metal silicate and an alkali metal metabisulphite is described which is added to a slurry of a copper mineral bearing ore to be subjected to a froth flotation step for obtaining a copper concentrate. The aqueous solution is added to enhance the selectivity of conventional flotation collectors and depressants when the valuable minerals are finally disseminated in the host ore, which is then required to be ground to very small particle sizes to achieve the desired liberation. Other valuable minerals such as those bearing zinc and lead, may be recovered from the tailing.

Process for increasing the selectivity of mineral flotation

A method for separating copper sulphides from lead sulphides contained in particulate copper lead sulphide concentrates by a flotation process in which an aqueous alkali metal silicate-alkali metal dichromate reagent solution is added in the flotation step to depress the lead bearing sulphides. The copper lead sulphide concentrate may be obtained from a complex copper-lead-zinc ore, in which case the majority of the zinc is first removed by conventional flotation techniques and the copper lead sulphide concentrate treated with activated carbon prior to addition of the silicate-dichromate reagent solution.

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Peterborough, Canada

Srdjan Bulatovic