Difficulties and Recent Achievements in Flotation Separation of Fluorite from Calcite—An Overview

Abstract

As an important strategic non-metallic mineral resource, fluorite has been widely used in various industrial fields, such as metallurgy, optics and semiconductor manufacturing, as well as fluorine-related chemical engineering. Since the major gangue minerals of fluorite ore are silicate and carbonate ones, flotation is the main beneficiation method for the concentration. Compared with the relatively easy operation for silicate-type fluorite ore, fluorite concentration from calcite has always been the most difficult challenge in the field of mineral processing. In this review, analyses of the fundamental reasons for the difficulties of flotation separation of fluorite from calcite are performed, from the similar surface properties of both calcium minerals to the deterioration by the interference of dissolved ions in the pulp during grinding and flotation. Recent achievements in the flotation separation of fluorite from calcite as the main contents are comprehensively summarized, covering all aspects of flotation reagents of collectors, depressants and modifiers. Finally, successful examples of industrial practices forfluorite and calcite flotation separation are introduced. This overview provides a detailed and comprehensive reference source for the current research status of fluorite and calcite flotation separation, and some suggestions for future research are provided.

Sulfate Doping Promotes Agglomeration of Calcium Fluoride Crystals

“…However, due to the uneven global distribution of fluorite minerals and the low reserves of high-quality fluorite, the supply of fluorite resources is tight. High-quality fluorite mines may be exhausted within decades and have been listed as strategic resources by China, the United States, the European Union, and so on. , …”

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Production of anhydrous hydrogen fluoride from fluorosilicic acid: a review

“…The extraction of fluorite can also have adverse environmental effects, including habitat destruction, soil erosion, and water pollution. Moreover, refining fluorite often involves the use of chemicals and energy-intensive processes, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and further environmental degradation ( Huang et al, 2022 ).…”

Efficient recovery of highly pure CaF2 from fluorine-containing wastewater using an icy lime solution

“…Fluorite (CaF 2 ) is widely used in chemical, optics, national defense and fluorine chemical industry (Gao et al 2021;Huang et al 2022;Sun et al 2022) due to its excellent characteristics. For example, fluorite serves as a memory material for manufacturing battery capacitors in the semiconductor industry (Park et al 2023).…”