Surface phenomena of antimonite in solutions of different flotation reagents

Rejection of antimony and bismuth in sulphide flotation – a literature review

“…Oberbillig (1964) also found that copper sulphate performed better than lead acetate as an activator. Popov et al (1987) investigated the flotation properties of stibnite after dry grinding using Hallimond tube flotation tests and infrared spectroscopy. They found that stibnite could be floated with or without xanthate in acidic conditions and that floatability decreased with increasing pH.…”

“…Selective flotation reagents Popov et al (1987), in micro-flotation tests, investigated the effect of FeSO 4 -NaCN and FeSO 4 -Na 2 S as depressants for stibnite. They found that both combinations depressed stibnite from pH 5 to 10 when ethyl xanthate was used as the collector but that stibnite flotation in acidic conditions was not depressed with either combination when amyl xanthate was used as the collector.…”

“…Most of the flotation research on the floatability of antimony minerals has been completed on stibnite. There is some evidence of stibnite floating naturally (Finklestein et al 1975; Popov et al 1987; Derjaguin and Shukakidse 1993). This natural floatability is pronounced in acidic conditions but falls away sharply at pH values above pH 7 (Popov et al 1987; Derjaguin and Shukakidse 1993).…”

Flotation of Antimony Ores with High Arsenic Content

“…In the flotation of a stibnite ore, stibnite has been declared as naturally hydrophobic in the presence of air or as partially hydrophobic on the basis of the critical surface tension of wetting (Ozcan, 1992, Popov et al, 1987, Herrera-Urbina et al, 1990, Fuerstenau et al, 2007. In addition, in practice, the particle shape, roughness and particle size, heterogeneous structure of the minerals to be flotation affect their surface properties and thus their buoyancy.…”

“…Xanthate collectors are one of the most broadly used collectors for sulphide minerals flotation, especially for easy-to-treat ores where selectivity against penalty elements is not a critical problem. He noted that short chain xanthates such as sodium ethyl xanthate require much higher amounts to achieve the performance achieved with long chain xanthates at acidic pH Popov et al (1987). analyzed the infrared spectra of stibnite surface products and concluded that potassium amyl xanthate alone improves the buoyancy of stibnite at acidic pH due to the formation of antimony xanthate on the mineral surface.…”