Column Flotation and Bubble Generation
As part of its research program on column flotation, we performed studies on (1) column flotation amenability and comparison with conventional flotation results for over 15 mineral systems, (2) alternative methods for improving column bubble generation systems, (3) mineral behavior within a column, and (4) the effect of changes in column operating parameters on flotation […]
Effect of Water Chemistry on Flotation Performance
The two size reduction/froth flotation interactions described in this paper are strongly related to optimally using the inherent electrochemical surface rearrangements that occur on selected sulfide minerals, e. g. chalcopyrite, molybdenite, pentlandite, etc. Based on data generated in numerous fundamental studies, it is not surprising that utilizing the electrochemical transformations that occur with grinding could […]
Flotation Hydrodynamic
The Bureau of Mines conducted research on the flotation hydrodynamics of fine particle flotation to improve the flotation efficiency in our domestic minerals industry. The turbulent fluid velocity profile was measured in various flotation cells at different levels of dissipation energy. The importance of dissipation energy and bubble size within the flotation cells for the […]
Effect of Turbulence in Fine Bubbles Flotation
The U.S. Bureau of Mines examined the influence of turbulence on the fine bubble flotation of fine-sized (minus 10 micron) galena in order to improve flotation efficiency. Fine bubble flotation was carried out in a spinning-disk flotation cell and was compared to results obtained from flotation in a conventional cell at equivalent agitation levels. An […]
Redox Electrodes & Mineral Floatability
Gold spiral electrodes were fabricated as a 3-turn coil of 10 cm long wires of 0.5 mm diameter. Following the hypothesis that a black platinum electrode follows more closely the solution potential than the mineral potential due to its high porosity (area for contact with the solution being much larger than the projected area for […]
No Conditioning Carbonate Flotation
Tests to study the effect of collectors and pH were randomly conducted on the phosphate matrix, using a 2k full factorial design for collector screening and process optimization. Star points needed to estimate non-linear factor responses were included in the optimization test series and in some reagent screening tests. For the fatty acids, the two […]
CIL Tailings Gold Flotation
A preliminary series of laboratory flotation tests was performed to determine the nature of the unleached gold values of the CIL tailings. The gold in the Mercur mining district has been identified historically as being associated with sulfide and carbonaceous minerals in addition to a percentage occurring as free gold. Test results indicated that higher […]
Flash Flotation of Gold
The Outokumpu flash flotation concept as an approach for precious metals recovery. Concerns were: Could a concentrate be recovered from coarse, high solids cyclone unflow. Would the proposed flash flotation machine operate on 2 continuous basis or would machine be down frequently because of plugging. Freeport was well aware of the mechanical problems with unit […]
Tungsten & Gold Recovery Scheelite Ores
Investigations were conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Mines to develop flowsheets for the recovery of tungsten and gold from four Alaskan scheelite-bearing ores. Basic gravity concentration and cyanide leach tests were performed on all samples. About 46 pct of the tungsten and 30 pct of the gold from one sample were recovered in a […]
Zeta Potential
A novel technique has been employed by the U. S. Bureau of Mines to determine the zeta potential of particles for a far-reaching series of material types in a wide variety of baseline waters, both alone and with many different chemical additives. The materials tested ranged from naturally occurring Sioux Quartzite and Tennessee marble to […]