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Slime coating of kaolinite on chalcopyrite in saline water flotation

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Abstract

In saline water flotation, the salinity can cause a distinguishable slime coating of clay minerals on chalcopyrite particles through its effect on their electrical double layers in aqueous solutions. In this work, kaolinite was used as a representative clay mineral for studying slime coating during chalcopyrite flotation. The flotation of chalcopyrite in the presence and absence of kaolinite in tap water, seawater, and gypsum-saturated water and the stability of chalcopyrite and kaolinite particles in slurries are presented. Zeta-potential distributions and scanning electron microscopy images were used to characterize and explain the different slime coating degrees and the different flotation performances. Kaolinite particles induced slime coating on chalcopyrite surfaces and reduced chalcopyrite floatability to the greatest extent when the pH value was in the alkaline range. At 0.24wt% of kaolinite, the chalcopyrite floatability was depressed by more than 10% at alkaline pH levels in tap water. Salinity in seawater and gypsum-saturated water compressed the electrical double layers and resulted in extensive slime coating.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province of China (No. 2016CFA013), the Wuhan Science and Technology Bureau of China (No. 2016070204020156), and the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT) of Mexico (No. 270186). Z.L. Li would like to thank the CONACYT for offering him scholarship (No. 717627) during his PhD studying.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CONACYT Instituto de Investigación en Metalurgiay Materiales, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Morelia, 58030, México

    Zhi-li Li & Feng Rao

  2. School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, China

    Zhi-li Li & Shao-xian Song

  3. Departamento de Ingeniería en Minas, Metalurgia y Geología, Universidad de Guanajuato, Guanajuato, 36020, México

    Yan-mei Li

  4. Faculty of Land and Resource Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650093, China

    Wen-biao Liu

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  1. Zhi-li Li
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  2. Feng Rao
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  4. Yan-mei Li
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Correspondence to Feng Rao.

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Li, Zl., Rao, F., Song, Sx. et al. Slime coating of kaolinite on chalcopyrite in saline water flotation. Int J Miner Metall Mater 25, 481–488 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-018-1594-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-018-1594-7

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