Tungsten Scheelite Room Temperature Flotation Method

Generally speaking, shortcomings of heated flotation method are high cost and time consuming. As a result, in the consistent practice, China developed room temperature flotation method.

In 1970, Dangping Tungsten Mine in Jiangxi Province alternate collecting agent with 731 oxidized wax soap, realized room temperature flotation, then produced tungsten scheelite with WO3 content over 65%. This method then becomes popular within country. At the same time, American companies also invented lime method. Which is stirring mineral slurry with lime first, then inhibit mineral vein. It also has good effect.

Room temperature flotation method focuses on rougher selectivity , it stresses coordinated function between sodium carbonate and sodium silicic acid. By control pH value of mineral slurry, HSiO3- is maintained in a concentration range which is easy to control oxidation, inhibit mineral vein and use collecting agent with high selectivity to obtain coarse concentrate with high content. By adding a lot of sodium silicic acid, coarse concentrate is selected after long time stirring and diluting.

Importance of room temperature flotation method is choosing benign inhibitor and collecting agent. Take 731 room temperature flotation method of Dangping Tungsten Mine in Jiangxi province as an example, there are three steps:

1.Add rock sodium carbonate in sulfur tungsten tailing, adjust pH value of mineral slurry to 9.

2.Use sodium silicic acid as inhibitor, 731 oxidation wax soap as collecting agent, obtain coarse concentrate slurry with WO3 content 15%~20% by rough flotation.

3.Without concentrating mineral slurry, add sodium silicic acid 5~6 kilograms per ton, stir for 40 minutes under room temperature to obtain tungsten scheelite, repeat for 5 times, WO3 content of 65% concentrate is obtained.

Although every road will lead to Rome, shortcut can make it faster and more convenient, why don't we take that? Advantages of room temperature flotation method are saving cost and time, an efficiency issue which modern enterprises care mostly. It is suitable for skarn rock tungsten scheelite. Most tungsten scheelite in south China belongs to this kind of geological structure, so it is quite popular.

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