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This study examines the surface alteration and flotation behaviour of synthetic moncheite and pentlandite, both in mixture with pyroxene, in the presence of process water containing various ionic concentrations. Ionic strength was also investigated using sodium chloride to modify the water ion concentration. It is proposed that ions found in process waters as well as dissolution products from the minerals present passivate the mineral surfaces and inhibit collector adsorption which affects the floatability of moncheite, pentlandite and pyroxene. A comparison is drawn between the PGE, BMS and gangue minerals. ToF-SIMS analyses were used to characterise the mineral surface as well as the extent of surface alteration. Microflotation was used to determine the hydrophobicity of the synthetic minerals. The results have shown that there seems to be a synergistic effect between an ionic strength of ⩾0.1 and ion concentration in process water. However, the ions in the process water play a more significant role compared to ionic strength in terms of mineral surface alteration and floatability of the mineral mixtures evaluated. The dissolution products from the valuable minerals affected the flotation response of pyroxene. |
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