Fundamental study of in-situ gas nucleation by hydrodynamic cavitation for fine particle flotation

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Canada is one of the leading mining nations in the world, producing more than 60 vital minerals and metals that are used globally. Mining is a pillar of the Canadian economy, generating almost 3% of the national GDP. However, Canadian mining companies face a number of challenges in meeting the global demand for commodities. Innovation is critical in the face of declining ore grades and more stringent environmental regulations. The rapid depletion of high-grade mineral ore resources has driven the mining and mineral processing industry to explore new technologies to process lower grade ores. The effective recovery of valuable minerals from low grade ores requires energy-intensive fine grinding for mineral liberation and a new technology for fine particle flotation. The flotation of fine particles of sizes less than 5 micron is extremely challenging due to inefficient bubble - particle collision and attachment, compounded by slime coatings, leading to a low recovery and a poor selectivity. The slime coatings on target mineral particles are more problematic for fine particle flotation due to non-selective precipitation or deposition of metal hydroxide species and fine gangue mineral particles on the surface of target minerals. This in turn results in a loss of valuable minerals in tailings. A two-step attachment between conventional size bubble and microbubble or nanobubble-laten particles generated by hydrodynamic cavitation is proposed for enhancing fine particle flotation. The success of this project will strengthen Canada's leadership role in sustainable development and utilization of natural resources and keep Canada in the forefront of new technology development.