US - South Africa Cooperative Research: Advanced Flotation Chemistry Technology for the Improved Recovery of Strategic Mineral Resources Containing Platinum Group Metals (PGMs)

0352807米勒该奖项资助了美国犹他大学和南非比勒陀利亚大学浮选化学研究小组之间的一个合作研究项目，该项目旨在研究先进的浮选化学技术，以改进含有铂族金属(PGM)的战略矿产资源的回收。现有的提高从现有矿床中回收PGM硫化物矿物的浮选化学方法可以改进大多数操作。然而，更重要的是，要有效地回收和利用新的PGM矿产资源(南非的Platreef矿藏和津巴布韦的大堤矿藏)，将需要在浮选化学方面有相当大的改进。例如，新的战略性PGM资源与目前的PGM资源有很大不同，是复杂的砷化物和碲化物，现在使用当前的加工化学失去了它们。将讨论与PGM矿产资源加工有关的三个主要浮选化学研究问题：PGM砷化物和碲化物矿物的浮选、磁黄铁矿浮选的控制和滑石脉石矿物的抑制。本研究计划旨在建立表面化学和/或电化学条件，为解决这些问题和提高PGM浮选分离效率提供基本依据。这一提出的合作研究计划具有广泛的潜在影响。鉴于PGM生产对美国和南非的重要性，对这种表面化学研究的需求非常重要。PGMS的有效回收对全球社会也至关重要，因为对PGMS的需求增加，例如，由于它们用于催化转化器以减少汽车尾气的污染。该项目预计将把合作范围扩大到最初的合作伙伴、比勒陀利亚大学和南非的PGM公司，如Impala PlatGolden。这项研究不仅将为PGM行业提供急需的新技术，还将为来自美国和非洲(南非、博茨瓦纳和津巴布韦)的学生和研究人员提供机会，建立能够扩大科学、社会和文化理解的专业和个人合作。最后，组织了拟议的研究，以包括交换研究生，使比勒陀利亚大学的学生有机会在犹他大学使用先进的仪器，而犹他大学的学生将前往南非，在工厂现场评估新的浮选化学技术。

0352807 Miller This award funds a collaborative research program between the flotation chemistry research groups at the University of Utah, USA, and Pretoria University in South Africa to study advanced flotation chemistry technology for the improved recovery of strategic mineral resources containing platinum group metals (PGMs). Existing flotation chemistry for increased recovery of PGM sulfide minerals from current deposits can be improved for most operations. More importantly, however, the efficient recovery and utilization of new PGM mineral resources (the Platreef deposit of South Africa and the Great Dyke deposit of Zimbabwe) will require quite significant improvements in flotation chemistry. For example, the new strategic PGM resources are significantly different from current PGM resources, being complex arsenides and tellurides that are now lost using current processing chemistry. Three major flotation chemistry research problems associated with the processing of PGM mineral resources will be addressed: flotation of PGM arsenide and telluride minerals, control of pyrrhotite flotation, and depression of talc gangue minerals. This research program is designed to establish surface chemistry and/or electrochemistry conditions which will provide a fundamental basis to solve these problems and improve the efficiency of the PGM flotation separation. This proposed collaborative research program has broad potential impact. The need for such surface chemistry research is significant in view of the importance of PGM production to both the U.S. and South Africa. The efficient recovery of PGMs is also of critical importance to the global community because of increased demand for PGMs, for example, because of their use in catalytic converters to reduce pollution from automotive exhaust. The project is expected to extend collaboration beyond the initial partners, Pretoria University and PGM companies in South Africa such as Impala Platinum. Not only will this research provide much needed new technology for the PGM industries, but it also affords the opportunity for students and researchers from both the U.S. and Africa (South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe) to build professional and personal collaborations that can expand scientific, social and cultural understanding. Finally, the proposed research has been organized to include the exchange of graduate students with opportunity for students from Pretoria University to use advanced instrumentation at the University of Utah while students from the University of Utah will travel to South Africa for evaluation of new flotation chemistry technology at plant sites.