Using new flotation reagents to directly float niobium oxide and iron oxide

许多支持这一提议的铁矿，包括加拿大安赛乐米塔尔矿业公司(AMMC)和克里夫斯·沃布什铁矿，都使用重选和磁选将铁矿石提升到冶炼厂品位。然而，这些分选技术在回收细粒氧化铁矿物方面效果不佳，这些矿物流失到尾矿中。例如，水力旋流溢流使克里夫斯沃布什损失了5.6%的总铁价值。即使收回一半，也会带来1,200万元的额外收入。AMMC失去了-75微米氧化铁值的大部分给螺旋尾矿。因此，开发适合本项目的泡沫浮选药剂方案和加工工艺，直接从尾矿中回收细粒氧化铁价值是非常重要的。

Many of the iron ore mines, including ArcelorMittal Mines Canada (AMMC) and Cliffs Wabush Mines who support this proposal, use gravity separation and magnetic separation to upgrade the iron ores to smelter grades. However, these separation technologies are not effective in recovering fine iron oxide minerals, which are lost to the tailings. For instance, Cliffs Wabush loses 5.6% of total iron value to the hydrocyclone overflow. Even if half of this amount is recoverd, it would mean an additional revenue of $12 million. AMMC loses the majority of the -75 µm iron oxide value to the spiral tailings. Therefore, it is important that suitable froth flotation reagent schemes and processing technologies, such as proposed in this project, be developed to directly recover the fine iron oxide value from the tailings.