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

许多铁矿石矿山，包括支持这一提议的ArcelorMittal Mines Canada（AMMC）和Cliffs Wabush Mines，都使用重力分离和磁力分离将铁矿石升级到冶炼等级。然而，这些分离技术不能有效地回收流失到尾矿中的细氧化铁矿物。例如，Cliffs Wabush因水力旋流器溢流损失了总铁值的5.6%。即使收回一半，也会增加1，200万元的收入。AMMC将大部分-75 µm氧化铁值损失到螺旋尾矿中。因此，重要的是开发合适的泡沫浮选药剂方案和处理技术，例如本项目中提出的，以直接从尾矿中回收细粒氧化铁价值。 拟议项目还将开发浮选抑制剂，以将由新捕收剂异羟肟酸从Niobec矿生产的氧化铌精矿升级为市场级。Niobec矿山一直使用阳离子捕收剂从矿石中回收铌价值。然而，阳离子捕收剂对铌氧化物没有选择性，因此需要在回收铌之前除去废石矿物，这不仅导致复杂的工艺而且严重损失价值。由于使用阳离子捕收剂，Niobec矿目前只能回收约59%的铌。在先前NSERC CRD拨款的支持下，我们已经确定了一种阴离子异羟肟酸捕收剂，该捕收剂可以直接从Niobec磨机进料中浮选氧化铌（0.7%氧化铌），在粗精矿品位为1.4%氧化铌时，铌回收率超过95%。拟议的工作是该项目的继续，以提高精矿品位至市场价值（40%氧化铌），同时保持高铌回收率。

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. The proposed project will also develop flotation depressants to upgrade a niobium oxide concentrate, produced from Niobec Mine by a new collector hydroxamic acid, to market grade. Niobec Mine has been using a cationic collector to recover the niobium value from its ores. However, the cationic collector is not selective to niobium oxide so that the waste rock minerals need to be removed prior to the niobium recovery, which not only leads to complicated processes but also heavy losses of the value. Niobec Mine currently can only recover about 59% of the niobium because of the use of the cationic collector. With the support of a previous NSERC CRD grant, we have identified an anionic hydroxamic acid collector which can directly float the niobium oxide from the Niobec Mill Feed (0.7% niobium oxide), at niobium recovery of over 95% at a rougher concentrate grade of 1.4% niobium oxide. The proposed work is a continuation of the project to increase the concentrate grade to market value (40% niobium oxide) while maintaining high niobium recovery.