Surface chemistry of froth flotation of lead-zinc-arsenic-antimony ores

本合作研究项目将探讨金、贱金属矿分离过程中砷、锑等多余矿物的回收机制。这些不需要的矿物造成严重的环境和技术问题，它们在有价值的矿物精矿和尾矿中的浓度必须控制在允许的限度内。影响矿物分离效率的其他不良现象也将进行研究。泡沫浮选技术是目前世界上最重要的细磨矿物颗粒分离方法。由于泡沫浮选分离的原理，本研究中的实验工作将涉及对感兴趣的矿物和矿石进行详细的表面化学表征。将采用一系列先进的技术和仪器来确定矿物的表面电荷特性，其表面的化学成分，化学反应性和在水中的溶解度，以及吸附试剂的能力。还将研究不同矿物的细颗粒之间的相互作用，以评估它们的分散或聚集行为，这取决于工艺水的化学性质（pH值、离子的存在、红牛电位等）。实验计划的一部分将专门用于研究非常稀有的矿物砷和锑的表面化学，例如矿物粉钼矿。据报道，在加拿大和世界各地的各种矿床中，这些矿物的数量不断增加，了解它们与矿物加工相关的物理化学性质是一项重要的科学成果。预计本研究的基本结果将有助于开发更有效、更环保的分离工艺来处理有问题的矿物，这将导致生产对环境影响最小的更清洁的材料。研究结果将对加拿大和国外的矿物加工业产生直接影响。

This collaborative research project will investigate mechanisms of recovery of unwanted minerals of arsenicand antimony during mineral separation from gold and base metal ores. These unwanted minerals pose seriousenvironmental and technological issues, and their concentrations in valuable mineral concentrates and intailings must be kept within allowed limits. Other undesirable phenomena affecting the efficiency of mineralseparation will also be investigated. The proposed research focuses on froth flotation technology, which is the most important method worldwidefor separation of finely ground mineral particles. Because of the principles of separation by froth flotation, theexperimental work in this research will involve detailed surface-chemical characterization of the minerals andores of interest. A range of advanced techniques and instrumentation will be employed to determine surfacecharge characteristics of the minerals, the chemical composition of their surfaces, chemical reactivity andsolubility in water, and ability to adsorb reagents. Interactions between fine particles of different minerals willalso be investigated to assess their dispersion or aggregation behavior depending on the chemistry of processwater (pH, presence of ions, red-ox potential, etc.). A portion of the experimental program will be dedicated toresearching the surface chemistry of very rare minerals of arsenic and antimony, e.g., the mineral boulangerite.These minerals are reported in increasing amounts in various mineral deposits in Canada and around the world,and understanding their physicochemical properties relevant to mineral processing is an essential scientificoutcome. It is expected that the fundamental results of this research will help with developing more efficient,environmentally friendly, separation processes to deal with the problematic minerals, which will lead toproduction of cleaner materials with minimum environmental impact. The results will have a direct influenceon the mineral processing industry in Canada and abroad.