Water quality effects on bubble-particle attachment of sulphide minerals

In froth flotation, separation between the valuable and the gangue minerals comes as a result of the attachment of hydrophobic minerals to air bubbles. Considering the importance of bubble formation and bubble-particle attachment, it is evident that the pulp phase facilitates the events for the most crucial requirements of successful flotation. Water forms the bulk of the pulp phase; and as a result of water scarcities in countries like South Africa, the need to recycle process water within mining operations is increasing. Hence it is of great importance to understand the effects of water quality on the vital sub-processes within the flotation process, particularly bubble-particle attachment. A novel attachment timer was used for attachment probability measurements with different water qualities. The study presented thus evaluates the propensity for attachment of pyrrhotite to bubbles under water of increasing ionic strength.