Process for separation of bastnaesite from weathered bastnaesite barite fluorite ores
The present invention provides a process for the recovery of bastnaesite and other minerals containing rate earth oxide from complex, weathered ores containing barite, borite, fluorites and/or barite, fluorites, silicates and iron oxides, and comprises reverse barite flotation using a barite collector containing the following individual reagents: 1. Petroleum sulphonate 30-40% by weight 2. Sulphosuccinate 30-40% by weight 3. Sulphosuccinamate 30-40% by weight
1. A method for beneficiation of bastnaesite ore, comprising:
grinding the bastnaesite ore and forming a slurry;
conditioning the slurry with a first collector selective to barite;
selectively floating and removing barite from the slurry which results in a barite float concentrate and a barite tailing slurry;
conditioning the barite tailings slurry with a second collector selective to fluorite;
selectively floating and removing fluorite from the barite tailings slurry which results in a fluorite float concentrate and a fluorite tailings slurry;
conditioning the flourite tailings slurry with a third collector selective toward said bastnaesite; and
selectively floating and removing, bastnaesite from the fluorite tailing slurry which results in a bastnaesite float concentrate.
2. The method of claim 1 , further including conditioning the slurry with sodium silicate and barium chloride prior to conditioning the slurry with the first collector.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first collector includes 30-40% by weight of petroleum sulphonate, 30-40% by weight of sulphonsuccinate, and 20-40% by weight of sulphosuccinamate.
4. The method of claim 1 , further including desliming the barite tailings slurry subsequent to selectively floating and removing barite from the slurry.
5. The method of claim 4 , further including conditioning the deslimed barite tailings slurry with one or more of sodium silicate, sodium bisulphide, sodium fluorite, and starch.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second collector includes a condensate of oleic acid reacted with alkyl ether phosphate.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second collector includes amine oleic acid and alkyl ether phosphate.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein a ratio of the amine oleic acid to the alkyl ether phosphate in the second collector is about 0.7 to about 0.3.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the third collector includes 60-70% by weight of tail oil fatty acid, 20-30% by weight of sarcosine, and about 10% by weight of a secondary amine.