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Cryo-SEM investigation of aggregate structures of clay minerals in flotation pulp and froth

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dc.contributor.authorXu, N.
dc.contributor.authorFan, R.
dc.contributor.authorSmart, R.S.C.
dc.contributor.conferenceXXVII International Mineral Processing Congres (20 Oct 2014 - 24 Oct 2014 : Chile)
dc.date.issued2014
dc.description.abstractAs part of an Australian Research Council project with Newmont and Newcrest mining companies studying the influence of clay minerals on rheology, hydrodynamics and flotation response, the cryo-SEM technique has been used to capture and image the clay (low crystallinity kaolinite Q38) aggregate structures in the flotation pulp immediately after collector and before frother addition. Samples were also collected from the earliest froth phase and the froth overflow corresponding to early and later concentrates. In this technique, a copper tube is filled with the sample during operation of the cell. The tube is immediately plunged into liquid nitrogen vitrifying the water phase before it can crystallise as ice thereby retaining the structures without volume or other physical change. After sublimation of the vitrified water surface, the aggregate structures are revealed and can be compared between pulp and froth phases from clays in different feeds and flotation conditions. The images from both low-clay ore and ore with clay content reveal various levels of aggregation as predominantly edge-edge connected aggregates similar to those found in our previous studies of high-clay tailings. For the samples from the ore with clay content, more extensive edge-edge clay strings are found in the early froth phase as compared to exiting froth overflow and the pulp phase with short edge-edge connected strings. It is suggested that the strings of clay particles result from edge-edge aggregation in the Plateau borders of the bubbles before breakage during sampling and the more extensive edge-edge aggregation in early froth phase is induced by crowding in the bubble borders.The clay strings collected into the overflow concentrate are almost all broken up compared with the Froth before drop-back. The implications for entrainment and entrapment mechanisms of gangue capture in froth will be discussed.
dc.identifier.citationXXVII International Mineral Processing Congress - IMPC 2014, 2014, pp.1-11
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1959.8/162030
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherIMPC 2012 - International Mineral Processing Cong...
dc.publisher.placeChile
dc.subjectaggregate structures
dc.subjectedge aggregations
dc.subjectflotation pulps
dc.subjectflotation response
dc.subjectlow crystallinity
dc.subjectmining companies
dc.subjectphysical changes
dc.subjectplateau borders
dc.titleCryo-SEM investigation of aggregate structures of clay minerals in flotation pulp and froth
dc.typeConference paper
pubs.publication-statusPublished
ror.mmsid9915914040201831

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