Abstract
Galvanic contact, occurring between electrically conducting minerals in flotation pulps, may affect the nature of mineral surfaces and influence their floatabilities. Rest potential and galvanic current measurements were made on an electrode combination of pyrite and pyrrhotite under nitrogen, air and oxygen aeration conditions. The results were correlated with their oxygen-consuming characteristics and flotation behaviors. The galvanic contact improved the floatability of pyrrhotite, but adversely affected that of pyrite. Auger electron spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy indicated that the formation of hydroxide or oxide and sulfate species of iron on pyrrhotite decreased, whereas that on pyrite increased when these minerals were held in contact. An electrochemical mechanism was proposed for the observed behaviors.
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SME preprint 85-25, SME-AIME Annual Meeting, New York, NY, February 1985. MMP paper 85-605. Manuscript November 1984. Discussion of this paper must be submitted, in duplicate, prior to Jan. 31, 1986.
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Nakazawa, H., Iwasaki, I. Effect of pyrite-pyrrhotite contact on their floatabilities. Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration 2, 206–211 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03402621
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03402621