XXXI International Mineral Processing Congress 2024 Proceedings/Washington, DC/Sep 29–Oct 3 2665
More importantly, the Armoflote ® 945 product produced
a better Li2O grade of the concentrate when compared
to the Armeen ® T product at a recovery that is similar to
that of Armeen ® T product dosed as 150g/t (Figure 4b).
This shows a significant dosage advantage which implies
that there is room to further increase its dosage if there is
a need to improve of Li2O grade further. The improved
performance of the ester amine is believed to be linked to
its superior solubility in water and its higher critical micelle
concentration (CMC) when compared to fatty amines.
Lepidolite Flotation
Figure 5 shows the grade recovery curve obtained in the
rougher-cleaner flotation of the lepidolite ore (sample C)
containing 0.85% Li2O using the Armoflote ® 940 product
and a blend of two fatty amines, Armeen ® T and Armeen ®
C products in the ratio 2:1. The blend of the fatty amines
was chosen because previous internal data had indicated
that it improves the selective and recovery for certain ores.
Generally, the figure shows that the Armoflote ® 940 prod-
uct can produce a flotation performance that is comparable
to the blend of the fatty amines. A final cleaner concentrate
with 3.1% Li2O at a recovery of 82% was achieved with
Armoflote ® 940 product while the blend of fatty amines
achieved a final grade of 3.4% Li2O at a recovery of 67%.
The results in Figure 5 are from a single collector dosage
that was previously optimized for the fatty amines, perhaps
the grade with ester amine could be improved by reducing
the dosage of the collector or adding a recleaning stage.
CONCLUSIONS
In this work, the performance of a new range of collec-
tors for lithium flotation with an improved environmental
profile was tested and compared to the common/standard
collectors. Several experiments that included the direct and
reverse flotation of spodumene and the direct flotation of
lepidolite were performed. The results obtained show that
during the direct flotation of spodumene, the addition of a
specially formulated and label-free anionic collector Atrac ®
2600 product improved the selectivity of standard fatty
acid while maintaining its collecting power thus achieving
a significantly superior grade-recovery profile. Berol ® 8305
and Berol ® 8313 products also performed significantly bet-
ter than standalone TOFA, comparable to the blend of
fatty acid and Atrac ® 2600 product.
The performance of Armoflote ® 945 product during the
reverse flotation of spodumene was compared to a tallow-
alkylamine (Armeen ® T). From the results, we concluded
that Armoflote ® 945 product was very efficient dosage-wise
as it achieved the best improvement in grade at a recovery
comparable to that of the fatty amine when its dosage was
50% lower. Another alkylesteramine (Armoflote 940) was
tested and compared to a blend of two primary amines,
Armeen ® T and Armeen ® C with a 2:1 ratio during the
Figure 5. Comparison of the flotation performance of a fatty amine (reference) and (Armoflote® 940)
More importantly, the Armoflote ® 945 product produced
a better Li2O grade of the concentrate when compared
to the Armeen ® T product at a recovery that is similar to
that of Armeen ® T product dosed as 150g/t (Figure 4b).
This shows a significant dosage advantage which implies
that there is room to further increase its dosage if there is
a need to improve of Li2O grade further. The improved
performance of the ester amine is believed to be linked to
its superior solubility in water and its higher critical micelle
concentration (CMC) when compared to fatty amines.
Lepidolite Flotation
Figure 5 shows the grade recovery curve obtained in the
rougher-cleaner flotation of the lepidolite ore (sample C)
containing 0.85% Li2O using the Armoflote ® 940 product
and a blend of two fatty amines, Armeen ® T and Armeen ®
C products in the ratio 2:1. The blend of the fatty amines
was chosen because previous internal data had indicated
that it improves the selective and recovery for certain ores.
Generally, the figure shows that the Armoflote ® 940 prod-
uct can produce a flotation performance that is comparable
to the blend of the fatty amines. A final cleaner concentrate
with 3.1% Li2O at a recovery of 82% was achieved with
Armoflote ® 940 product while the blend of fatty amines
achieved a final grade of 3.4% Li2O at a recovery of 67%.
The results in Figure 5 are from a single collector dosage
that was previously optimized for the fatty amines, perhaps
the grade with ester amine could be improved by reducing
the dosage of the collector or adding a recleaning stage.
CONCLUSIONS
In this work, the performance of a new range of collec-
tors for lithium flotation with an improved environmental
profile was tested and compared to the common/standard
collectors. Several experiments that included the direct and
reverse flotation of spodumene and the direct flotation of
lepidolite were performed. The results obtained show that
during the direct flotation of spodumene, the addition of a
specially formulated and label-free anionic collector Atrac ®
2600 product improved the selectivity of standard fatty
acid while maintaining its collecting power thus achieving
a significantly superior grade-recovery profile. Berol ® 8305
and Berol ® 8313 products also performed significantly bet-
ter than standalone TOFA, comparable to the blend of
fatty acid and Atrac ® 2600 product.
The performance of Armoflote ® 945 product during the
reverse flotation of spodumene was compared to a tallow-
alkylamine (Armeen ® T). From the results, we concluded
that Armoflote ® 945 product was very efficient dosage-wise
as it achieved the best improvement in grade at a recovery
comparable to that of the fatty amine when its dosage was
50% lower. Another alkylesteramine (Armoflote 940) was
tested and compared to a blend of two primary amines,
Armeen ® T and Armeen ® C with a 2:1 ratio during the
Figure 5. Comparison of the flotation performance of a fatty amine (reference) and (Armoflote® 940)