Abstract:

Feldspar is usually found in conjunction with titanium and iron minerals. Feldspar should be separated from other minerals by generally magnetic separation or/and flotation with high grade. However, due to the similarities in the properties, feldspars are difficult to separate from gangue minerals by flotation. In this study, the degradability of iron was investigated by mica flotation, and Central Composite Design (CCD) was used to plan and analyze the results. During the study, the effect of pulp density, pH, collector amount and air flow rate on the iron grade and the recovery of the obtained feldspar concentrate were modelled. Then, estimation of the optimum conditions and verification tests were performed. The iron content was reduced to 0.14% by mica flotation. However, this reduction amount was found to be insufficient. Finally, iron content was reduced to 0.05%. Considering that the maximum iron content of the superior grade feldspar is 0.1%, it can be said that two stage flotation is successful without different processes such as magnetic separation.

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