Effects of flotation variables on feldspathic sand concentration

The aim of this research was to determine the influence of certain variables (e.g., collector addition, pulp dilution, conditioning times, pH and pulp agitation speed) on the yield for feldspar sand flotation aimed at separating quartz from feldspar and to estimate the values that provide an optimum yield. The feldspathic sands were obtained from a sedimentary deposit located in the Sarreaus region (Ourense province, NW Spain). Flotation yield was based on two parameters: grade and recovery. Each of these parameters was determined in a series of experiments in which a single parameter was varied at a time while the remainder were kept constant. The results indicate that it is possible to obtain a high flotation yield using optimum process variables. With these optimum variables, the average concentrate grade and recovery were 95.1% and 25.6%, respectively.