Non-HF collectorless flotation of quartz

Abstract

Abstract Pure mineral flotation experiments have demonstrated that quartz can be floated without a collector, in solutions containing an inorganic acid (e.g. H2SO4) and sodium fluoride (NaF). Excellent quartz recoveries, similar to that of previous investigations with aqueous solutions containing hydrofluoric acid (HF), have been achieved with lower fluorine concentrations and a more optimal F/H ratio when combining separate sources of H and F instead of using only HF.