VNII Galurgy Stock Co., St. Petersburg, Russia:

E. I. Afoninа, Senior Researcher, lena_kamsk@mail.ru
A. V. Konobeevskih, Senior Researcher

An important condition for effective benefication sylvinite ore Verkhnekamskoye potash deposit is the removal of the ore water-insoluble impurities (insoluble residue — i. r.). The content of insoluble residue (total) in the ore of Berezniki site of the Verkhnekamskoye deposit may reach 7–8%, including “free” insoluble residue — up to 3–4%. Despite conducting a mechanical desliming, the residual amount of slime in the ore does not allow for the successful flotation of sylvite without removing the insoluble residue by flotation method, often after the slime flotation it is necessary to treat sylvite flotation feed by reagent special — depressor, shielding the surface of the slime from the amine and reducing sorption to slime. The article presents the results of laboratory and pilot tests of technology for flotation desliming of sylvinite ores from Verkhnekamskoye potash deposit. Studies have shown that the flotation of slime used for the benefication of the water-soluble mineral by reagents — collectors of slime in the water — almost does not go. But even at low salt concentrations (1.5–2.5%) an increase in the recovery of slime in the foam product, and in the saturated salt solution (10,5% KCl and 20,5% NaCl) recovery of slime reaches its maximum. This is due to a decrease in the size of air bubbles and increasing their number in the volume of the flotation cell in salt solutions, which leads to greater degree of slime particles attachment to the air bubbles, and thus increases the yield of slime in the foam product. It is determined sorption of slime collectors of different composition on the insoluble residue in the water and in the saturated salt solution. There are shown the prospects of the application of slime as a collector of oxyethylated alcohols. There is studied the effect of the method of delivery of reagents for slime flotation in the slime flotation performance, both in the laboratory and in pilot conditions. It is shown that feed distribution flocculant and slime collector improves sylvite flotation performances due to the intensification of the process of flotation desliming, increasing the recovery of potash into the concentrate and reducing the loss of KCl with the flotation tailings.

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