Flotation of Bastnaesite Ore Using Novel Collectors

Conference · Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2020

OSTI ID:1769229

Everly, Dylan ^[1]; Anderson, C. ^[2]; Jansone-Popova, Santa  ^[3]; Bryantsev, Vyacheslav  ^[3]; Moyer, Bruce A.  ^[3]

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1. Kroll Institute for Extractive Metallurgy
2. Colorado School of Mines, Golden
3. ORNL

Interest in rare earth elements (REEs) has increased due to their distinct properties and new applications. China currently has a monopoly on rare earth production due to the lack of an economically viable process used outside of China. Bastnaesite, a rare earth fluorocarbonate, is one of the most common minerals containing REEs, which is mostly comprised of cerium and other light REEs. The objective of this research is to find a novel collector for the beneficiation of bastnaesite through froth flotation experiments to increase the grade and recovery of rare earth oxides while rejecting the major gangue minerals. Microflotation and rougher bench flotation studies were evaluated to find optimal collector(s) from 19 possible candidates. Collector 2, 5, and 8 were the top performing collectors chosen from microflotation experiments. A design of experiment matrix was set up to evaluate the variables, variable interactions and provide a reverence matrix for future optimization studies. Collector 2 was assessed to be the optimal collector. A rougher flotation experiment produced a rare earth oxide grade and recovery of 41% and 78% respectively and a 91.5% rejection of calcite. Collector 8 and 14 also showed promising results in replace fatty acid.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1769229
• Resource Relation: Conference: The 59th Conference of Metallurgists Hosting Uranium 2020 - Virtual, Tennessee, United States of America - 10/14/2020 12:00:00 PM-10/15/2020 12:00:00 PM
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English