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Reagent Formulations for Selective Flotation Under Challenging Complex Rare Earth Elements Ores
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DOI：10.3390/pr14142255.png)
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Abstract
En 中文
Rare earth elements (REEs) flotation from carbonatitic ores remains challenging due to the complex association between REE-bearing minerals and carbonate-rich gangue phases. Although previous studies have reported REE beneficiation from the Fen Deposit, the influence of depressant type, sodium silicate dosage, EDTA addition, and collector selection on flotation selectivity remains poorly understood. Therefore, this study presents a preliminary assessment of different reagent schemes for the flotation of REE-bearing minerals from the Fen Deposit. Chemical and mineralogical characterization confirmed the predominance of light REEs, mainly Ce and La, associated with monazite and fluorocarbonate minerals of the bastnäsite–parisite–synchysite group. Flotation screening tests revealed limited gangue rejection, particularly for Ca- and Ba-bearing minerals, indicating that mineralogical complexity strongly influences flotation selectivity. Among the depressants evaluated, sodium silicate and citric acid exhibited the most promising performance, while EDTA enhanced the total rare earth oxides (TREO) grade at higher sodium silicate dosages. Collector tests resulted in moderate REE enrichment in the overflow products, with NaOL yielding the highest recovery (~62%). However, TREO grades remained relatively low (~2.3–2.7%), suggesting that reagent selection alone is insufficient to overcome the flotation limitations imposed by the ore from the Fen Deposit. The results provide an exploratory evaluation of reagent schemes for Fen carbonatite ore and identify key challenges and opportunities for future process optimization.
Keywords:
rare earth flotation
carbonatitic ore
depressant
EDTA
collector
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