Detrimental effects of slimes on the flotation of rutile from eclogite ore

The detrimental effects of slimes on the flotation of rutile from eclogite ore have been studied in this work in order to improve the separation efficiency of the flotation. The study was performed through particle size distribution measurement and mineralogical analysis. The results have demonstrated that the slimes were enriched in the concentrates, which became seriously with the increase of slime contents in feed ore. The presence of slimes resulted in the involvement of a large amount of omphacite and garnet into the concentrates, deteriorating the flotation selectivity in both of fine and coarse size fraction. Accordingly, de-sliming pretreatment was applied to the flotation, which significantly improved the flotation efficiency of rutile from eclogite ore for increasing TiO2 grade and recovery of concentrates.