Effect of the particle size on flotation performance of a siliceous limestone sample

Laboratory tests were conducted to decipher the effect of the particle size of minerals that influenced the concentration of limestone in terms of grade and recovery by flotation. Both direct as well as reverse flotation experiments were conducted on five different mean particle size ranges on a low grade siliceous limestone sample having CaO 43.09% and SiO2 18.24% from Jayantipuram mine of Andhra Pradesh, India. Direct flotation experiments were carried out using sodium silicate and sodium oleate as depressant and collector respectively. Reverse flotation process was adopted where silica containing minerals of the gangue (quartz) are floated using cationic collector SOMU Sokem 565C. The direct flotation process using sodium oleate as a collector was found to yield better weight percentage as well as distribution than reverse flotation