Prediction and Influence of Mineral Liberation on Froth Flotation Performance

Abstract

Liberation of valuable mineral is essential for its effective separation from gangue. Prediction of liberation requires quantification of texture of the rock and structure of the progeny particles in terms of probability functions. In this work, predictive liberation models have been developed by measuring these functions from SEM images using Labview™ software. A transformation matrix model that explicitly incorporates mineral liberation has also been developed to quantify the influence of mineral liberation on flotation performance.