Depression of Pyrite Mineral With Cyanide and Ferrous/ferric Salts
This paper presents the results of the examination of depressing effect of cyanide salts type reagents (NaCN, K3[Fe(CN)6] and K4[Fe(CN)6]), as well as ferrous/ferric salts (FeSO4 and Fe2(SO4)3) on the floatability of pyrite in the presence of xanthate as collector. The examinations show that all tested depressants reduce the collection ability of pyrite with K-butyl xanthate (KBX). Different combinations of reagents FeSO4 and/or Fe2(SO4)3 with NaCN showed the greatest depressing effect on the pyrite, while the complex cyanide salts showed much less depressing effect on mineral.
