Mitigating the negative effects of clay minerals on gold flotation by a lignosulfonate-based biopolymer

The objective of this study was to identify various mechanisms responsible for the poor flotation of a high-clay content gold ore and then develop a remedial solution. Compared to the flotation of a clean gold ore with a low clay content, obtained from the same flotation plant, the flotation of the high-clay-content gold ore produced much lower gold grade and gold recovery. The degree of entrainment (ENT) was calculated and it was found that a high mechanical entrainment of gangue minerals occurred in the flotation of the high-clay-content gold ore, contributing to the low gold grade in flotation. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopic (EIS) measurements were conducted to detect a possible clay slime coating on gold surface during flotation. It was observed that a clay slime coating did not occur on gold surface in the flotation of the high-clay-content gold ore, and therefore slime coating was not the reason for the poor gold flotation performance. Rheological measurements show that the high-clay-content gold ore slurry exhibited a non-Newtonian behaviour with a high apparent viscosity, contributing to the low gold recovery in flotation. Based on the previous studies, a lignosulfonate-based biopolymer (DP-1777) was used to mitigate the negative effects of clay minerals in the flotation of the high-clay content gold ore. It was found that DP-1777 improved both gold grade and gold recovery significantly through the reduction of mechanical entrainment and pulp viscosity, respectively.