Dispersants

Dispersants are versatile modifiers that reduce gangue particles that cling to sulfide minerals.

Make An Enquiry

Features

  • Disposes of slimes on particle surfaces.
  • Allows for a purer concentrate.
  • Have multiple functions – can work as a depressant or activator.
  • Are inorganic compounds and organic polymers.

Dispersants are reagents that dispose the slimes that often agglomerate and cover the surfaces of larger particles, therefore preventing them from being recovered. 

With the use of a dispersing agent a purer concentrate is obtained because they decrease the extent to which gangue particles cling to the sulfide minerals. Most dispersing modifiers are also either depressants or activators. In short, they have multiple functions.

Dispersing reagents are inorganic compounds and organic polymers. 

Dispersant applications

These dispersants are shown with their typical applications:

Sodium silicate – A depressant for gangue slimes and siliceous gangue minerals in sulfide and non-sulfide flotation.

Sodium metasilicate – Disperses gangue slimes without raising pH abnormally.

Quebracho – An excellent depressor for calcite in fluorspar flotation. Also a depressant for wolframite. 

Starch – Depressant slime gangue when floating sulfides. 

Gum Arabic – A good dispersant and depressant for gangue slimes. 

Sodium silico-fluoride – Depressant for quartz and feldspar in flotation of spodumene.

Lactic acid – Depressant for mica.

Polyphosphates – Used as gangue depressants during pyrochlore flotation and also during flotation of phenacite and bertrandite and depressing of iron sulfides and alkaline earth minerals during flotation of copper–molybdenum ores.


Related Products & Services

Unlock your full potential

Take your operations to the next level by exploring these additional products and services.

process optimisation

Process Optimisation

milling

Milling

Related Resources

Chemicals

Chemicals

Molycop manufactures frothers, collectors and modifiers that aid the extraction of valuable minerals.

Read More
Fosterville Gold Mine: Successful Deployment of Milling Optimisation Technology

Fosterville Gold Mine: Successful Deployment of Milling Optimisation Technology

Agnico Eagle Fosterville Gold Mine (Fosterville) operates a gold plant in Australia comprising of a crushing and grinding circuit (SAG mill with a closed loop cyclone classification circuit) followed by flotation, bacterial oxidation and leaching circuits. The lack of surge capacity between the grinding and flotation circuit and restrictions on crushing operations due to noise constraints resulted in unique set of challenges, that required the implementation of a novel control solution using advanced instrumentation.

Read More
Innovation

Innovation

At Molycop, we see innovation as a way to find solutions to some of the mining industry’s greatest challenges. We aim to improve on today so we can deliver better for tomorrow.

Read More
Flotation

Flotation

Molycop manufactures and distributes a wide range of flotation chemicals and instrumentation that can be tailored to suit your requirements and maximise your recovery.

Read More

Cookie Settings

We use cookies, including third party cookies, for operational purposes, statistical analyses, to personalize your experience, provide you with targeted content tailored to your interests and to analyze the performance of our advertising campaigns.

To find out more about the types of cookies, as well as who sends them on our website, please visit our dedicated guide to managing cookies.