Effects of grinding media on flotation performance of calcite

Grinding is an important pre-treatment process in mineral processing. Different grinding media produces minerals with different flotation performance. This study investigated the flotation performance of calcite particles of size −74 + 38 μm produced by ceramic and steel media grinding through single mineral flotation experiments, zeta potential measurements, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) tests. The flotation results showed that calcite produced by ceramic media grinding had better flotation recovery than that produced by steel media grinding. Zeta potential measurement results indicated that the surface of calcite produced by ceramic media grinding had more adsorbed sodium oleate (NaOL) than that produced by steel media grinding. XPS results revealed Fe, specifically, Fe(0), Fe(II), and Fe(III), on the surface of calcite produced by steel media grinding but none on that produced by ceramic media grinding.