Process for the treatment of phosphate ores with carbonate or silico-carbonate gangue

摘要

Process for treating by reverse flotation phosphate ores of the carbonate or silico-carbonate gangue type. It includes the steps of: (1) conditioning of the ore in a manner known per se with a product acting to depress the phosphate compounds, (2) treatment of the conditioned ore step (1) with a collector essentially comprising a phosphoric ester, (3) flotation of the carbonates, this leading to a flotation residue which contains the phosphate compounds and, if so required, in the case where the starting compound is of the silico-carbonate gangue type, (4) conditioning of said flotation residue by a cationic collector, the possibly present silicates being thus separated by flotation. The process permits benification of the phosphate ores by a treatment wholly carried out in sea-water.