Int. J. Miner. Process.

93 (2009) 246255

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

International Journal of Mineral Processing

j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s ev i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / i j m i n p r o

Mineralogical characterisation of naturally oatable gangue in Merensky Reef ore otation

M. Becker a,, P.J. Harris a, J.G. Wiese a, D.J. Bradshaw b
a b

Centre for Minerals Research, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Cape Town, South Africa Now at Julius Krutschnitt Mineral Research Centre, University of Queensland, Indooroopilly, Brisbane, Australia

a r t i c l e

i n f o

a b s t r a c t
During the recovery of the valuable platinum group minerals and base metal sulphides in the Merensky Reef ore by otation, a certain amount of naturally oatable gangue (NFG) is recovered, which dilutes the concentrate. Although talc is the only silicate mineral well known for it naturally oatable properties, the proportion of NFG recovered in batch otation tests of the Merensky ore, however, cannot be solely accounted for by the mass of pure talc present in the feed ore. Using methodology developed at the University of Cape Town to decouple the NFG from entrained gangue recovered in otation, a series of concentrate samples have been analysed in this study using quantitative mineralogical analysis methods. Results show the major diluents of concentrate grade are orthopyroxene, talc, clinopyroxene and plagioclase in decreasing order of abundance. Orthopyroxene is however, by far the greatest diluent of concentrate grade even though the particles recovered are classied as liberated or high grade middlings. On closer examination, these orthopyroxene particles show a preferential surface association to talc and vice versa which is consistent with the low temperature alteration of anhydrous orthopyroxene to a hydrous phase, namely talc. These composite orthopyroxene particles with partial talc rims are therefore thought to be one of the main contributors to NFG in the Merensky Reef ore. 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Article history: Received 15 July 2009 Received in revised form 28 September 2009 Accepted 3 October 2009 Available online 27 October 2009 Keywords: Merensky Flotation Quantitative mineralogy Orthopyroxene Talc

1. Introduction The Bushveld Complex in South Africa is a layered igneous intrusion stretching over approximately 65000 km2 (Eales and Cawthorn, 1996) and is host to some of the world's major platinum group mineral (PGM) ore deposits including the Merensky Reef, UG2 Reef and Platreef. Mining and mineral processing of these three ore deposits represents a signicant proportion of the economy to the country and as such, an understanding of the intricacies related to the mineralogy of these ores is of great importance. Typically, orthopyroxene and plagioclase are the dominant silicate minerals in the run of mine ore and invariably occur with one another in a wide variety of textures. Lesser clinopyroxene and occasional olivine as well as other hydrous silicate minerals (e.g. mica, talc, serpentine and clay minerals) also occur. The Merensky Reef contains only minor proportions (b 1 wt.%) of the base metal sulphides; pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite and pentlandite, which are generally associated with the economic platinum group minerals (Lee, 1996; Schouwstra et al., 2000; Cawthorn et al., 2002). Typically the platinum group minerals and base metal sulphides in the Merensky Reef are recovered by froth otation. Flotation is generally
Corresponding author. Centre for Minerals Research, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Cape Town, Private Bag, Rondebosch, 7701, Cape Town, South Africa. Tel.: +27 21 650 3797; fax: +27 21 650 5501. E-mail address: megan.becker@uct.ac.za (M. Becker). 0301-7516/$ see front matter 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.minpro.2009.10.004

controlled by the addition of various reagents such as collectors; which promote valuable mineral recovery and depressants; which inhibit the otation of undesirable minerals. Although by controlling the dosage of these polymeric depressants the recovery of the undesirable minerals can be minimised, this sometimes occurs at the expense of the recovery of the valuable mineral (Wiese et al., 2007). Therefore, a good understanding of the deportment of these undesirable minerals, which are more commonly known as naturally oating gangue (NFG) is needed. Talc is a naturally hydrophobic mineral which is known to contribute to the amount of NFG (e.g. Shortridge, 2002). Since it is generally only present in small quantities in the Merensky Reef and the volume of NFG recovered during otation is usually quite signicant for Merensky ores (Wiese et al., 2005), there must be additional mineralogical components contributing to NFG. Since orthopyroxene is one of the predominant gangue minerals in the Merensky Reef ore, it of interest to review its otation properties. In the review of Lotter et al. (2008) on orthopyroxene, the mechanisms of entrainment, composite particles, inadvertent ion activation and naturally oating gangue were discussed to account for the recovery of orthopyroxene to the concentrate, although inadvertent activation appears to have been the most widely investigated (e.g. Nagaraj and Brinen, 1996; Malysiak et al., 2004). More recently, Jasieniak and Smart (2009) showed using ToF-SIMS that the surface exposure of Mg and Si was greater for gangue particles in a Merensky concentrate relative to a tailings sample. In conjunction with XRD spectra, they attributed this to be due to the preferential association of

M. Becker et al. / Int. J. Miner. Process. 93 (2009) 246255 Table 1 Summary of the reagent dosages used in batch otation tests (shown for the tests with depressant addition). Type Frother Depressant Collector Activator Name DOW 200 Stypres 504 SIBX CuSO4 Dosage (g/t) 40 300 100

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orthopyroxene with talc. This is consistent with the study of Becker et al. (2006) on the mineralogical characteristics of a Merensky feed ore, that suggested that the presence of composite orthopyroxene and talc particles were most likely to constitute naturally oating gangue. There have been a number of studies which have incorporated process mineralogy into the interpretation of otation performance such as Becker et al. (2008), Dai et al. (2008) and Triffett and Bradshaw (2008). The benets obtained by commissioning process mineralogy studies are not only encompassed by the improved understanding of the system, but also include tangible outcomes such as improved recovery, circuit design and selectivity (Lotter et al., 2002; Nel et al., 2005; Charland et al., 2006; Lastra, 2007). Therefore, the objective of this process mineralogy study is to use quantitative mineralogical analysis as a tool to investigate and identify the mineralogical nature of naturally oating gangue in Merensky Reef ore otation. Based on methodology developed at the Centre for Minerals Research at the University of Cape Town in order to discriminate between oatable and entrained gangue using the mass and water recovery in batch otation tests of Merensky ore (Wiese et al., 2009), it is proposed that one can make an in depth characterisation of the mineralogy of the NFG recovered during otation, with the use of a suitably designed experimental programme. According to the method given in Wiese et al. (2009), the recovery of NFG is minimised at high depressant dosages (N 300 g/t depressant) and is at a maximum in the absence of depressant. By comparison of the mineralogy of concentrates produced from batch otation tests at the above mentioned conditions, it is possible to evaluate the nature of the particles contributing to NFG using quantitative mineralogical analysis methods (QEMSCAN). 2. Experimental details Merensky Reef ore was sourced from the Impala Platinum mine as run of mine ore and has been used in an extensive programme investigating the oatability of this ore (e.g. Wiese et al., 2005). The

bulk samples were crushed, blended, rifed and split using a rotary splitter into 1 kg samples at the Centre for Minerals Research at the University of Cape Town prior to batch otation tests. Batch otation tests were conducted using the standard procedure as outlined in Wiese et al. (2005) at a grind of 60% passing 75 m. Four successive timed concentrates were collected (noted as C1, C2, C3 and C4 hereafter). The reagents used in batch otation tests are given in Table 1. Batch otation tests were conducted at two conditions; with and without a modied guar gum depressant from which the proportion of NFG can be calculated according to the methodology given in Wiese et al. (2009) as illustrated in Fig. 1. Each test condition was conducted in quintuplicate in order to produce sufcient concentrate mass for mineralogical analysis. Feed and concentrate samples were subsequently submitted for analysis at Mintek in Johannesburg on the Impala QEMSCAN. A common feed sample was analysed in four size fractions; namely + 5/20; + 20/38; + 38/75 and + 75 m using the Bulk Mineralogical Analysis (BMA) routine in QEMSCAN (Gottlieb et al., 2000; Goodall et al., 2005). This routine consists of the linear analysis of sections and is routinely applied to determine bulk modal abundances in metallurgical samples. Due to the limitations of the instrument, the 5 m size fraction, representing 12.3 wt.% of the total could not be analysed. Concentrates from repeat batch otation tests were combined and then wet screened to the same size fractions. Only samples from the + 20/38 and +38/75 m size fraction were selected for further QEMSCAN analysis. The choice of size fractions for QEMSCAN analysis was based on selection of particles in the optimum size range for true otation with minimal contribution from entrainment (Savassi, 1998). Concentrate samples were run using the particle mineralogical analysis (PMA) routine on QEMSCAN. This routine consists of an area scan of closely spaced points of sections and is routinely used for detailed particle mapping to determine the textural features of particles. Data validation was performed based on the correlation of the QEMSCAN results with chemical assays obtained using ICP-OES at Mintek, or AAS and a Leco Sulphur Analyser at UCT. No platinum group element analyses were performed in this study. Given the similarity in bulk chemical composition and the back scattered electron (BSE) level between talc (Mg6Si8O20(OH)4) and orthopyroxene ((MgFe)2Si2O6), the methodology used for mineral identication with QEMSCAN analysis was appropriately tailored to exploit distinguishing characteristics of the two minerals. In addition, the boundary phase particle processor facility available in the QEMSCAN iExplorer software was utilised to reprocess isolated and

Fig. 1. Calculated oating gangue for batch otation tests of Merensky ore with and without 300 g/t guar depressant addition based on the methodology described by Wiese ) and Wiese et al (2009). The standard error in the analysis is also shown.

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M. Becker et al. / Int. J. Miner. Process. 93 (2009) 246255 Table 3 Quantitative mineralogy of the +38/75 and +20/38 m size fractions of concentrates obtained from batch otation tests of Impala Merensky Reef ore given in wt.%, with and without depressant (300 g/t guar) addition. Mineral With depressant + 38/ 75 m C1 C2 C3 C4 + 20/ 38 m C1 C2 C3 C4

misidentied single pixels of talc into orthopyroxene and vice versa. Use of these precautions and the correlation of QEMSCAN particle images with typical intergrowth textures observed between orthopyroxene and talc in optical microscopy are factors which allow the necessary condence to be placed in the correct identication of these minerals. 3. Results 3.1. Feed characterisation The composition of run of mine Impala Merensky feed is shown in Table 2 where it is apparent that the ore is dominated by the silicate minerals, plagioclase (43.7 wt.%) and orthopyroxene (34.2 wt.%) with lesser clinopyroxene (5.8 wt.%) and talc (1.9 wt.%). All other silicate minerals such as olivine and mica constitute less than 2.5 wt.% of the ore. The ore is fairly enriched in the oxide minerals (i.e. chromite; 7.4 wt.%) and the sulphide mineralogy mainly consists of pentlandite (0.3 wt.%), chalcopyrite (0. 2 wt.%) and pyrrhotite (0.4 wt.%). The average grain size of pyroxene at this grind is ~24 m and plagioclase, ~ 29 m. Their similarity is most likely due to the absence of the pegmatoidal pyroxenite layer in the Merensky Reef ore type present in the Impala mine lease area (Leeb-Du Toit, 1986). Typical alteration minerals of the anhydrous ferromagnesian silicate minerals (olivine, orthopyroxene) such as talc, serpentine and chlorite tend to have much ner average grain sizes (37 m). 3.2. Concentrate characterisation The mineralogy of the concentrates as determined by QEMSCAN for tests conducted with and without depressant addition is given for the +20/38 and +38/75 m size fractions in Table 3. Unwanted silicate minerals recovered in the concentrates from the batch otation tests under all the conditions are dominated by four different minerals; namely orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, plagioclase and talc and these are the minerals which will be focussed upon. It is apparent from Table 3 that the grade of orthopyroxene is by far the greatest (up to 62 wt.%) and in order to put this into a mass recovery perspective, results are shown in Fig. 2 in terms of the proportion of orthopyroxene recovered given in grams. Fig. 2 shows that the amount of orthopyroxene recovered is signicantly greater for batch otation tests without depressant (N 19 g orthopyroxene) than for those with depressant (b 0. 8 g orthopyroxene), illustrating the enormity of the role which depressant addition plays during otation. For both sets of tests, cumulative concentrate
Table 2 Quantitative mineralogy of the Impala Merensky Reef feed ore given in weight %. Mineral Pentlandite Pyrrhotite Chalcopyrite Pyrite Other sulphides Orthopyroxene Clinopyroxene Talc Chlorite Serpentine Olivine Amphibole Plagioclase Mica Quartz Oxides Calcite Other Total Key silicate minerals of interest here are shown in bold. wt.% 0.3 0.4 0.2 0.1 b 0.1 34.2 5.8 1.9 0.9 2.1 0.5 0.3 43.7 0.8 0.6 7.4 0.2 0.7 100.0

Conc mass (g) 5.42 3.49 1.88 1.82 4.11 2.37 1.37 1.49 % of total conc mass 22.4 17.9 10.3 8.3 17.0 12.2 7.5 6.8 Pentlandite 39.8 46.1 28.1 13.2 41.7 45.1 20.9 6.7 Pyrrhotite 11.1 18.7 26.3 30.6 7.7 18.6 29.3 26.6 Chalcopyrite 28.4 8.5 5.2 2.3 28.1 7.2 2.9 0.9 Pyrite 9.1 3.5 1.9 0.5 8.1 2.8 0.9 0.3 Other sulphides 1.3 1.7 1.7 1.5 1.3 1.9 1.8 1.4 Orthopyroxene 2.2 5.0 9.7 15.1 3.2 6.4 13.7 23.7 Clinopyroxene 0.9 2.2 3.9 5.8 1.0 2.3 4.5 6.0 Talc 0.4 0.8 1.5 3.3 0.4 1.4 4.1 8.2 Chlorite 0.3 0.5 0.7 1.0 0.3 0.6 0.9 1.2 Serpentine 0.1 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.2 0.4 0.8 1.1 Olivine b 0.1 b 0.1 b 0.1 b 0.1 b 0.1 b 0.1 b 0.1 b 0.1 Amphibole 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 0.1 0.4 0.7 1.0 Plagioclase 5.3 10.5 16.5 20.8 6.6 10.5 15.9 18.2 Mica 0.1 0.3 0.4 0.7 0.1 0.3 0.6 0.8 Quartz 0.5 0.9 1.6 1.8 0.3 0.7 1.1 1.2 Oxides 0.3 0.5 1.1 1.5 0.6 1.0 1.5 1.9 Calcite 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.3 Other 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 No depressant Mass (g) 12.27 9.54 11.61 9.35 10.18 9.83 9.96 7.90 % of total conc mass 19.5 13.7 14.1 12.8 16.2 14.1 12.1 10.8 Pentlandite 21.0 12.4 3.1 1.0 17.9 8.7 1.8 0.7 Pyrrhotite 7.8 7.2 7.9 7.0 5.9 5.7 5.1 4.1 Chalcopyrite 15.3 1.4 0.5 0.3 12.2 0.8 0.2 0.1 Pyrite 5.1 0.6 0.1 0.1 3.5 0.4 0.1 0.0 Other sulphides 0.7 0.5 0.3 0.3 0.7 0.4 0.3 0.2 Orthopyroxene 27.0 46.3 56.3 60.0 34.4 52.8 60.8 61.9 Clinopyroxene 4.5 6.9 8.1 8.4 5.3 8.0 9.2 9.5 Talc 9.6 12.5 10.0 8.2 11.3 11.6 8.4 6.7 Chlorite 0.8 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.0 1.3 1.4 1.5 Serpentine 0.8 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.0 1.4 1.6 1.6 Olivine b 0.1 b 0.1 b 0.1 b 0.1 b 0.1 b 0.1 b 0.1 b 0.1 Amphibole 0.4 0.5 0.7 0.6 0.4 0.6 0.6 0.6 Plagioclase 4.4 5.9 6.9 7.6 3.8 5.1 7.2 9.1 Mica 0.7 1.0 1.2 1.3 0.7 1.0 1.0 1.2 Quartz 0.8 1.1 1.2 1.2 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.9 Oxides 0.8 1.0 1.0 1.2 0.9 1.1 1.2 1.4 Calcite 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 Other 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Key silicate minerals of interest are shown in bold.

masses of orthopyroxene were fairly similar between the +38/75 and +20/38 m size fractions. The variation in clinopyroxene recovery as shown in Fig. 3 tends to show a similar trend to orthopyroxene in that there is a consistent increase in recovery with increasing otation time. However, both the absolute grade and recovery of clinopyroxene is considerably lower; the highest grade of clinopyroxene in the concentrate is only 9.6 wt.% (no depressant, C4, +20/38 m fraction), and the cumulative mass recovery of clinopyroxene is ~2.9 g (+38/75, + 20/38 m fractions) in the tests with no depressant addition. With the addition of depressant the mass recovery of clinopyroxene was reduced to less than 0.3 g (+38/75 m fraction). For both sets of tests, cumulative concentrate masses of orthopyroxene were fairly similar between the +38/75 m and +20/38 m size fractions. Fig. 4 shows that similarly to orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene, plagioclase mass recovery show a consistent increase in mass with increasing otation time. However, in contrast to the pyroxenes, the effect of depressant addition on plagioclase recovery is notably smaller (e.g. with depressant: 2.6 g plagioclase; no depressant: 1.3 g plagioclase for +38/75 m fraction). In addition, it appears that the plagioclase grade is actually enhanced with depressant addition (e.g. Table 3; with

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Fig. 2. Cumulative mass of orthopyroxene (g) recovered for the four successive concentrates collected in batch otation tests of Merensky ore at conditions of with and without depressant (300 g/t guar), shown in the +38/75 and +20/38 m size fractions.

depressant: 5.320.8 wt.%; no depressant: 4.47.6 wt.% for + 38/ 75 m fraction). In general, lower plagioclase mass recovery occurred for the ner size fraction (Fig. 4). The effect of depressant addition on the mass recovery of talc is noted to be fairly signicant and caused a decrease from 4.3 g talc (No depressant) to 0.1 g of talc (With depressant) for the +38/75 m fraction as shown in Fig. 5. A lower nal mass recovery of talc was obtained for the ner size fraction in the tests with depressant addition and vice versa for the tests with no depressant addition. 3.3. Floatable gangue On the basis of the methodology previously described by Wiese et al. (2009), the amount of oatable gangue can be estimated for batch otation tests once the relative contributions from the valuable minerals (i.e. sulphide otation) and entrainment have been accounted for. The amount of NFG recovered in a batch otation test (Fig. 1) with depressant addition is relatively negligible (b 2 g NFG

recovered for the entire oat), whereas in the absence of a depressant up to 38 g of gangue is naturally oatable (Note: these masses are appropriate for a 1 kg batch oat, whereas concentrate masses represent the equivalent of a 5 kg feed sample). Given the difference in the absolute amount of oatable gangue recovered between the test conditions with and without depressant, one can evaluate the difference in the nature of the mineralogy of the material recovered in order to determine what type of particles constitute NFG from a mineralogical perspective. It should be recognised that even though the size fractions selected for analysis should have minimal contribution from entrainment (Savassi, 1998), there will always be some minor degree of entrainment of ne particles due to the dynamics of the otation process. By examination of the differences in recovery of the silicate minerals in the +20/38 and +38/75 m size fractions from the otation tests conducted with and without the addition of depressant as shown in Figs. 25, it is apparent that the silicate minerals which contribute the most to oatable gangue are orthopyroxene and talc. Since orthopyroxene

Fig. 3. Cumulative mass of clinopyroxene (g) recovered for the four successive concentrates collected in batch otation tests of Merensky ore at conditions of with and without depressant (300 g/t guar), shown in the +38/75 and +20/38 m size fractions.

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Fig. 4. Cumulative mass of plagioclase (g) recovered for the four successive concentrates collected in batch otation tests of Merensky ore at conditions of with and without depressant (300 g/t guar), shown in the +38/75 and +20/38 m size fractions.

is not naturally oatable, it is of interest to explore the liberation and association relationships of orthopyroxene to determine whether there is any indication of a preferential association that may lend it some oatability. 3.4. Mineralogical characterisation of oatable gangue During the grinding process, particles are produced which are variably liberated with respect to the mineral of interest. It is noted that in process mineralogy, the denition of liberation is based on area, whereas surface association is related to the perimeter of the grain or particle of interest. Free surface is dened as the association of the grain perimeter with background. Where relatively simple mineral textures exist, liberation and free surface coincide, but in some scenarios such as that illustrated in Fig. 6, these two measurements may be quite different and can lead to misinterpretation (Lastra, 2002; Pooler et al., 2009). Comparison of the liberation characteristics of orthopyroxene recovered in the concentrates as illustrated in Fig. 7 shows that for

conditions with and without depressant addition, the particles recovered exist as locked (030 area %), low grade middlings (3060 area %), high grade middlings (6090 area %) and liberated (N 90 area %). The signicant contrast in mass recovery of the orthopyroxene particles recovered in the two different sets of otation tests is also most apparent in Fig. 7. It is noted that for the tests without depressant, the majority of the particles are high grade middlings or liberated. Although this information is only shown for the +38/75 m size class, the behaviour is similar for the +20/38 m fraction. For talc however, it appears that both liberated and unliberated talc are recovered during otation (Fig. 8). Although not illustrated here, talc particles in the +20/38 m fraction also behave in a similar manner. In order to investigate further the nature of these orthopyroxene and talc particles which are causing considerable dilution to concentrate grade, the associations of the different liberation classes of the particles can also be evaluated. The surface association of orthopyroxene is shown in Fig. 9 for particles from Concentrate 3 only, where the following subdivisions are used: Surface association with background (i.e. free

Fig. 5. Cumulative mass of talc (g) recovered for the four successive concentrates collected in batch otation tests of Merensky ore at conditions of with and without depressant (300 g/t guar), shown in the +38/75 and +20/38 m size fractions.

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concentrates have been omitted for simplicity, but show similar trends. Results shown for the tests conducted with no depressant addition (Fig. 9), illustrate that the mass of orthopyroxene associated with background is by far the greatest, especially for liberated orthopyroxene (3.0 g). The second most common association of orthopyroxene is with the alteration minerals, which predominantly represents talc. Both liberated (0.6 g) and high grade middlings (0.4 g) orthopyroxene particles show a signicant association to the alteration minerals. The remaining associations of orthopyroxene are encompassed by its association to clinopyroxene and other. The surface associations of talc in Concentrate 3 illustrated in Fig. 10 accordingly show the preferential association of talc to orthopyroxene, especially in the no depressant tests. The preferential association of talc to orthopyroxene occurs for locked (0.2 g), low grade middlings (0.1 g) and high grade middlings particles (0.08 g). 4. Discussion In the otation of the Merensky Reef ore, the four dominant silicate minerals recovered which dilute concentrate grade are orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, talc and plagioclase of which only talc is known to be hydrophobic and naturally oatable. Comparison of the concentrate mineralogy from batch otation tests conducted with the addition of depressant in order to minimise the recovery of NFG with batch otation tests with no depressant addition, where all the NFG is recovered, shows that orthopyroxene and talc are the major minerals which constitute NFG. The results presented also clearly show that plagioclase, one of the other dominant gangue minerals recovered during otation, does not contribute to NFG since the concentrate grade of plagioclase is higher for tests conducted with depressant addition relative to those where no depressant is added (Table 3). In addition to the fact that some of the plagioclase particles recovered during otation contain unliberated chalcopyrite that render them oatable, it also suggests some depressant selectivity i.e. the guar depressant is preferentially adsorbed on talc and pyroxene particles, and that plagioclase particles remain relatively free of depressant. Although the work of

Fig. 6. Schematic to illustrate the difference between liberation and free surface measurements. The composite particle between mineral A and B, represents orthopyroxene (A) with talc (B) rimming, whereas the composite particle between C and D, is more typical of an unliberated sulphide (C) hosted by a silicate gangue mineral (D).

surface which a bubble can attach to), with the base metal sulphides (pentlandite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite etc), with pyroxene (clinopyroxene), plagioclase, alteration minerals (talc, chlorite and serpentine) and other (all remaining minerals). Surface associations for the other

Fig. 7. Liberation of orthopyroxene particles in the +38/75 m fraction in successive concentrates from batch otation tests performed with (a) and without (b) the addition of depressant shown as the mass of locked (030 area %), low grade middlings (3060 area %), high grade middlings (6090% area %) and liberated (N 90 area %) particles.

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Fig. 8. Liberation of talc particles in the +38/75 m fraction in successive concentrates from batch otation tests performed with (a) and without (b) the addition of depressant shown as the mass of locked (030 area %), low grade middlings (3060 area %), high grade middlings (6090 area %) and liberated (N90 area %) particles.

Martinovic et al. (2005) showed no signicant difference between the natural oatability of orthopyroxene and plagioclase for a pure mineral system, more recent work by Schreithofer (Unpubl.) suggests that selective adsorption of polymeric depressants does indeed take place for gangue minerals in Merensky Reef ores.

It has also been shown that the majority of the orthopyroxene reporting to the concentrate in the no depressant otation tests are classied as liberated or high grade middlings (Fig. 7). However, according to the surface association data, these same orthopyroxene particles have a distinct association with the alteration minerals and in

Fig. 9. Surface association of the different liberation classes of orthopyroxene shown for Concentrate 3 from batch otation tests performed with (a) and without (b) the addition of depressant. Orthopyroxene particles are classied as locked (030 area %), low grade middlings (3060 area %), high grade middlings (6090 area %) and liberated (N90 area %). Association with pyroxene represents clinopyroxene, association with BMS represents the base metal sulphides, whereas alteration minerals represent talc, serpentine and chlorite. The remaining minerals are classed as other. Only particles from the +38/75 m size fraction are illustrated.

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Fig. 10. Surface association of the different liberation classes of talc shown for Concentrate 3 from batch otation tests performed with (a) and without (b) the addition of depressant. Talc particles are classied as locked (030 area %), low grade middlings (3060 area %), high grade middlings (6090 area %) and liberated (N90 area %). Association with pyroxene represents both orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene, association with BMS represents the base metal sulphides, whereas alteration minerals represent talc, serpentine and chlorite. The remaining minerals are classed as other. Only particles from the +38/75 m size fraction are illustrated.

particular, the naturally oating talc (Fig. 9). The manifestation of this is in the form of partial talc rims surrounding the orthopyroxene particles similar to those illustrated in the QEMSCAN particle images in Fig. 11. The association of talc and pyroxene within these Merensky ores is not entirely unexpected given that talc is a low temperature alteration

product of anhydrous magnesium silicate minerals (Hemley et al., 1977; Nesbitt and Bricker, 1978; Viti et al., 2005). Both olivine and orthopyroxene fall into this category of minerals, although given the greater abundance of orthopyroxene in the feed and concentrates relative to olivine, the focus here is on orthopyroxene. In general, the

Fig. 11. Selected QEMSCAN particle images from the +38/75 m fraction recovered in batch otation tests with no depressant addition (Concentrate 3). The QEMSCAN images illustrate the type of composite orthopyroxene and talc particles which represent NFG.

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alteration reaction of orthopyroxene occurs to form a hydrous mineral with similar Si/Mg ratio as orthopyroxene (OPX: Si/Mg ~1; Talc: Si/Mg ~1.33). Similarly, the alteration reaction of olivine follows a pathway to produce a hydrous silicate with similar Si/Mg ratio (Olivine: Si/Mg ~0.5; Serpentine: Si/Mg ~0.66). Various authors including, Farquhar (1986), Zingg (1996), Penberthy and Merkle (1999), Li et al. (2004) have reported the alteration of orthopyroxene to talc within the Bushveld Complex. Other accounts of talc rimming in the Bushveld Complex include those of Gottlieb and Adair (1991) who documented talc rimming of chromite. Penberthy and Merkle (1999) also described a minor alteration of clinopyroxene to talc in UG2 ore, although the most common alteration product of clinopyroxene was amphibole. The alteration reaction of orthopyroxene would proceed via the formation of talc along rims and fractures of the orthopyroxene and would result in composite orthopyroxenetalc particles with partial talc rims such as those particles illustrated in Fig. 11. Fig. 11 also shows that only a very minor proportion of talc rimming is needed to produce a naturally oatable orthopyroxene particle. This may account for the reason why so much liberated orthopyroxene is recovered during otation. Bearing in mind that the resolution of automated SEM type instruments (QEMSCAN, MLA) is governed by the size of the electron beam and its interaction volume, precise mineralogical analyses cannot be guaranteed for phases less than 5 m (Gottlieb et al., 2000). Therefore, the presence of submicron talc rims or partial coatings on liberated orthopyroxene particles cannot be detected using this type of instrumentation and is where surface techniques such as ToF-SIMS may be more appropriately used. Accordingly, the ToF-SIMS study of Jasieniak and Smart (2009) showed elevated Mg and Si concentrations on gangue particles in a Merensky concentrate relative to those in the tailings. In combination with the XRD results from their study, Jasieniak and Smart (2009) similarly suggested that the talc was preferentially associated with orthopyroxene and may account for the natural oatability of these particles. Additional evidence to support the argument that the association of orthopyroxene with talc is critical to NFG, can be found in the study of Brough (2008) and Becker et al. (2008) on the geometallurgy of different Merensky Reef ore types at Northam platinum mine. In this study, the batch otation response of three different Merensky Reef types was compared. It was shown that the plagioclase-rich NP2 Reef had the least amount of oatable gangue compared to the Normal and P2 Reef types. The Normal and P2 Reef types were characteristically rich in orthopyroxene and associated ferromagnesian minerals and showed pervasive alteration of orthopyroxene by minerals such as talc, serpentine and chlorite. 5. Conclusions This paper has demonstrated the value which quantitative mineralogical analysis (QEMSCAN) can add in characterising and interpreting the characteristics of naturally oating gangue (NFG) in the otation of Merensky Reef ores. Mineralogical analysis of the concentrate recovered in batch otation tests shows that middlings and liberated orthopyroxene, as well as both liberated and unliberated talc are the dominant particles that constitute NFG. The preferential association of orthopyroxene with talc and vice versa is noted. This is manifested as orthopyroxene with partial rims of talc. The sheer volume of liberated orthopyroxene recovered with no signicant association to talc, is most likely due to the presence of submicron talc coatings that cannot be resolved with QEMSCAN. This suggests that only very minor amounts of talc associated with orthopyroxene are necessary to cause an orthopyroxene particle to be naturally oatable. The need to interpret quantitative mineralogical data in terms of both liberation and surface association has been shown in order to avoid misinterpretation, given that otation is based upon the surface properties of the particle of interest. This is of particular relevance when complex ore textures such as partial rimming exist.

Mineralogical analysis of concentrate samples from otation tests with depressant addition relative to those with no depressant, has shown that the oatability of plagioclase is relatively enhanced due to the addition of a depressant and suggests that some depressant selectivity may occur. Acknowledgements Our appreciation goes to Impala Platinum for their support and funding of this research as well as to MINTEK for the technical support during QEMSCAN analyses. Members of the UCT Reagent Research Facility are also acknowledged for their continued support of this ongoing research: Anglo Platinum, Impala Platinum and Lonmin Platinum. References
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