Separation of microlite from zircon by flotation

Tantalum, an important raw material, is produced mainly from tin slags, while some is extracted from tantalite, colombite and microlite. However, treatment of tin slags for tantalum production is an expensive process. Separation of microlite in zircon concentrates is important from technological and economical points of view. By-products of cassiterite concentration include colombite, tantalite, monazite, zircon, ksenotim, microlite, wolframite, rutile and ilmenite. Zircon concentrates thus produced may contain up to 30% Ta ₂O₅ included in microlite. However, separation of microlite from zircon is not achieved in most cases. In this investigation, flotation separation of microlite from zircon was studied. Tests showed that microlite could be succesfully separated from zircon by floating zircon and leaving microlite in the non-float fraction using Porocoll SAM as the collector.