Fenugreek Polysaccharide Gum as a Depressant in the Flotation Separation of Gold Ore with a High Content of Clay Minerals

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The authors studied on fenugreek polysaccharide gum as a depressant in the flotation separation of gold ore with high content of clay minerals. The work is at not a very good level in terms of novelty.   But, the study will contribute to the sector as it includes laboratory tests as well as closed-circuit industrial facility studies. The referee kindly requests the following amendments for the manuscript.

• There are repetitive words (like “pilot plant test testing”) and typos in the abstract. These errors should be corrected.
• What is low alkaline pH? It should be edited. The interval for pH values should be given.
• “due to” was used falsely. “Because” or “due to the fact that” should be used instead of “due to” in the abstract section.
• The authors did not provide sufficient information about similar usage areas of fenugreek in the manuscript. This can be achieved by referencing the literature in recent years.
• Regarding flotation; 1 paragraph can be added to the introduction section by referencing the literature, namely the studies carried out in recent years on the recovery of precious metals whose side stones are quartz and clay-type contents that are difficult to enrich (for example Concentration study of a specularite ore via reverse flotation).
• There is no total chemical analysis of the sample. It should be given as Table in “Materials” section.
• What was the arsenopyrite and pyrauxite precentages in the 2 g micro flotation test sample? It should be added to the manuscript.
• In “contact angle” section, the authors should give more information on wettability values of minerals.
• The manuscript should be revised thoroughly to give it a more literary form.
• Authors should better explain the originality of the study.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

• The manuscript should be revised thoroughly to give it a more literary form.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Review of the article by Qingqing Xing, Pingtian Ming, Xiaohui Wang, Fei Li, Zhen Wang, and Kaile Zhao «Fenugreek polysaccharide gum (FGM) as a depressant in the flotation separation of gold ore with high content of clay minerals»

In this study, the authors conducted flotation experiments on pure minerals and demonstrated that the vein clay mineral, pyrauxite, exhibits high natural floatability. As a result, it is impossible to separate it from gold-bearing arsenopyrite at low pH values and when pyrauxite particle size is reduced to 0.038 mm (38 μm). Additionally, finer pyrauxite particles significantly reduce arsenopyrite recovery.

To address this issue, the authors employed fenugreek polysaccharide gum (FGM) as a depressant for vein clay pyrauxite under conditions of low pH and small particle size.

Comments and Questions:

1. The study does not provide details on the method of obtaining the FGM depressant. Could you clarify whether FGM was synthesized in the laboratory or derived from a specific raw material source?
2. It appears that microflotation was used to improve the separation of pyrauxite from arsenopyrite at a finer particle size (38 μm). However, it is unclear which reagent: collector (SIBX and ammonium dibutyl dithiophosphate) or frother (terpineol)—was responsible for generating microbubbles or microemulsions to enhance the microflotation process. Could you specify this?
3. Table 1 presents comparative flotation results of gold-bearing ore using different depressants, including sodium silicate and SHMP, compared to the proposed FGM depressant. The results indicate only a slight difference between FGM and the well-known depressants. If FGM were to be used in industrial applications, what would be its estimated cost compared to conventional depressants?
4. Regarding the adsorption of FGM onto the pyrauxite surface, could you clarify the proportion of chemical versus physical interactions involved in the process?

Comments on the Quality of English Language

The English language could be improved to convey the essence of the research more clearly.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

It can be accepted.