State of the Art in Flotation and Separation of Metallic Minerals
A special issue of Metals (ISSN 2075-4701). This special issue belongs to the section "Extractive Metallurgy".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 October 2025 | Viewed by 64
Special Issue Editors
Interests: froth flotation; flotation chemistry; comprehensive utilization of mineral resources; waste management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: mineral processing; froth flotation; flotation chemistry; flotation reagent design
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: froth flotation; comprehensive utilization of mineral resources; flotation surface chemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
As global demand for metals surges—driven by clean energy technologies, infrastructure development, and electronics—the efficient extraction of valuable minerals from increasingly complex and low-grade deposits has become imperative. Flotation separation, a cornerstone of mineral processing, plays a pivotal role in the sustainable recovery of metal minerals from ores. Traditional physical separation methods often fail to address fine-grained or chemically similar minerals, underscoring the necessity of flotation, which exploits differences in surface hydrophobicity to selectively separate target minerals from gangue. With the continuous development and utilization of metal mineral resources, the grade of target minerals has become increasingly lower, and the composition between minerals has grown more complex. As a result, flotation has emerged as the most efficient method for effectively separating and enriching metal minerals. Innovations in flotation reagents (such as collectors and depressants) and flotation process optimization (including circuit selection, pH control, and particle size adjustment) can enhance the grade and recovery of metal minerals, ultimately improving flotation performance. Additionally, the integration of automation and artificial intelligence-driven process control has revolutionized flotation efficiency. This Special Issue aims to explore advanced research achievements in flotation reagents, flotation processes, and flotation circuits for the efficient flotation separation of metal minerals, to achieve efficient enrichment and recovery of low-grade metal minerals and enhance resource utilization. This holds significant theoretical and practical importance for the efficient and clean utilization of metal mineral resources.
Prof. Dr. Dianwen Liu
Dr. Liuyang Dong
Dr. Peilun Shen
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- mineral processing
- froth flotation
- metallic minerals
- flotation separation and purification
- flotation reagents
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