Industrial Minerals Flotation—Fundamentals and Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Industrial minerals are generally considered to be nonmetallic mineral resources. Most industrial minerals, including limestone, clays, sand, gravel, diatomite, kaolin, bentonite, silica, barite, talc, and gypsum, are used in the construction industry and/or as additives, such as kaolinite in the production of paper. The industrial minerals are valued for their physical and chemical properties that make them useful for many industrial applications. In agriculture, industrial minerals such as potash and phosphate are essential fertilizer ingredients. Bauxite is the primary source of aluminum ore and is also used to make ceramics, cement, and abrasives. In the new energy sector, the industrial minerals also play an important supporting role. Graphite and manganese serve as electrodes in many lithium batteries. Spodumene and various types of lithium clays are important sources of lithium for lithium-ion batteries. Rare-earth resources are one of the most critical resources for many industries including renewable energy and defense industries. As with many metallic mineral resources, concentration processes are needed to purify and enrich industrial minerals before further preparation and utilization. Flotation is a crucial process for the separation and concentration of minerals from ores. The special features of the flotation chemistry of industrial minerals distinguish them from the flotation chemistry of sulfide minerals. This Special Issue aims to highlight the latest advances and applications of flotation technology in the recovery of industrial minerals and is seeking original research articles, reviews, and case studies including, but not limited to, the following topics:

• Industrial minerals applications;
• Fundamental features of the flotation chemistry;
• Phosphate flotation;
• Soluble salt flotation;
• Phyllosilicate mineral surface chemistry;
• Bauxite flotation;
• Spodumene flotation;
• Rare earth flotation;
• Graphite recovery from retired batteries.

Prof. Dr. Xuming Wang
Prof. Dr. Jan D. Miller
Guest Editors

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