Challenges in predicting the role of water chemistry in flotation through simulation with an emphasis on the influence of electrolytes

As the mining industry is facing an increasing number of issues related to its fresh water consumption, a series of water-saving strategies are progressively being implemented in the processing plants, such as increasing the recirculation of process water. This recirculation is associated with a modification of the process water chemistry, which can be detrimental to the process performance, in particular flotation. This modification is, unfortunately, hardly predictable and often constitutes an obstacle to the implementation of the highly-needed water-saving strategies. However, a large amount of knowledge has been accumulated over the years to better understand how the process water chemistry can affect different parts of the flotation process, yet much of this knowledge still needs to be digitalized in a practical and suitable form to be of use in mineral processing simulators. Such digitalization requires the linking of water properties to the flotation process parameters, in particular the flotation kinetics of the different particles present in the system. This paper discusses a variety of mechanisms through which electrolytes can modify the flotation performance, and how those mechanisms translate into a modification of the flotation kinetics when this link can be made. A series of missing relationships needed for the knowledge digitalization in mineral processing simulators are being highlighted throughout this paper, hence addressing the challenge of predicting the role of electrolytes on the flotation plant performance through simulation.