Find the Best Flotation Reagent for Your Mineralogy
Depending on the mining operation, there are several key considerations for identifying the right collector technology including ore mineralogy, metallurgical objectives and operating conditions. AERO® promoters are optimal flotation collectors and flotation reagents, as they are well-suited for diverse mineralogies and ore types.
The choice of reagents for copper sulfides flotation is influenced by the ratio of chalcopyrite to secondary copper minerals such as chalcocite, covellite or bornite. The iron sulfide content—such as the presence of pyrite, marcasite and pyrrhotite—should also be considered, as well as whether penalty elements or tarnished/oxidized copper are present. AERO® promoters address these considerations in copper ore flotation.
| Major Minerals | Products | Applications |
| Chalcopyrite | AERO® 9863 Promoter | Strong collector for primary and secondary copper minerals that contain precious metals. |
| AERO® 9810 Promoter | Medium strength copper collector with good selectivity against pyrite. | |
| AERO® 7048 Promoter | Medium strength collector for primary and secondary copper mineralization. | |
| AERO® 3302 Promoter | Primary collector for copper and gold. Excellent choice for copper-molybdenum applications. | |
| Chalcopyrite+secondary copper sulfides+metallic Copper+copper Oxides | AERO® 9863 Promoter | Strong collector for primary and secondary copper minerals that contain precious metals. |
| AERO® 7151 Promoter | Strong copper collector, excellent if native copper is present. Synergistic with sulfidizing agents. | |
| AERO® 7249 Promoter | Strong copper and precious metals collector. Good for floating free gold. | |
| AERO® 5100 Promoter | Selective copper collector. Low frothing character. | |
| AERO® 7048 Promoter | Medium strength collector for primary and secondary copper mineralization. | |
| AERO® XD 5002 Promoter | Excellent general copper ore collector. Selective against iron sulfides in copper-molybdenum ores. | |
| AERO® 9810 Promoter | Medium strength copper collector with good selectivity against pyrite. | |
| AERO® MX 3048D Promoter | Good for gold bearing sulfides, pH < 4. Will scavenge all sulfides. | |
| AERO® MX-980 Promoter | Strong collector for primary and secondary copper minerals that contain precious metals. | |
| AERO® 473 Promoter | Excellent collector for sulfide copper ores that contain tarnished copper and low levels of oxide copper minerals. | |
| AERO® OX 100 Promoter | Oxide copper collector for the recovery of chrysocolla, malachite and azurite. |
For copper ores that contain precious metal values, the AERO® collector selection should include monothiophosphate chemistry, as this is selective for precious metals over a wide pH range. AERO® reagents represent some of our wide-ranging collectors applicable for Cu-Au separations.
| Major Minerals | Products | Applications |
| Chalcopyrite + Free Gold + Gold associated with Sulfides | AERO® 3302 Promoter | Primary collector for copper and gold. Excellent choice for copper-molybdenum applications. |
| AERO® 8761 Promoter | Highly selective copper collector with excellent gold collection properties. | |
| AERO® MX-945 Promoter | Great for secondary copper mineralization. Strong copper-molybdenum collector. | |
| Chalcopyrite + Secondary Copper Sulfides + Free Gold + Gold and Silver associated with Sulfides | AERO® 7249 Promoter | Strong copper and precious metals collector. Good for floating free gold. |
| AERO® 9863 Promoter | Strong collector for primary and secondary copper minerals that contain precious metals. | |
| AERO® 7048 Promoter | Medium strength collector for primary and secondary copper mineralization. | |
| AERO® 9810 Promoter | Medium strength copper collector with good selectivity against pyrite. | |
| AEROPHINE® 3418A Promoter | Excellent collector for copper-gold-silver ores. Provides quick flotation kinetics and exerts selectivity against pyrite. | |
| AERO® MX-5160 Promoter | Xanthate replacement solution that is an effective copper collector with selectivity against pyrite. | |
| AEROPHINE® 3422 Promoter | Strong copper and precious metals collector with selectivity against pyrite. | |
| AEROFLOAT® MX-505 Promoter | Targets multiple copper sulfide minerals providing improved recovery of precious metals, especially for free gold. Highly selective against pyrite. |
Where molybdenite is present in copper ores in economic quantities, it is floated with copper sulfides to produce a bulk Cu-Mo concentrate. Our molybdenum collectors are ideal choices to replace diesel and improve molybdenum and copper recovery in rougher circuits.
| Major Minerals | Products | Applications |
| Copper Sulfides + Molybdenite + Gold | AERO® 3302 Promoter | Primary collector for copper and gold. Excellent choice for copper-molybdenum applications. |
| AERO® 7048 Promoter | Medium strength collector for primary and secondary copper mineralization. | |
| AERO® MX-7021 Promoter | Medium strength copper collector where molybdenum recovery is important. | |
| AERO® MX-724 Promoter | Molybdenum collector: For use with any sulfide collectors. | |
| AERO® MX-2400 Series Promoter | Designed for the flotation recovery of precious and base metals from primary and secondary ores. Can be used as a primary collector for molybdenum ores. | |
| AERO® MX-5149 Collector | A selective collector exhibiting excellent selectivity for copper minerals over pyrite. | |
| AERO® MX-5152 Promoter | Copper/molybdenum collector where selectivity against pyrite is required. | |
| AERO® XD 5002 Promoter | Excellent general copper ore collector. Selective against iron sulfides in copper-molybdenum ores. |
Recovery of gold from gold-bearing ores depends on the mode of gold occurrence, associated metals and the grade of gold in the ore. These innovative solutions are key collectors to consider for gold ore flotation.
| Major Minerals | Products | Applications |
| Gold + Silver + Copper Sulfides | AERO® 9863 Promoter | Strong collector for gold associated with all copper sulfides. |
| AERO® MX-980 Promoter | Strong collector for primary and secondary copper ores that contain gold bearing pyrite. | |
| AERO® 7249 Promoter | Strong copper and precious metals collector. Good for floating free gold. | |
| AEROPHINE® 3418A Promoter | Excellent general copper ore collector. Selective against iron sulfides. | |
| AERO® MX-5149 Promoter | Selective collector for metallic gold and gold associated with copper sulfides. | |
| AERO® 8761 Promoter | Highly selective copper collector with excellent gold collection properties. | |
| AEROFLOAT® 208 Promoter | Excellent copper collector specifically where gold is associated with copper minerals. Selective against iron sulfides. | |
| AEROFLOAT® MX-505 Promoter | High activity sulfide collector. Enhances recovery of covalues gold and silver. | |
| Gold within pyrite or arseno-pyrite | AERO® 8045 Promoter | Good for floating auriferous pyrite. Good for gold bearing sulfides, pH > 4. |
| AERO® 7249 Promoter | Strong precious metals collector. Good for floating free gold. | |
| AERO® MX 3048D Promoter | Good for gold bearing sulfides, pH < 4. Will scavenge all sulfides. | |
| AEROPHINE® 3407 Promoter | Excellent secondary collector for precious metals. | |
| AERO® 3302 Promoter | Strong collector for gold bearing sulfides. Excellent flash flotation collector. | |
| AEROFLOAT® MX-505 Promoter | High activity sulfide collector for gold. | |
| AERO® MX-983 Promoter | Strong collector at low dosages for gold containing ores. |
Polymetallic ore typically comes in combination of Pb-Zn ore or complex Cu-Pb-Zn. In treating this complex ore separation, Pb is floated first and recovered by AEROPHINE® or AEROFLOAT® chemistries, while the Zn ores are floated using the AERO® XR reagents.
| Major Minerals | Products | Applications |
| Galena + Silver Minerals | AEROPHINE® 3418A Promoter | Unsurpassed for galena bearing silver. |
| AERO® 404 Promoter | Used primarily for silver and lead flotation especially when tarnished galena is present. | |
| AEROFLOAT® 7310 Promoter | A primary or secondary collector, used primarily for silver and lead flotation. | |
| AEROFLOAT® 241 | Excellent collector for argentiferous galena. | |
| Sphalerite + Tetrahedrite / Tennantite | AERO® 5100 Promoter | Excellent for sphalerite flotation. Alternative to xanthate in zinc circuit. |
| AERO® MX-5160 Promoter | Xanthate alternative chemistry, Ability to work at pH 9-10 and provide selectivity against iron sulfides. | |
| Cu Sulph + Gold + Silver Minerals | AEROPHINE® 3418A Promoter | Quick flotation kinetics with excellent copper, gold and silver recovery at low dosages. |
| AEROPHINE® 3422 Promoter | Selective copper collector with increased selectivity against zinc. | |
| AEROFLOAT® 208 Promoter | Selective copper collector with selectivity against zinc. | |
| Sphalerite + Tetrahedrite | AERO® 7279 Promoter | Strong sphalerite collector. More selective against iron sulfides than AERO 5100 promoter. Can replace xanthate in most zinc circuits. |
| AERO® 3473 Promoter | Xanthate alternative chemistry. Ability to work at pH 9-10 and provide selectivity against iron sulfides. |
The principal sulfide minerals in nickel ores are pentlandite, millerite, pyrite and pyrrhotite, with high grade ores found in western Australia and low grade, with some arsenopyrite, found in large open-pit operations.
| Major Minerals | Products | Applications |
| Pentlandite, Pyrrhotite, Millerite | AERO® NP8 Promoter | Excellent collector for nickel in acid circuits. |
| AERO® NP10 Promoter | Strong nickel collector, with better selectivity against pyrrhotite than xanthates. | |
| AERO® NP12 Promoter | Strong nickel collector to replace xanthate. | |
| AERO® NP14 Promoter | Can be used as a primary nickel collector, followed by xanthates to increase nickel recovery. | |
| Chalcopyrite, Pentlandite, Pyrrhotite, Millerite | AERO® NP18 Promoter | Versatile copper and nickel collector. Replaces xanthate in some areas in the circuit where selectivity against pyrrhotite is required. |
| AERO® NP21 Promoter | Excellent copper-nickel bulk circuit collector, where floating copper selectivity is important. | |
| AERO® NP22 Promoter | Selective collector for floating copper selectively from copper-nickel ores. |
Platinum group metals or PGMs are either palladium-dominant, or platinum-rich Bushveld complex, or UG2 high chromite ores. PGMs can be floated with AERO® 3477LA or AERO® NP-10 or a combination of a strong primary collector such as long-chain xanthate with a secondary collector such as AERO® 3302 or AERO® MX-5199 to further improve flotation kinetics and overall PGM recoveries.
| Major Minerals | Products | Applications |
| Palladium-Dominant Merensky Reef UG2 Plat Reef | AERO® 3477LA Promoter | A low frothing collector excellent for metallic PGMs and PGM sulfides. Can be used with or without xanthate. |
| AERO® NP-10 Promoter | Excellent for metallic PGMs and PGM sulfides. Can be used with or without xanthate. | |
| AERO® 3302 Promoter | Selective copper, gold, and PGM collector. Can be used with xanthate. | |
| AERO® MX-980 Promoter | Promotes precious metal recovery at low dosages. | |
| AEROFLOAT® MX-505 Promoter | Strong sulfide collector that is particularly effective for precious metal recovery. Should be used as a secondary collector. | |
| AEROPHINE® 3418A Promoter | Excellent co-collector for precious metals. | |
| AERO® MX-5199 Promoter | PGM collector which is effective at very low dosage. Generally used with xanthate. |
Modifiers for Complex Ore Separations
AERO® NR Series for Copper-Molybdenum Separations
Copper and molybdenum are initially floated together and then separated by depressing copper using inorganic depressants such as sodium sulfide and hydrosulfide or Nokes. Syensqo developed more sustainable depressants—AERO® 7260, AERO® NR-7361 and AERO® NR-7370—which can partially or fully replace NaSH or Nokes as copper depressants. These depressants are safer to handle and improve plant metallurgy while requiring two to five times lower dosages than NaSH.
AERO® SR 7400 Series for Lead Depressions in Cu-Pb Separation
AERO® SR 7480 and AERO® SR 7490 depressants are novel products created to depress targeted sulfide minerals. In a Cu-Pb-Zn flotation, AERO® SR series can metallurgically improve the recovery and separation of copper and lead when used as a lead depressant with sodium metabisulfite as a pH modifier. AERO® SR series can also potentially replace the carcinogenic sodium dichromate typically used to depress lead in the Cu-Pb separation. In addition, this family of reagents enhances AERO® 641 as a depressant for organic carbon, which is sometimes present in the Cu-Pb circuit.
AERO® PR 7500 for Pyrite Rejection
A pyrite depressant used in copper and polymetallic circuits, AERO® PR 7500 is the newest addition to the depressant family. It can also lower lime and be a good alternative for hazardous cyanide as pyrite depressants.
AERO® 7261A for Arsenopyrite and Pyrrhotite Depression
The presence of sulfide gangue minerals arsenopyrite (AsPy) and pyrrhotite (Po) in an ore can often be problematic, particularly in some complex sulfide separations, as well as in Cu-Ni ores (mainly Po). Syensqo has developed a unique synthetic depressant, AERO® 7261A depressant, which can be effective in reducing AsPy and Po flotation. AERO® 7261A has the advantage of excellent toxicological and environmental characteristics. What’s more, the reagent can significantly depress Fe in a Pb-Cu flotation containing high marcasite with AERO® 7310 as the selective collector.
