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1. * GB780021 (A)
Description: GB780021 (A) ? 1957-07-31
Improvements in or relating to the use of emulsified oils for the
concentration of uranium ores by froth flotation
Description of GB780021 (A)
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PATENT SPECIFICATION
Inventor: PETER KAY HOSKING 78 Date of Application and filing Complete
Specification: Dec. 30, 1954.
No. 37711154.
____ Complete Specification Published: July 31, 1957.
Index at acceptance: -Class 82(2), H6A.
International Classification:-BO3d.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
Improvements in or relating to the use of Emulsified Oils for the
Concentration of Uranium Ores by Froth Flotation 1, THE MINISTER OF
MINES FOR THE STATE OF SOuTH AUSTRALIA, of Flinders Street, Adelaide,
State of South Australia, Commonwealth of Australia, do hereby declare
the invention, for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me,
and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly
described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to
a process of concentrating ores containing uranium minerals, such as
davidite (an ilmeno-rutile-uranium complex), brannerite (a
vanadium-thoriumuranium complex), and a uranium rare-earth mineral
named absite, which is a form of brannerite containing more thorium.
The sudden extension- in the use of radioactive and fissionable
materials for various military and other purposes, particularly their

2. use in the so-called " atomic pile" for the production of power, has
rendered more necessary, and has increased the importance of, the
concentration of low grade ores containing radio-active or fissionable
material.
Previously the recovery of uranium minerals has usually been effected
by means of gravity methods of ore concentrated, but it has been found
that when these methods were applied to the treatment of the uranium
ores previously mentioned, they had the disadvantage of being very
inefficient.
It is therefore the primary object of this invention to develop a
process of froth flotation which will permit the production, from low
grade ores, of concentrates of sufficiently high grade with
sufficiently high recovery to render the concentration process
economic. A further object of the invention is to provide a process
which is simple in operation, low in cost, and makes use of readily
available reagents.
In general, according to the present invention, these objects are
accomplished by subdividing the ore being treated to a state of
fineness wherein the mineral particles are freed from the gangue
materials, forming an aqueous pulp of this subdivided ore, and adding
during - [Price 3s. 6d.] the subdividing process the required amounts
of the necessary reagents (referred to in the next ensuing paragraph),
with or without a frothing reagent to the body of the aqueous 50 pulp.
The resultant mixture is then subjected to agitation and aeration in a
froth flotation cell in order to develop a froth rich in the uranium
minerals. The froth is then separated from the unfloated residue. 55
The reagents added to the aqueous pulp are an anionic water-soluble
emulsifying agent, such as sodium oleate, or sulphonated castor oil,
and an insoluble and unsaponifiable hydrocarbon oil, such as fuel oil.
These are combined to produce an emulsified oil of extremely fine
droplet size with cresylic acid, which is used as a stabilising agent.
The relative amounts of these reagents are determined by trial and
error, that is, by testing 'on the particular ore being treated.
Previously, sulphonated mineral oils or suiphonated fatty acids in
conjunction with mineral oils, such as fuel oil, have been used in
froth flotation processes to concentrate iron, tin, phosphatic and
many 70 other kinds of metallic and non-metallic ores, but as far as
is known these processes have never hitherto been used to concentrate
ores containing uranium minerals such as davidite, brannerite or
absite. 75 Further, previous froth flotation processes have included
subsidiary processes which (used singly or in various combinations)
formed a necessary ingredient in the whole.
These subsidiary processes' have included pre. 80 liminary desliming
of the ore, thickening the pulp to a high percentage of solid matter

3. or maintaining the acidity or alkalinity of the pulp within close
limits of pH, together with the close control of other variables.
These involved one or more extra stages and while decreasing the
amount of reagents used, added substantially to the cost of the whole
process.
It is an advantage of the present invention that these subsidiary
processes are not essential to the efficient operation of the process;
though close control of one or more of the 0,021 <<<CHAR-SET=97>>>
bovementioned variables may, in isolated cases, result in the
production of concentrates of higher grade and in a higher percentage
of recovery of the valuable mineral.
Although sulphonated castor oil is mentioned above as suitable for
forming an emulsion with fuel oil stabilised with cresylic acid, it is
an advantage of the present invention that the process comprised
therein can be o10 successfully carried out by using other emulsifying
agents of the anionic class, which are water soluble, but are adsorbed
at both the oil and the mineral surface. Typical materials are sodium
or potassium oleate, sulphonated petroleum or sulphonated whale oil.
It is a further advantage of the present invention that the
stabilisation of the fuel oil emulsion is not dependent solely on the
use of cresylic acid, but the emulsion can be stabilised by the use of
such other oil-soluble stabilising agents as are normally or
conventionally employed in the oil industry. These stabilising agents
are heteropolar, anionic active materials such as cresylic acid, oleic
acid, or pine oil. And it is a further advantage of the present
invention, that the process involved is not restrictedl to fuel oil
emulsions (in conjunction with the emulsifiers and stabilising agents
specified above), but any of the various lighter hydrocarbon oils such
as fuel oils, kerosenes, cut-back cracking-still tars, or any of:the
gas oils can be used as the insoluble and unsaponifiable oil required.
Fuel oil, however, on account of its low cost and because it is more
readily available, is to be preferred from a commercial point of view.
In bringing the invention into practical operation it has been
discovered that there is in relation to any given ore being treated a
certain ratio of the reagents added to the aqueous pulp which produces
the most economic results, that is to say. there is, in relation to
each of such ores, an optimum ratio. But although there is in every
case an optimum ratio of reagents, this ratio may vary considerably
from ore to ore and from oil to oil. It is therefore not practicable
to lay down even an approximate ratio that might be appropriate for
each case.
As an example of the process the following is given.
To each ton of davidite ore (as mined in Australia) which has
previously been crushed to - 10 mesh is added the following reagents.

4. Sulphonated Whale Oil Linoleic Acid Fuel Oil Cresylic Acid 1.5 lb.
2.0 Ib.6.0 lb.
0.2 lb.
and the whole is ground wvith water in a ball mill till the mesh of
grind is - 100 mesh or approximately 80%' - 200 mesh. This ground pulp
is overflowed from a classifier at 15'% 5olids by weight.
The pulp is then thickened to 40% solids by weight in a thickener and
this thickened pulp treated for 20 minutes in a bank of flotation
cells using air as the frothing controller.
The products from these cells consist of a final tailing denuded of as
much valuable material as possible, which is discarded to waste, and a
rougher concentrate of comparatively low grade which is retreated to
increase the valuable mineral content by the rejection of barren
material. This final flotation concentrate is collected and stored for
subsequent chemical treatment.
Ail average result for this treatment is Weight Distribution 3 of UO,
as %'' Feed to flotation cells 100 Final flotation concentrate 23
Tailings 77 82 Although in the above example the reagents are added to
the ore before the subdivision 85 stage, it is equally possible to
add,the reagents to the ore either during or after the subdivision
stage.
In the above example, the linoleic acid is added in order to reduce
the cost, since sulphonated whale oil is expensive and is in limited
supply. It has been found that the linoleic acid has an action similar
to that of the sulphonated whale oil which is a preferred emulsifying
agent. Instead of linoleic acid, it 95 is also possible to add other
unsaturated higher fatty acids, which may be derived from linseed,
e.g. linolenic acid.
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* 5.8.23.4; 93p