A Review on the Beneficiation Methods of Borate Minerals

Abstract

The modern boron applications have adsorbed the mineral processors’ attention to improve typical boron mineral’s (BM) beneficiation methods. In this regard, dry treatment and pretreatment processes—such as magnetic separation and calcination as environmentally friendly methods, due to their minimal or zero adverse effect on the environment—need more consideration. Over the years, anionic flotation has become the main technique for beneficiation of friable BMs; however, there is a gap in the investigation of cationic flotation separation since BMs’ surface negatively charges in a wide pH range. At present, enriching BMs’ flotation via surface modification is taking center stage, which can also be considered for reprocessing long-forgotten BM tailings. As a comprehensive review, this work is going to provide a synopsis of the processes, techniques, optimum parameters, and conditions—such as size reduction, zeta potential, pH, and reagents—which have been employed in the processing of BMs. Gaps in our understanding of BM’s flotation are presented in the context of addressing the existing processes, considering possibilities and rooms for efficiency improvement. Considering these gaps may improve the performance of existing methods for processing fine and ultrafine BMs, and help in the development of new technologies to improve flotation recoveries.