Abstract Effective collector is essential in columbite-tantalite flotation from gravity tailings, as well as in the sustainable utilisation of Ta–Nb resources. In this study, benzohydroxamic acid (BHA) and sodium isobutyl xanthate (SIBX) were introduced as a mixed collector system to improve the flotation of columbite–tantalite at reduced cost. An increase in columbite-tantalite recovery was observed in the presence of BHA–SIBX mixtures relative to those with BHA alone. The 3:1 BHA–SIBX mixture exhibited the highest columbite-tantalite recovery. The synergistic enhancement of the flotation performance was attributed to the improved adsorption of the BHA–SIBX mixture on the columbite-tantalite surface compared to that on BHA alone. Batch flotation tests of real ore showed that, compared with BHA (600 g/t), a smaller amount of the BHA–SIBX mixture (400 g/t) was needed to achieve better Ta2O5 recovery. Additionally, an economic evaluation confirmed the economic efficiency of recovering fine columbite-tantalite from gravity tailings using the mixed BHA–SIBX collector.

中文翻译：

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一种用于铌钽铁矿浮选的混合捕收剂系统

摘要 高效捕收剂对于重力尾矿中铌钽铁矿的浮选以及Ta-Nb资源的可持续利用至关重要。在这项研究中，苯异羟肟酸 (BHA) 和异丁基黄原酸钠 (SIBX) 被引入作为混合捕收剂系统，以降低成本改善铌钽铁矿的浮选。在 BHA-SIBX 混合物的存在下，相对于单独使用 BHA 的混合物，观察到铌铁矿-钽铁矿的回收率增加。3:1 BHA-SIBX 混合物表现出最高的铌钽铁矿回收率。浮选性能的协同增强归因于与单独使用 BHA 相比，BHA-SIBX 混合物在铌钽矿-钽铁矿表面的吸附改善。实矿批量浮选试验表明，与 BHA（600 g/t）相比，需要更少量的 BHA-SIBX 混合物 (400 g/t) 以实现更好的 Ta2O5 回收率。此外，一项经济评估证实了使用混合 BHA-SIBX 捕收剂从重力尾矿中回收细小铌钽铁矿的经济效率。