Antimony has a long and diverse history of applications, and concerns about its future supply have emerged in recent years. Stibnite-bearing ores continue to be the main source of this critical element, although its sourcing from secondary resources (e.g. mine tailings) is becoming increasingly relevant yet technically challenging. In this sense, froth flotation plays a key role in the recovery of stibnite from both sources. In view of this, a comprehensive review of technical and environmental aspects related to the flotation of stibnite across scales (microflotation, bench-scale and industrial-scale) has been carried out. One of the major topics reviewed is stibnite flotation reagents; while the overall practice has been mostly conservative, relying on the use of xanthate collectors and lead nitrate as an activator, less common (bio)reagents for the flotation of stibnite ores of varying complexity have been shown to be a promising alternative. Other challenges identified from the literature are discussed, highlighting areas of opportunities for further research to enhance stibnite flotation, minimise antimony losses throughout the mine life cycle and thus make antimony more available for future generations.

锑的应用历史悠久，种类繁多，近年来对它的未来供应的担忧也逐渐显现。含辉锑矿的矿石仍然是该关键元素的主要来源，尽管从二次资源（例如矿山尾矿）中采购矿石变得越来越重要，但在技术上却具有挑战性。从这个意义上讲，泡沫浮选在两种来源的辉石的回收中都起着关键作用。有鉴于此，已对各种规模（微浮选，台式规模和工业规模）中闪辉石浮选相关的技术和环境方面进行了全面审查。审查的主要主题之一是辉锑矿浮选试剂。尽管总体做法大多是保守的，但依赖于使用黄药收集器和硝酸铅作为活化剂，浮选不同复杂性的辉锑矿矿石的较不常见的（生物）试剂已被证明是一种有前途的选择。讨论了从文献中发现的其他挑战，突出了需要进一步研究的领域，以增强辉锑矿的浮选，在整个矿山生命周期中尽量减少锑的损失，从而使子孙后代可以使用更多的锑。