The flotation separation of scheelite and barite is difficult because they have the same active sites. The surface transformation of semi-soluble minerals is inevitable in the flotation of salt minerals, but an effective flotation separation can be achieved through the dissolution and surface transformation of fluorite. In the current flotation test, fluorite particles and sodium fluoride are efficient depressants for barite but not for scheelite. These results suggest that fluorite ions released from fluorite are crucial to the separation of barite and scheelite. Zeta potential measurement indicates that fluorite ions can obviously shift the surface charge of barite, but it cannot influence that of scheelite. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirms that fluoride ions are strongly chemisorbed on the barite surface and generate BaF₂. Atomic force microscopy measurement directly illustrates the change in the barite surface morphology and the formed BaF₂ film. Thus, surface transformation is clearly important for flotation and provides a new strategy for the separation of salt minerals.

白钨矿和重晶石的浮选很难进行，因为它们具有相同的活性位点。在盐矿物的浮选中，难溶性矿物的表面转化是不可避免的，但是通过萤石的溶解和表面转化可以实现有效的浮选分离。在目前的浮选试验中，萤石颗粒和氟化钠是重晶石的有效抑制剂，而不是白钨矿。这些结果表明，萤石释放出的萤石离子对于重晶石和白钨矿的分离至关重要。Zeta电位测量表明，萤石离子可以明显改变重晶石的表面电荷，但不能影响白钨矿的表面电荷。X射线光电子能谱证实氟离子在重晶石表面上被强烈化学吸附并生成BaF₂。原子力显微镜测量直接说明了重晶石表面形态和形成的BaF ₂膜的变化。因此，表面转化对于浮选显然很重要，并为分离盐矿提供了新的策略。