Galena (PbS) is an important and abundant source of lead (Pb) metal. It often coexists with other sulphide minerals such as sphalerite (ZnS). Flotation has been extensively used to separate galena and sphalerite. Herein, a reagent scheme comprising aerofloat collectors and Zn²⁺ and SO₃²⁻ depressants is developed for the flotation separation of galena from sphalerite-rich sulphide ore. The flotation results demonstrate that Zn²⁺ and SO₃²⁻ provide a synergistic depression effect on sphalerite and the aerofloat collectors exhibit more selectivity towards galena. Static calculations and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations were employed to investigate the mechanism of the adopted reagent scheme on galena/sphalerite flotation separation at the atomic scale. The reagent scheme used here has great potential for beneficiating other galena-containing sulfide ores. The calculation and simulation results can help in the design of novel collectors and depressants exhibiting excellent selectivity for the flotation separation of galena/sphalerite.

方铅矿（PbS）是重要的，丰富的铅（Pb）金属来源。它通常与闪锌矿（ZnS）等其他硫化矿物共存。浮选已被广泛用于分离方铅矿和闪锌矿。本文中，开发了一种试剂方案，该方案包括浮选捕集剂和Zn ²⁺和SO ₃ ^2-抑制剂，用于从富含闪锌矿的硫化矿石中浮选方铅矿。浮选结果表明Zn ²⁺和SO ₃ ^2-提供了对闪锌矿的协同抑制作用，并且浮游物收集器对方铅矿具有更高的选择性。静态计算和从头算分子动力学模拟被用来研究所采用的试剂方案对方铅矿/闪锌矿浮选分离的原子机理。这里使用的试剂方案在选矿其他含方铅矿的硫化矿中具有巨大的潜力。计算和模拟结果可以帮助设计新型的捕集剂和抑制剂，它们对方铅矿/闪锌矿的浮选具有极好的选择性。