A process for concentrating desired particles containing a carrier-magnetic-separation with the following steps, providing a feedstock which contains the desired particles; adding hydrophobic magnetic particles to the feedstock which results in a loaded feedstock containing agglomerates of the magnetic particles and the desired particles or of the magnetic particles and the undesired material; separating the agglomerates from the loaded feedstock by a separation method which results in isolated agglomerates, breaking up the isolated agglomerates to obtain a suspension having magnetic particles in de-agglomerated form; and separating the magnetic particles from the suspension obtained in step d) by a separation method and provided that at least one separation method is a magnetic separation, and where the process has at least one further separation and where the further separation is s sorting, electric separation, screening, classification, gravity concentration, and flotation.

Method of separating individual cathode active materials from a mixture of cathode active materials by froth flotation has been developed. They are based on using appropriate chemical reagents that selectively hydrophobize individual cathode active materials to be recovered, so that they can be collected by air bubbles used in flotation and separated from other mixtures. The chemical reagents are amphiphilic molecules with specialized head groups have a strong affinity to metal elements on surfaces of cathode materials. This method enables a separation of individual cathode active material from a mixture of cathode active materials.

Apparatus is provided featuring a first and second cells. The first cell receives an ore slurry having mineral particles of interest, receives unexpanded polymer microspheres comprising a surface having mineral collector chemistry attached thereto with molecules for attaching the mineral particles of interest, causes the unexpanded polymer microspheres to expand substantially in volume into expanded polymer microspheres having a substantially increased sphere surface area, and provides an expanded polymer microsphere foam layer comprising the expanded polymer microspheres with attached mineral particles of interest. The second cell receives the expanded polymer microsphere foam layer, and causes the expanded polymer microspheres to collapse substantially in volume into collapsed polymer microspheres having a substantially reduced sphere surface area that results in a mechanical shearing off of the attached mineral particles of interest. The second cell may also provide a mineral concentrate output having the mineral particles of interest.

Apparatus uses engineered collection media to recover mineral particles in a slurry. The apparatus has a tumbler cell and a rotation device to rotate the tumbler cell. The tumbler cell has a container to hold a mixture of the engineered media and the slurry containing the mineral particles. The container is turned such that at least part of the mixture in the upper part of the container is caused to interact with at least part of the mixture in the lower part of the container. As such, the contact between the engineered media and the mineral particles is enhanced. The surfaces of the engineered media are functionalized with a chemical having molecules to attract the mineral particles to the surfaces so as to form mineral laden media. After the mineral laden media are discharged from the tumbler cell, the mineral particles can be separated from the engineered media by stripping.

The present invention relates to a process for the separation of at least one hydrophobic or hydrophobized material from a dispersion comprising said at least one hydrophobic or hydrophobized material and at least one second material. The process according to the present invention comprises the steps (A) to (D) which are described herein.

A selective recirculation circuit has a loading stage, a stripping stage and a filtering stage for use in processing a feed stream or slurry containing mineral particles. The stripping stage forms a first loop with the loading stage, and a second loop with the filtering stage. The loading stage has a loading mixer and a loading washing screen. The stripping stage has a stripping mixer and a stripping washing screen. The loading mixer receives the slurry and causes barren media in the circuit to contact with the slurry so that the mineral particles in the slurry are loaded onto the barren media. The media is directed to the stripping stage where the mineral particles are removed from the media. The barren media is recycled to the loading stage. The stripping solution recovered from the filtering stage is returned to the stripping stage and the mineral particles are discharged as concentrate.

Apparatus for use in, or forming part of, a separation process to be implemented in separation processor technology, the apparatus comprising synthetic bubbles or beads configured with a polymer or polymer-based material functionalized to attach to a valuable material in a mixture so as to form an enriched synthetic bubbles or beads having the valuable material attached thereto, and also configured to be separated from the mixture based at least partly on a difference in a physical property between the enriched synthetic bubbles or beads having the valuable material attached thereto and the mixture.

The present invention provides new techniques related to magnetically controllable and/or steerable froth for use in separation processes of mineral-bearing ore and bitumen. Apparatus is provided featuring a processor configured to contain a fluidic medium having a material-of-interest and also having a surfactant with magnetic properties so as to cause the formation of a froth layer that contains at least some of the material-of-interest and is magnetically responsive; and a magnetic field generator configured to generate a magnetic field and provide non-mechanical mixing and steering/driving of the froth layer in the processor. The material-of-interest may be mineral-bearing ore particles or bitumen. The processor includes a flotation tank, a primary separation vessel (PSV), or a pipe, including a tailings pipeline. The pipe has a non-magnetic pipe section, and the magnetic field generator includes a magnetic coil arranged in relation to non-magnetic pipe section to generate the magnetic field and provide the non-mechanical mixing and steering/driving of the froth layer in the pipe.

A synthetic bead for use in mineral separation is described. The synthetic bead has a surface made of a synthetic material such as polymer and the synthetic material is functionalized with molecules having a functional group for attaching mineral particles to the surface in a separation process. The synthetic beads can be placed in flotation cell containing a mixture of water, valuable material and unwanted material or in a pipeline where the mixture is transported from one location to another. The enriched synthetic beads carrying the mineral particles are separated from the unwanted materials in the mixture. The mineral particles are then released from the synthetic beads by means of low pH treatment, ultrasonic agitation, thermal or electromagnetic treatment.

Apparatus featuring synthetic bubbles or beads and a flotation stage. The synthetic bubbles or beads are configured with a polymer or polymer-based material functionalized to attach to the valuable material in a mixture to form at least some enriched synthetic bubbles or beads having the valuable material attached thereto, and also configured to be transported through the mixture based at least partly on a characteristic of the synthetic bubbles or beads. The flotation stage has the mixture containing valuable material, and is configured to receive the synthetic bubbles or beads and to provide the at least some enriched synthetic bubbles or beads having the valuable material attached thereto based at least partly the characteristic of the synthetic bubbles or beads.