Improve Copper and Gold Recovery with a High-Performance Flometal Q93 Frother

In the flotation process of non-ferrous sulfide ores, although frothers do not directly collect minerals, they determine the efficiency with which bubbles can carry, transport, and separate the target minerals. It can be said that while collectors determine whether minerals can attach to bubbles, frothers determine whether they can be successfully lifted—cleanly and stably. For sulfide ores such as copper, lead, zinc, molybdenum, nickel, gold, and silver, high-quality frothers serve as a critical link between the reagent regime and flotation performance.

Air bubbles serve as the "transport vehicles" for mineral recovery. In non-ferrous sulfide ores, target minerals typically occur as fine or medium-to-fine disseminations, requiring a sufficient number of bubbles of appropriate size for capture. For fine and ultrafine sulfide ores, high-quality frothers generate finer bubbles, thereby increasing the probability of collision and attachment for fine mineral particles and reducing metal loss. Consequently, the improper selection of frothers directly leads to reduced recovery rates, with a particularly significant impact on the recovery of fine sulfide ores and associated precious metals.

Y&X's independently developed Flometal Q93 frother is designed specifically for the flotation of non-ferrous metal sulfide ores. It produces a large volume of froth with reasonable bubble size distribution, moderate toughness, and low viscosity at low dosage. The reagent itself offers good fluidity, appropriate water solubility, is non-toxic, odorless, and non-corrosive, making transportation and addition extremely convenient.

More importantly, Flometal Q93's frothing performance is unaffected (or minimally affected) by pulp pH and other components in the pulp (such as unavoidable ions and other flotation reagents). It has no collecting action and does not affect the selectivity of collectors, making your flotation process more stable and controllable.

📊 Brazilian Copper Test Data: Flometal Q93 Stands Out

In a laboratory reagent comparison test for a copper operation in Brazil, Y&X Flometal Q93 frother was evaluated against the plant's current frother and another alternative reagent under the same conditions. The results were encouraging:

Among all frothers tested, Flometal Q93 delivered the best overall performance for both copper and gold recovery and was selected to continue into advanced testing as the candidate plant frother.

Why Does Reagent Optimization Matter?

Even a seemingly small change in frother chemistry can make a measurable difference in metallurgical performance. Y&X focuses on developing and testing flotation reagents for different ore types and operating conditions, helping customers identify the most suitable reagent combinations for their process to achieve higher recovery, optimized costs, and stable operations.