Morrice E., Wong M.M. Flotation of Rare Earths from Bastnäsite Ore

Report for the Federal Bureau of Mines
Reno, NV, USA, 1982, pp. 1–13 (OCR).As part of its efforts to maximize process efficiency and decrease energy requirements in mineral processes, the Federal Bureau of Mines has investigated methods for beneficiating bastnäsite ores from Mountain Pass, California. The results of a bench-scale study on the flotation of bastnäsite ore are presented. Flotation at a pulp temperature of 40° to 45°C yielded a cleaner concentrate containing 58,7% Ln₂O₃ at a rare-earth recovery of 67%. These results are comparable to those reported for the commercial beneficiation method in which the pulp is heated to boiling before flotation. An attempt was also made to recover a barite flotation concentrate from the bastnäsite rougher tailing. Concentrates containing only 70% barite were obtained.