Homogenization phenomena of surface components of fluorite and calcite

The flotation separation of fluorite and calcite poses one of the most difficult problems in the mineral processing industry. In particular, the surface homogenization of fluorite and calcite worsens the result of fluorite flotation. In this paper, time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry and principal component analysis are used to study the surface homogenization of fluorite and calcite during grinding and in solution using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and solution chemical calculations. The results show that the surface composition of calcite converts to fluorite after mixed grinding and that the surface composition of fluorite also converts to calcite in clarified calcite solution.