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Show Bubbles At Work . i i Flotation Cells where minerals are lifted to top by bubbles and saved for use In industry. Probably no other industry Is subject to the varyance of conditions condi-tions as is the mining Industry. The fine line between success and failure of a mine is dependent upon many and varied conditions. Of course there are a few high grade mines that can produce without much regard for varying conditions, condi-tions, but the yare very, very few and do not last long if they do. One of the things which the mining industry of today relies so much upon is the science of flotation. flota-tion. If the mine can get its product prod-uct past the flotation cells successfully, success-fully, it is usually okeh. But the bubbles, which pick up the particles of minerals in the flotation decide the future of many prospects and mines. Flotation is a scientific development develop-ment which has been applied to the low-grade ores of Utah and other mining area?. In a sense it is similar sim-ilar to the milling of wheat, it separates the wheat from the chaff, or the minerals from the waste or gangue. After the ore has been finely ground, it is sent to the flotation cells, where oil and other reagent3 are added. The oils and reagents form bubbles when subjected to agitation in the flotation cells. The bubbles percolate through the cells and come to the top in the form of froth. The mineral particles have an affinity for the bubbles or oily froth and as they form on top of the cells are skimmed or allowed to float off the top of the cell. The barren rock or gangue on the other hand has no affinity for the oil froth or bubbles and settles to the bottom of the flotation cell, where it is released and sent to the talings pond. The flotation process is reverse to the laws of gravity. The heavier particles, the metal, float to the top and are saved while the lighter particles sink to the bottom where they are discarded to the tailings pond. |