Minerals Engineering 78 (2015) 3237

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Minerals Engineering
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/mineng

The link between froth surface grade and otation feed grade
K. Hadler
Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 4 August 2014
Revised 10 March 2015
Accepted 26 March 2015
Available online 30 April 2015
Keywords:
Flotation froths
Froth stability
Flotation kinetics

a b s t r a c t
In froth otation, particles that are recovered to the concentrate comprise those attached to bubbles and
unattached particles, which include entrained material and particles that have become detached from
bubbles in the froth phase, but that are carried into the concentrate. The grade of the particles remaining
attached to bubbles at the froth surface is of interest as it offers information on the selective nature of the
froth phase and has been shown to indicate the maximum mineral grade that can be obtained for a given
feed. In this paper, the grade of particles attached to bubbles at the froth surface is shown as a function of
cell feed grade down a bank of cells, and is linked to variation in mineral liberation and otation kinetics.
The grade of attached particles at the froth surface is measured by touch sampling; touching an individual bubble with a microscope slide and collecting the solids. Data from two surveys carried out over
the rst four cells of the rougher bank at the same copper concentrator have been analysed. It has been
shown previously that the surface grade measured in this way does not vary with operating conditions
such as air rate, and here it is shown that when plotted as a function of cell feed grade, the attached par

ticle grade exhibits a clear trend that can be modelled empirically by the equation x 1  exp aGbv f ,
where x is the inferred liberation, taken as the attached particle grade at a given feed grade as a fraction of
the maximum grade obtainable for the feed to the bank, and Gvf is the cell feed grade. The shape of the
curve, determined by the tted parameters a and b, is dependent on the mineralogy and liberation characteristics of the feed. This relationship suggests that the variation in otation kinetics for particles of different liberation in a otation feed can be linked to attached particle grade.
2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
In froth otation, recovery of particles is generally characterised
as being by true otation, i.e. particles that attach to bubbles in
the pulp phase and are subsequently recovered to the concentrate,
or by non-selective entrainment, carried into the concentrate unattached to bubbles in the Plateau borders (Warren, 1985). Recovery
by true otation is described using a rst order rate constant to
account for the collection of particles in the pulp phase and a froth
recovery term, which accounts for particles arriving at the pulp
froth interface attached to bubbles, and which are subsequently
recovered to the concentrate. Froth recovery does not distinguish
between particles remaining attached through the froth phase
and those becoming detached during coalescence events, but
which are recovered unattached. During coalescence in the froth
phase, particles may become detached, whether through loss of
bubble surface or the vigorous nature of the event itself, particularly near the pulpfroth interface (Ata, 2012). The rejection of
unattached particles from the froth is strongly dependent on
E-mail addresses: k.hadler@imperial.ac.uk, kathryn@grindingsolutions.com
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2015.03.024
0892-6875/ 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

physical properties of the particles, such as size and density, and

the physical properties of the froth, such as viscosity in the
Plateau borders (the channels between bubbles) (Neethling, 2008).
Whether or not the froth phase is selective in the rejection of
particles of lower grade has been the subject of several studies at
both laboratory and industrial scale (Ata, 2009; Gourram-Badri
et al., 1997; Rahman et al., 2013; Seaman et al., 2004; Yianatos
et al., 1988, 2014). At laboratory scale, Ata (2009) studied the
detachment of particles during the coalescence of two bubbles
with one or both bubbles coated with silica particles of different
size and with varying concentrations of surfactant. Experiments
showed that increasing surfactant concentration resulted in a
decrease in the detachment of particles during coalescence, and
while the surfactant adsorbed both at the surface of the particles
and at the airwater interface, it was suggested that the presence
of particles increases the rigidity of the bubble shell, reducing
the effect of the turbulent oscillations that occur during coalescence that can lead to detachment. The results agree with ndings
from laboratory experiments carried out by Gourram-Badri et al.
(1997), who studied selectivity during bubble coalescence for a
mix of sphalerite and chalcopyrite particles from an industrial

K. Hadler / Minerals Engineering 78 (2015) 3237

concentrate. They showed that the particles of lower hydrophobicity, indicated using induction time measurements, tended to
become detached during coalescence. It should be noted, however,
that the experimental systems in both studies, consisting of two
bubbles submerged in solution, is more representative of the pulp
phase, or the region of the pulpfroth interface, rather than
towards the froth surface, where the liquid content is lower and
the bubbles are more polyhedral in structure.
Rahman et al. (2013) scaled up a laboratory device that allowed
the collection of particles dropping back through the froth, in addition to those reaching the froth surface, and tested it at a copper
concentrator. The results showed that the grade of the particles
collected in the drop back chamber was signicantly lower than
the concentrate grade, although higher than the tails grade, suggesting that the froth selectively rejects particles as a function of
grade, in addition to size. The authors conclude that the particles
dropping out of the froth were more likely to be middling particles.
Industrially, Yianatos et al. (1988) showed that mineral grade in
the froth increased towards the froth surface by taking samples at
different heights in a otation column froth, however they found
little difference in grade in shallower froths. Using in-pulp and
froth surface sampling techniques, Seaman et al. (2004) found that
there was little difference in the grade of attached particles
between the pulp and the froth surface in cleaner cells and columns at a zinc concentrator, however in the retreatment circuit
(cleaner-scavenger), the surface grade was higher than the grade
of particles attached to bubbles in the pulp in the mechanical cells,
but not in the nal cleaner column. This suggests that for cells with
higher feed grades (i.e. cleaner cells), there is little upgrading available within the froth possibly due to particles having similar liberation and/or size, however in cells where there is a lower feed
grade, or a greater range of particles of different liberations, then
there is selective rejection of lower grade particles. Mineral liberation is typically described as being the fraction of particle that is
constituted by the mineral of interest.
More recently, Yianatos et al. (2014) compared the grade and
size distribution of particles attached to bubbles in the pulp with
the top-of-froth (TOF) grade down a bank of Cu rougher cells.
They found that there was some upgrading between pulp and
froth for the coarser size fractions, but that there was insignicant selectivity for the ner fractions. It should be noted that
the method of collection of the TOF sample involves a shallow
scoop that skims off the top surface of the froth. This will collect
not only attached particles but also unattached particles at the
froth surface, which may be the reason for the contradictory
results to Seaman et al. (2004), who use a more targeted sampling approach that collects material from an individual bubble
surface. Yianatos et al. (2014) also show that the TOF grade
decreased down the bank, which they attribute to the recovery
of particles of lower liberation. The decrease in attached particle
grade at the froth surface down the bank was also reported by
Hadler et al. (2006), who showed additionally that the attached
particle grade (or lamellae grade) was not affected by variations
in operating conditions such as air owrate. This observation
had also been noted by Ventura-Medina et al. (2004) and
Barbian et al. (2005) suggesting that the attached particle grade
is more closely linked to the mineralogical characteristics of the
feed. Yianatos et al. (2014) conclude that the TOF measurement
allows for an indirect identication of the liberation effects on the
otation process.
Although there is some contradiction in the literature on the
selective nature of the froth in rejecting particles of poorer liberation and lower grade, the properties of the particles that remain
attached at the froth surface, such as grade and size, can give an
indication of the mineralogy and the liberation of the particles

33

being recovered, which is in turn linked to otation rate and

recovery. In this paper, the link between cell feed grade and
attached particle grade is explored further, and an empirical
model describing the link between feed and attached particle
grade is described.
2. Experimental methodology
The data presented in this paper are taken from two separate
periods of experimental work, carried out at the same copper concentrator 5 years apart, the aim of which was to investigate the
effects of operating conditions of froth stability and otation performance. Details of the ndings with respect to this aim can be
found in Hadler et al. (2006, 2010).
The copper concentrator comprises a bank of four rougher cells
and four scavenger cells, with a cleaner circuit, the tails of which
recycle into the scavenger row. In addition to samples of feed, concentrate and tails for each cell being sampled, air recovery was
measured using image analysis to determine the overowing froth
velocity, and manual measurements of the overowing froth
height. The effects of various operating conditions on air recovery
and otation performance were tested, including air rate. For each
operating condition, samples were also taken of the attached material at the froth surface and in the pulp (Survey 2 only).

2.1. Surface sampling method

There are two key methods reported for collecting froth surface
samples; touch sampling individual bubbles to collect only
attached material (Sadr-Kazemi and Cilliers, 2000) and bulk topof-froth sampling; collecting material from the top layer of froth
only using a shallow scoop (Yianatos et al., 2014). While the bulk
top-of-froth (TOF) sampling has the benet of allowing greater
quantities of material to be collected over shorter time periods,
enabling size-by-size analysis for example, it does not give a reliable measure of only attached particles. Typical otation froths
operate with air recoveries (the fraction of air entering the cell that
overows in unburst bubbles) of 50% or lower, often around 20%
for rougher cells (Hadler et al., 2006). These low values mean that
the majority of particles recovered to the concentrate are unattached (Hadler, 2006; Ventura-Medina and Cilliers, 2002). On the
other hand, the touch sampling method is laborious, and, with each
sample collecting in the order of 10 mg solids, time-consuming to
collect sufcient material for assay.
In the studies presented here, the touch sampling method was
used. The technique is described in detail in Ventura-Medina
et al. (2004), and requires precision as collecting too much material from the Plateau borders can reduce the measured grade of
the solids. Slower owing and more highly coated bubbles are
easier to sample in this way, and accurate sampling becomes
more difcult further down the bank, where the loading of particles on bubbles decreases and air recovery drops (Hadler et al.,
2006). For this reason, only the four cells of the roughers were
sampled in this way. In order to collect sufcient sample, around
100 bubbles were sampled (Ventura-Medina et al., 2004). As each
bubble print had a mass of approximately 10 mg at the head of
the bank, decreasing to 2 mg by the fourth cell, there was insufcient sample for size-by-size analysis. A typical bubble print is
shown in Fig. 1.
In addition to the surface samples, in during the second survey,
samples were also taken of the attached material in the pulp using
the Anglo Platinum Bubble Sizer, which is based on the design of
Hernandez-Aguilar et al. (2004). The reliability of this measure is
discussed in more detail later in the paper.

34

K. Hadler / Minerals Engineering 78 (2015) 3237

Fig. 1. Example of bubble print on touch sample.

50

Lamellae Grade (%Cu)

45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

mineralogy, but, as mentioned previously, is not dependent on

the operating conditions in a given cell. The results, therefore, suggest a change in the mineralogy of the feed between the two
surveys.
In addition to Cu grades, for Survey 1, grades of S and Si are also
available, while for Survey 2, Fe grades were measured. The dominant Cu minerals for this plant are chalcopyrite and bornite, with
minor pyrite (Albijanic et al., 2015). Assuming, therefore, that all S
and Fe present in the samples for Survey 1 and 2 respectively originate from either chalcopyrite or bornite, the proportion of the
sample that originates from Cu minerals can be estimated.
This is shown as a function of normalised feed grade in Fig. 3.
Comparison between the residual fraction (i.e. calculated gangue)
and the measured Si values for Survey 1 is given in Fig. 4, and
the strong linear correlation demonstrates the validity of the
assumptions used to calculate mineral content. It can be seen that
at higher feed grades, the proportion of Cu minerals in the attached
particles at the froth surface tends towards 100% for Survey 1, and
90% for Survey 2, suggesting that these are more fully liberated
particles. Further down the bank, just 60% of the attached material
is Cu mineral. This is likely to be related to particles of poorer liberation being recovered, however there may also be an increase in
the recovery of oatable gangue. The initial conclusion of a change
in mineralogy between the surveys is conrmed as the ratio of
chalcopyrite to bornite in the lamellae increases from an average
of 1.7 to 4.2 from Survey 1 to Survey 2. The higher proportion of
bornite in the feed in Survey 1 gives rise to the higher Cu grades
shown in Fig. 2.

Feed Grade (%Cu)

Survey 1

Survey 2

3.2. Comparison with grade of particles attached in the pulp

Fig. 2. Relationship between lamellae grade and feed grade for the two surveys.

3.1. Grade of attached particles at the froth surface

The grade of attached particles from Survey 1 has been reported
elsewhere (Hadler et al., 2006) as a function of cell position and
operating conditions. A similar approach has also been shown by
Seaman et al. (2004) and Yianatos et al. (2014), who demonstrate
variation in top of froth grade at different points in the otation
circuit. An alternative approach is shown in Fig. 2, where the grade
of particles attached to bubbles at the froth surface is shown as a
function of cell feed grade. For both surveys, samples were taken
from the rst four cells of the rougher bank only, with no recycle
streams or further reagent addition present. It has been shown
both in the more detailed analysis of Survey 1 data (Hadler et al.,
2006) and in other lamellae grade data (Ventura-Medina et al.,
2004) that lamellae grade does not vary with changes in operating
conditions such as air rate. This suggests that lamellae grade is
dependent predominantly on the properties of the feed, which is
conrmed by the data in Fig. 2. It should be noted that surveys
were carried out over a number of air rates (Surveys 1 and 2)
and two different froth depths and frother concentrations
(Survey 1 only).
While it can be seen that there is a clear link between cell feed
grade and attached particle grade, it is not possible, using a single
bulk assay value only, to prove that this is due to changes in the
liberation of valuable particles moving down the bank. For both
sets of data shown in Fig. 2, however, the lamellae grade
approaches a maximum value. For Survey 1, this maximum is
approximately 44% Cu, whilst for Survey 2, the maximum grade
is 35% Cu. This maximum grade represents the highest grade
obtainable for a given circuit feed, which will be dependent on

Cu mineral in lamellae (%)

3. Results and discussion

While the lamellae grade at the froth surface is an indicator of

the maximum grade obtainable at a given feed grade, some studies
(Rahman et al., 2013; Seaman et al., 2004) have shown that there is
a difference in grade between particles attached at or below the
pulpfroth interface and those at the froth surface. For Survey 2,
measurements taken using the Anglo Platinum Bubble Sizer, based
on the design by Hernandez-Aguilar et al. (2004), allowed for
material attached to bubbles in the pulp to be collected and the
Cu content to be determined (note; in this case, no Fe assay was
carried out due to the small amount of material collected). A comparison between the grade of the attached material in the pulp and
at the froth surface is shown in Fig. 5, along with the measured
concentrate grades for Survey 2 only.
There is some uncertainty as to the selectivity of collection of
material using techniques such as the Bubble Sizer, described by
both Montes-Atenas and Bradshaw (2010) and Moys et al.

100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
0.00

0.20

0.40

0.60

0.80

1.00

Normalised Feed Grade

Survey 1

Survey 2

Fig. 3. Proportion of Cu mineral in lamellae sample as a function of feed grade for

Survey 1.

35

50%

100%

45%

90%

40%

80%

Inferred Liberaon

Calculated gangue grade (%)

K. Hadler / Minerals Engineering 78 (2015) 3237

35%
30%

R = 0.9803

25%
20%
15%

70%
60%
50%
40%
30%

10%

20%

5%

10%

0%
0

10

15

20

0%
0.00

0.20

Silica grade (%)

0.40

0.60

0.80

1.00

Normalised feed grade

Fig. 4. Comparison between calculated gangue in lamellae and Si grade.

Survey 1

Survey 2

Survey 2 pulp

Fig. 7. Inferred liberation (lamellae grade/max grade) as a function of normalised

feed grade.

40
35

Grade (%Cu)

30
25
20
15

Aached grade in pulp

10

Aached grade at top of froth

Concentrate grade
0
0.00

0.20

0.40

0.60

0.80

1.00

Normalised Cell Feed Grade

Fig. 5. Concentrate grade shown as a function of feed grade, and compared to
attached particle grade in pulp and top of froth for Survey 2.

Cu mineral in lamellae (%)

100%
90%
80%
70%

the particles that remain attached; that is, during coalescence, particles of lower grade, or attached gangue particles, are more likely
to become detached from the bubble lms. As the technique for
sampling the top of froth is more selective than other methods
(e.g. Yianatos et al., 2014), there is a more marked difference
between the froth surface and pulp grades, particularly further
down the bank as feed grade drops. It is also noticeable that the
pulp bubble grade follows a similar trend with feed grade as does
the lamellae grade.
It can be seen in Fig. 5 that the concentrate grades lie between
the upper and lower bounds of the froth surface and pulp grades.
The variation observed in the concentrate grades is a result of
changes in operating conditions, in this case air rate, with those
concentrate grades lying towards the upper bound of the surface
grade being measured at low air rates and lower concentrate
grades being measured at higher air rates.
Low concentrate grades associated with high air rates are typically attributed to an increase in the recovery of non-selectively
entrained particles. As the lowest concentrate grades recorded in
Survey 2 are not lower than the grade of attached material collected from the pulp phase, this suggests either that not all material collected from the Bubble Sizer is that which is attached to
bubbles, or alternatively that entrained material accounts for a
low proportion of the recovered concentrate for this plant.

60%

3.3. An empirical model for attached particle grade

50%
40%
40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Lamellae grade/Max grade

Survey 1

Survey 2

Fig. 6. Comparison between fractional Cu grade in lamellae and calculated mineral

fraction in lamellae.

(2010), as unattached particles may also be recovered in the wake

of the rising bubbles, however the downward ow of water from
the collection chamber is intended to reduce this effect. While
the results must be viewed with an appreciation of the potential
errors in the measurement, it is useful to give an indication of
the variation of grade of particles in the region of, if not attached
to, bubbles below the pulpfroth interface.
Fig. 5 shows the difference in grade between the particles
attached at the froth surface, and those assumed to be attached
in the pulp, suggesting that the froth has an upgrading effect on

The relationship between attached particle grade and normalised feed grade shown in Figs. 3 and 5 exhibits a clear trend
that can be tted by an empirical model. There are two possible
parameters that can be modelled: Attached grade at a given feed
grade as a fraction of the maximum grade obtainable or the proportion of attached particles that are Cu mineral (as shown in
Fig. 3). Both can be used as an indicator of mineral liberation,
assuming that the maximum Cu grade obtainable at high feed
grades (as shown in Fig. 2) is that of fully liberated particles.
Using bulk assay data, rather than quantitative mineralogical data,
the calculation of the percentage of mineral shown in Fig. 3 is
dependent on knowledge of the principal Cu-bearing minerals,
and of the gangue minerals, and more than one elemental assay
value (which becomes problematic when very low quantities of
material are collected). Fig. 6 compares these two indicators of liberation, where for Survey 1, the fraction of Cu minerals has been
determined using assay values for Cu and S, whereas for Survey
2, Cu and Fe values have been used. It can be seen that there is

36

K. Hadler / Minerals Engineering 78 (2015) 3237

Table 1
Values of tted parameters a and b in Eq. (1) for the models shown in Fig. 7.

Survey 1 surface
Survey 2 surface
Survey 2 pulp

3.9
9.5
2.8

0.8
1.0
1.2

size fraction and liberation. The term kc/kcmax therefore represents

the rate constant at a given liberation and size as a fraction of the
most liberated particles in that size fraction. Jameson (2012) concludes that the data in Fig. 8 shows that the rate constant of a particle of a given liberation class is rstly determined by that of the
fully-liberated particle of the same size. A correction factor can then
be applied to allow for the effect of liberation. The attached grade
at the froth surface gives the maximum grade obtainable for a given
feed, and therefore it is postulated that the range of lamellae grades
down the bank are indicative of the range of particle liberation present in the feed to that bank. The attached grade at the froth surface,
therefore, could be linked to the distribution of otation rate constants for a otation feed.

4. Conclusions

Fig. 8. Ratio of the rate constant k to the maximum rate constant kmax as a function
of the liberation class, for particles of the mean size shown. Taken from Jameson
(2012).

good agreement between the fractional Cu lamellae grade and percentage of Cu mineral for Survey 1, however for Survey 2, the percentage of mineral is lower than the fractional grade, indicating
potentially higher error in using Fe grades to determine percentage
of Cu mineral. In the remainder of this study, therefore, fractional
Cu grade (lamellae grade at a given feed grade as a fraction of
the maximum grade obtained) is used as the indicator of liberation.
The fractional grade of attached particles, or inferred liberation
(x), can be linked to the normalised cell feed grade (Gvf) using Eq.
(1), as shown in Fig. 7 for surface samples and the pulp bubble
samples from Survey 2. The parameters a and b are tted, and have
no physical meaning, however it is expected that they would be
linked to changes in mineralogy, which consequently affects rate
constant. The values of the tted parameters are given in Table 1.



x 1  exp aGbv f

3.4. The link between froth surface grade and otation rate constant
The relationship between mineral liberation and otation rate
constant has been explored by several researchers, including the
recent study by Jameson (2012) using data from Welsby et al.
(2010), in which size-by-liberation data for a otation feed was
used to demonstrate that the rate constant as a fraction of the maximum rate constant for a given particle size is dependent on liberation only, replicated in Fig. 8. Jameson (2012) suggests an
empirical model for this relationship (Eq. (2)).

kc
Ax expBxc
kcmax

where x is the fractional liberation and A, B and C are tting parameters. The term kcmax is the rate constant for the most liberated particles in a given size range, with kc being the rate constant at a given

Mineral liberation is one of the key factors that determines

otation rate constant. In this paper, the grade of particles attached
to bubbles at the froth surface is related to cell feed grade, and it is
suggested that this can be used to infer mineral liberation for a
otation feed.
Analysis has been carried out using data from two surveys carried out over the rst four cells of the rougher bank at the same
copper concentrator. Surface sampling was used to measure the
grade of particles attached at the froth surface, which was shown
to exhibit a clear trend when plotted as a function of cell feed
grade. The attached particle grade (or lamellae grade) is the highest
grade that can be obtained for a given feed grade, and at the head
of the bank, these particles can be assumed to comprise fully liberated particles. This was veried by calculating the Cu mineral fraction of the samples using additional elemental assay values. In any
given cell, therefore, the lamellae grade as a fraction of the maximum grade can be used as an indicator of particle liberation for
that cell. It is proposed that the relationship between inferred liberation (lamellae grade at a given feed grade as a fraction of maximum lamellae grade) and cell feed grade can be tted by the


empirical model, x 1  exp aGbv f where x is the inferred liberation, Gvf is the normalised cell feed grade and a and b are tted
parameters.
Comparison between the lamellae grade, concentrate grade and
attached particle grade in the pulp for one of the surveys suggested
that there is selective detachment occurring in the froth of particles of lower grade. Additionally, the concentrate grade was generally between the upper and lower bounds of the surface and pulp
grades respectively, suggesting minimal recovery of entrained particles for this operation.
This re-analysis of data suggests that the attached particle grade
at the froth surface measured down a bank of cells represents the
range of mineral liberations present in a otation feed, which can
be used subsequently to gain information on the otation kinetics.
Acknowledgement
The author would like to thank Rio Tinto for funding this
research.
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