Abstract
The Bureau of Mines conducted laboratory batch and continuous flotation processing tests on waste granite fines from South Carolina to determine the possibility of recovering high-quality feldspar and glass sand. Three flotation systems were used for removal of the iron-bearing biotite. Two employed an alkaline anionic-cationic circuit and the third employed an acid cationic circuit. Commercial-grade products were obtained when the remaining biotite was magnetically removed from the feldspar and quartz concentrates. Continuous flotation processing yielded a feldspar concentrate containing, in percent, 3.60 Na2o, 5.60 K2o, and 2.25 Cao, with recoveries of 75.3, 66.6, and 72.6 percent, respectively. The feldspar tailing was high quality glass sand containing 98.0 percent sio2 and 0.025 percent fe2o3; about 60 percent of the quartz was recovered. Work done in cooperation with the University of Alabama.
