Where to buy lab scale floatation chemicals

[olddesertrat]

Hello everybody:

Have found a 100+ year old gold mine. Main shaft last mined in 1930s. Tailings last processed in 1980s. 1980s assay has tailing gold value a 1/2 oz gold and 4 oz silver per ton. Issue: Gold and Silver is micro sized and mixed in main ore of lead, zinc, and chalcopyrite( iron/copper) sulfides.
Plan: Crush down 50 lbs of tailings, do sulfide flotation concentration, and send concentrate to lab for assay.
Have crushed ore, build DYI flotation system.
Issue: Have spend hours and hours on internet looking for any company that sells flotation chemicals in lab scale amounts. So far have found nothing but industrial suppliers. No company that sells in lab amounts have answered my email.
Understand pine oil was used in past. Bought essential pine oil. Does not work as frother. Would like to use non-toxic chemicals.
Can anybody point me to person or company that can sell me lab scale amounts of flotation chemicals?
Thanks in advance for all help

 

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[BlasterJ]

Try the company below. If you know what you want, the likely have it. You might need to read the SDS (Safety Data Sheet) from one of the big suppliers to find out that you need pine oil+lye and detergent or whatever, but they should have the ingredients:

https://www.elementalscientific.net/

 

[Mad Machinist]

Hello everybody:

Have found a 100+ year old gold mine. Main shaft last mined in 1930s. Tailings last processed in 1980s. 1980s assay has tailing gold value a 1/2 oz gold and 4 oz silver per ton. Issue: Gold and Silver is micro sized and mixed in main ore of lead, zinc, and chalcopyrite( iron/copper) sulfides.
Plan: Crush down 50 lbs of tailings, do sulfide flotation concentration, and send concentrate to lab for assay.
Have crushed ore, build DYI flotation system.
Issue: Have spend hours and hours on internet looking for any company that sells flotation chemicals in lab scale amounts. So far have found nothing but industrial suppliers. No company that sells in lab amounts have answered my email.
Understand pine oil was used in past. Bought essential pine oil. Does not work as frother. Would like to use non-toxic chemicals.
Can anybody point me to person or company that can sell me lab scale amounts of flotation chemicals?
Thanks in advance for all help

Gold is very oleophilic meaning it has an affinity for oils. We use plain old diesel fuel. If needed a few pig blankets will soak the diesel fuel right of the tip of the water without taking on any water.

https://www.newpig.com/pig-oil-only...adV-ot3nf61T51wjRZIGWQw2wJT_l76BoCtkkQAvD_BwE

 

[arizau]

Gold is very oleophilic meaning it has an affinity for oils. We use plain old diesel fuel. If needed a few pig blankets will soak the diesel fuel right of the tip of the water without taking on any water.

https://www.newpig.com/pig-oil-only...adV-ot3nf61T51wjRZIGWQw2wJT_l76BoCtkkQAvD_BwE

Are you using a floatation setup similar to that used in your employers concentrator....paddles scraping the pregnant froth into a launder...or what?

Out of curiosity have you done any experimentation with just pouring fine ground, free milling gold ore or minus 100 mesh, etc. classified black sand concentrates through a layer of diesel floating on water? It seems to me that, providing the gold is "bright", that most of the micro-gold in the feed would attach and float with the fuel.

 

[BlasterJ]

FYI, the August issue of ICMJ has this question answered by the editors.