ABSTRACT
Fatty amines are cationic surfactants which are frequently employed as a collector in flotation for the purpose of creating a hydrophobic state at the surface of se lected particles. Amines are common collectors because in their cationic form they can adsorb at the negatively charged mineral surfaces. For example, a mix ture of primary and secondary amines is used to separate KC1 from NaCl and to float quartz from phosphate minerals. Extensive work by Gaudin on the mecha nism of flotation using cationic agents was done long ago [1]. Since these basic principles were identified, further investigations have explained the flotation mechanism in more detail [2]. It has been suggested that in some flotation proc esses where primary amines are used, a precipitate of the collector colloid forms or adsorbs at the mineral surface and accounts for flotation [3, 4].
