Effect of High-Voltage Nanosecond Pulses on the Physicochemical and Technological Properties of Rare-Metal Minerals

Abstract

The mechanism of the structural and chemical state modification of columbite, tantalite and zircon surface under the effect of high-voltage nanosecond pulses is investigated using a set of precision physical and chemical methods (e.g., XPS, FTIR, SEM–EDX, potentiometric titration, electrophoretic light scattering, AFM–Kelvin force probe microscopy, and microhardness). An effective mode of preliminarily treating rare-metal minerals with high-voltage nanosecond pulses to produce directional changes in their physicochemical, electrical, mechanical, and technical properties is validated that increases mineral flotation and sorption activity and greatly improves the flotation technological characteristics of columbite and zircon.