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A Critical Overview of Dithiophosphinate and Dithiophosphate Interactions with Base Metal Sulfides and Precious Metals

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Abstract

Historically, as for most reagents used in flotation, the wide-spread use of dialkyl dithiophosphinates as collectors in practical applications has preceded a detailed scientific understanding of how they work. Dialkyl dithiophosphinates are a technologically and commercially important class of collectors used in the flotation processing of Cu-Au, complex polymetallic, and precious metal ores. Plant usage has demonstrated that dithiophosphinates exhibit higher selectivity and flotation rates for Cu sulfides, galena, and precious metal values in the presence of other gangue sulfides, than the traditionally used collectors such as dialkyl dithiophosphates and xanthates. They also have an attractive health, safety, and environmental (HSE) profile. Although dithiophosphinates received little attention in the past in the flotation research community, recently, there has been significant interest in this chemistry, and numerous studies have been conducted to understand the fundamental interactions of dithiophosphinates with several base metal sulfides and precious metals. A critical overview of fundamental studies, laboratory ore flotation, and plant practice of dithiophosphinates is given in this paper. The findings from these studies are rationalized and explained by drawing on concepts and insights from coordination chemistry. A comparison between the interactions with various minerals and metals of dithiophosphinate and dithiophosphate analogues brings out some of the subtleties that seemingly minor changes in collector chemistry can make. The critical overview and analysis given here is useful in identifying gaps in knowledge regarding this important class of compounds. This in turn can provide a basis for the design of studies to advance our understanding of dithiophosphinate flotation performance.

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Notes

  1. DIBDTPi and AEROPHINE® 3418A are often used interchangeably in this paper; we have attempted to use the appropriate term wherever possible.

  2. Based on Safety Data Sheet: For AEROPHINE® 3418A, the oral and dermal exposure limits are 3.35 and 5 g/kg respectively; those for dithiophosphates are 4.5 and 2 g/kg; for potassium amyl xanthate, the oral exposure limit is 1.2 g/kg. AEROPHINE® 3418A is not a water pollutant. It does not release any toxic gases in flotation use, unlike xanthate which can generate CS2 and COS due to hydrolysis. AEROPHINE® 3418A has an NFPA rating of 2 (health), 1 (fire), and 0 (reactivity)—all of which are low. Potassium Amyl xanthate has a rating of 3, 4, and 0, and diisobutyl dithiophosphate 3, 2, and 1.

  3. All potentials reported hereafter are in reference to the standard hydrogen electrode. Therefore, for any given work described, values cited in terms of other references were converted accordingly.

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We thank the management of Solvay for their support and permission to publish this work.

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    Napoleon Tercero, D. R. Nagaraj & Raymond Farinato

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Tercero, N., Nagaraj, D.R. & Farinato, R. A Critical Overview of Dithiophosphinate and Dithiophosphate Interactions with Base Metal Sulfides and Precious Metals. Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration 36, 99–110 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42461-018-0039-1

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