Minerals are separated from waste rock using a variety of physical and chemical methods in mineral processing.
The main methods include:
Ore separation methods exploit physical property differences to isolate valuable minerals from waste. Gravity separation uses density variations through heavy media separation, jigging, shaking tables, and centrifugal concentrators.
Magnetic separation applies magnets to extract magnetic minerals, mainly in iron ore processing.
Electrostatic separation relies on electrical charges to separate minerals by conductivity and surface charge, while dense media separation (DMS) a gravity-based method uses a dense fluid medium to divide heavier valuable minerals from lighter gangue(Tech, 2021).
Froth flotation employs chemical reagents to render valuable minerals hydrophobic, allowing air bubbles to lift them to the surface and separate them from hydrophilic waste; it is widely applied to sulfide ores like copper, zinc, and molybdenum(“What Is Flotation?,” 2025).
Leaching chemically dissolves target minerals in a solvent, enabling their separation from waste rock, commonly used in gold and copper recovery.
Electrowinning then extracts metals from the leach solution, serving as a complementary metal recovery step rather than a primary separation method.
We rely on processes like Flotation, Gravity, and Leaching, but which one is truly the most complex to optimize? Let’s discuss the chemistry!
Reference:
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Tech, S. T. (2021, September 9). Different types of separation methods for minerals. STET. https://steqtech.com/types-of-separation-methods-for-minerals/
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What is Flotation? Understanding Mineral Separation Techniques. (2025, January 22). Discovery Alert. https://discoveryalert.com.au/what-is-flotation-understanding-mineral-separation-techniques/
