Base metals are among the key drivers propelling the economy’s expansion due to their widespread uses and applications. They are used as input factors in the construction of houses, transportation, plants, machinery, pipes, electrical cables, etc. As high-grade base metal sulphide deposits continue to diminish rapidly, the focus is shifting towards recovering these metals from lower grade oxidised and mixed ore deposits. This article critically discusses several research attempts made on the pretreatment of oxidised and mixed ores to increase base metal recoveries by froth flotation, as well as their benefits and drawbacks. Finally, the paper proposes further research and suggest steps forward to pretreatment of oxidised base metals. It is strongly believed that with proper pretreatment of oxidised base metals prior to flotation, when established as a viable technology recognised by industry, will contribute to the sustainability of base metal industry.

中文翻译：

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利用泡沫浮选技术对氧化矿石中的贱金属进行预处理和回收 – 综述


由于贱金属的广泛使用和应用，贱金属是推动经济扩张的主要驱动力之一。它们用作房屋、交通、工厂、机械、管道、电缆等建造的输入因素。随着高品位贱金属硫化物矿床继续迅速减少，重点正在转向从低品位氧化和混合矿床中回收这些金属。本文批判性地讨论了对氧化和混合矿石进行预处理以提高泡沫浮选贱金属回收率的几项研究尝试，以及它们的优缺点。最后，本文提出了进一步的研究，并提出了氧化贱金属预处理的前进步骤。人们坚信，在浮选前对氧化贱金属进行适当的预处理，当成为行业公认的可行技术时，将有助于贱金属行业的可持续发展。