Publications Repository - Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf

The Helmholtz-Institute Freiberg (HIF) founded in 2011 conducts research on innovative techniques for the enhanced processing of strategic metal containing resources. Flotation has been identified as the most essential process in the minerals processing department to be focusing research on. In this paper we introduce a force mapping technique based on non-contact colloidal probe atomic force microscopy where a cantilever with an attached hydrophobic sphere is oscillating above a planarized ore sample in the aqueous environment including dissolved collector molecules. The physical background of force-distance conversion from amplitude- and phase-distance evaluations is presented to point out the opportunities when compared to conventional AFM force spectroscopy. Raman spectroscopy is used in combination to identify the mineral phase localized at the cantilever position. The method is applied on samples of a rare earth containing silicate ore from southern Sweden made up of feldspars, aegirine, nepheline and the rare earth containing eudialyte.