The beneficiation processes for various metal minerals can generally be summarized as the following steps:

(1) Ore crushing;
(2) Grinding process;
(3) Separation techniques;
(4) Sintering and pelletizing techniques.

For manganese: Mechanical separation methods (including ore dressing, screening, gravity separation, high-intensity magnetic separation, and flotation), as well as pyrometallurgical collection and chemical beneficiation methods, are employed.

Flotation is widely applied. The full name of flotation is froth flotation. It is a separation method based on the differences in the physicochemical properties of mineral particles' surfaces, specifically their floatability.

It involves floating useful minerals while discharging useless minerals (i.e., gangue minerals) as tailings in the slurry. This method is called direct flotation; conversely, it is called reverse flotation.

Flotation reagents include collectors, frothers, depressants, activators, pH adjusters, dispersants, flocculants, etc.

Flotation machines come in various types, such as mechanically agitated, pneumatic, and pneumatic-mechanically agitated.

Our company extensively utilizes flotation for the separation of fine-grained disseminated metallic minerals, non-metallic minerals, and chemical raw material minerals.

During flotation, the floating or sinking of minerals is almost independent of their density. For example, chalcopyrite, with a density of 4.2, and quartz, with a density of 2.68, demonstrate that the heavier mineral, chalcopyrite, easily floats while quartz sinks to the bottom. Research has revealed that the floatability of minerals is related to their affinity for water. Minerals with a high affinity for water, which are easily wetted by water, find it difficult to attach to bubbles and are thus hard to float. Conversely, minerals with a low affinity for water, which are not easily wetted by water, readily float. Therefore, flotation can be described as a beneficiation method based on the differences in minerals' wettability by water. The property of minerals being easy or difficult to float is generally referred to as their floatability. Flotation utilizes these differences in floatability to separate minerals. In modern flotation processes, the application of flotation reagents is particularly crucial because treatment with these reagents can alter the floatability of minerals, enabling the selective attachment of the minerals to be floated to bubbles, thereby achieving the goal of mineral separation.