Common methods for preventing and reducing slime include:
(1) Reducing and preventing slime formation: Multi-stage grinding processes and staged beneficiation processes can be adopted. Correct selection of grinding and classifying equipment is crucial to improve classifier efficiency;
(2) Adding reagents to eliminate the harmful effects of slime: Commonly used reagents include water glass, soda ash, and caustic soda; these can reduce the flocculation and adhesion of slime. To mitigate the harmful effects of excessive slime adsorption of reagents, staged dosing can be considered;
(3) Desliming the ground ore before flotation and discarding it as tailings. If the slime contains high levels of useful components, the deslimed slime can be treated separately by flotation or sent to hydrometallurgical treatment.
Common desliming methods include classifier desliming; hydrocyclone desliming; in special cases, a small amount of frother can be added before flotation to remove easily floating slime using flotation ore.