The beneficial effects of mixing reagents are related to the inhomogeneity of the mineral surface and the interactions between various reagents. Mineral surfaces are inhomogeneous, with varying degrees of oxidation. Different collectors may have different activation zones. Mixing reagents can increase the collector coverage density on the mineral surface, thus improving flotation results. The co-adsorption resulting from the interactions between various collectors can also increase the collecting capacity of the reagents and improve flotation parameters.
Practice has shown that using a mixture of several collectors yields significantly better flotation results than using a single collector. In the flotation of sphalerite, long-chain xanthates are more effective than short-chain xanthates, and a mixture of long-chain and short-chain xanthates is even more effective. In the flotation of copper-zinc ores, a mixture of ethyl and butyl xanthates reduces copper loss in tailings by about 4% and zinc loss by about 1.5% compared to using butyl xanthate alone.