Self-Corrosion of Sulphide Minerals

As is known to all, the flotation mechanism of sulphide minerals can be explained based on electrochemistry because sulphide minerals have the semiconductor character and a series of electrochemistry reaction occurring in solution. After these reactions, the surface of sulphide minerals changes and forms a new phase. We called it as self-corrosion of sulphide minerals. As before, the essence of the reaction between the collector and the minerals is the formation of the hydrophobic entity on the mineral surface, and then minerals can be floated. We can find that the reaction between the collector and the minerals is similar to the depression on mineral self-corrosion. In the corrosion, we called this effect as inhibition, and this kind of reagent is an inhibiting reagent. There are many studies on corrosion, especially its research method and theory. Thus, we can get some new information on the mechanism of sulphide flotation from corrosive electrochemistry. 

There existed oxidation-reduction reactions with the same reaction speed on the sulphide mineral surface in water. One is the self-corrosion of sulphide mineral. Another is the reduction of oxygen. If the equilibrium potential for the anodic reaction and the cathodic reaction are, respectively, E and, and the mineral electrode potential is E, the relationship among them is as follows ... 

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