Abstract: Because serpentine is easy to form heterogeneous agglomeration with pentlandite thus affecting its flotation separation， the addition of albite was proposed to improve the flotation separation effect of pentlandite and serpentine. The influence mechanism of albite was studied. The results of flotation show that the flotation recovery of pentlandite increases from 44% to 81% after the addition of albite， which indicates that the addition of albite can weaken the heterogeneous agglomeration between serpentine and pentlandite， thus can enhance the floatability of pentlandite. The results of turbidity measurement， Zeta potential test， SEM-EDS test，adsorption capacity test and DLVO theoretical calculation show that the albite is strongly negative charged under certain pH conditions than that of the pentlandite. It is easier to form heterogeneous agglomeration between albite and serpentine， thus weakening the adhesion of serpentine on the surface of pentlandite.The research results may be used in improving the floatability of pentlandite and increasing the recovery of pentlandite， so as to effectively separate serpentine from pentlandite.

Key words: pentlandite; serpentine; albite; electrostatic interaction; heterogeneous aggregation