Abstract: The effect of high-intensity conditioning on the flotation of ilmenite was systematically studied via flotation experiment， turbidity experiment and SEM-EDS. Ore samples are derived from the concentrate of high-intensity magnetic separation in the Panzhihua titanium processing plant. It was found that with the addition of collector， hetero-aggregation was tend to occur between hydrophobized ilmenite and titanaugite particles. Fine titanaugite particles could adhere to the surface of ilmenite and enter into the concentrate products， resulting in the non-selective flotation of titanaugite. After the treatment of high-intensity conditioning， the TiO₂ grade of concentrate increased sharply from 39.97% to 43.79%， while the recovery rate increased from 78.09% to 79.28%. The fluid force field generated by high-intensity conditioning can eliminate the hetero-aggregation between ilmenite and ilmenite particles and strengthen the dispersion state between them. This is the intrinsic reason for high-intensity conditioning to enhance the TiO₂ grade of titanium concentrate.

Key words: ilmenite; titanaugite; flotation; hetero-aggregation; high-intensity conditioning