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Abstract

An improved phosphate ore beneficiation process wherein phosphate ore containing coarse, weathered dolomite in the flotation feed thereof is subjected to beneficiation as follows: The flotation feed is subjected to a rougher phosphate flotation step wherein it is treated with fatty acid and fuel oil and wherefrom is removed the coarse, weathered dolomite in one or more subsequent cleaner phosphate flotation steps without the use of additional flotation reagents added thereto; subjecting the float from said cleaner phosphate flotation step(s) to a sulfuric acid based partial deoiling step and then to a phosphate-carbonate flotation step wherefrom is collected a first fraction of the phosphate flotation feed values as underflow subjecting the overflow from said phosphate-carbonate flotation step to a sulfuric acid based total deoiling step wherefrom the resulting deoiled material from said total deoiling step is subsequently introduced and subjected to carbonate flotation step(s) using alkyl diphosphonic acid as a phosphate mineral depressant and fatty acid as a carbonate mineral collector; and recovering a second fraction of the phosphate values from said carbonate flotation as underflow. The final phosphate product is the sum total of said first fraction and said second fraction of phosphate values as concentrate from recovered said phosphate-carbonate flotation step and said carbonate flotation step(s) respectively.

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