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Molybdenum Flotation Circuit and Flotation Cells

D Meadows1, D Jensen2, F Traczyk3, S Yu4 and L Riffo5
1. Vice President of Global Process Technology, FLSmidth SLC Inc, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
Email: david.meadows@flsmidth.com
2. Director of Global Process Technology, FLSmidth SLC Inc, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
Email: david.jensen@flsmidth.com
3. Director of Flotation Products, FLSmidth SLC Inc, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
Email: frank.traczyk@flsmidth.com
4. Senior Metallurgical Engineer, FLSmidth SLC Inc, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
Email: Samuel.yu@flsmidth.com
5. Senior Metallurgical Engineer, FLSmidth Chile, Santiago, Chile. Email: luis.riffo@flsmidth.com

ABSTRACT
With the steady increase of molybdenum demand worldwide and the favorable molybdenum market,
many technological innovations on both process and equipment have been developed and applied in
many modern molybdenum plants around the world. This paper introduces the most commonly used
molybdenum flotation flowsheet, together with the introduction of the flotation chemistry. Many
different types of flotation cells are used in modern moly plants, and each type of flotation cell has its
own unique advantages suited for particular ore and process conditions. This paper tries to provide
some insight and guidelines in flowsheet development and flotation cell selection in the molybdenum
plants.

INTRODUCTION
Molybdenum occurs in approximately 1214 different recognizable minerals, but only molybdenite
(MoS2) is the mineral bearing economic importance. Molybdenite can be recovered from either
primary molybdenum deposits or copper-molybdenum deposits. In a primary molybdenum deposit,
molybdenite is floated directly from gangue minerals. In byproduct molybdenum depositswhich are
typically associated with copperthe molybdenite is separated from the bulk concentrate, with
copper minerals depressed by NaHS or similar depressants. Molybdenite typically has a platy particle
shape and exhibits intrinsic hydrophobicity from its crystalline structure. Consequently, only fuel oil
is required as the molybdenum flotation collector to further boost the recovery. Some other
depressants may also be required to depress other impurities in the ore feed.
Today, around 88% of the total molybdenum produced in the world is still used as metal alloy in
metallurgical applications. Since the early 1960s, the world molybdenum production steadily
increased from approximately 40,000 metric tons to 250,000 metric tons (in 2011). It is projected that
the molybdenum demand will continue to grow at a rate of around 4.6% per year until 2016, and that
the price will remain above the historical levels. With these favorable market conditions, many
technological innovations for both process and equipment have been developed. This technology is
mainly targeted to increase molybdenum recovery and minimize the production cost. These
developments are mainly related to flotation chemistry and mineral characteristics, which will be
introduced in the following sections. The flotation circuit design can vary depending on the flotation
chemistry and different types of molybdenum properties (either primary molybdenum or byproduct
molybdenum). The most typical molybdenum flotation circuits will be introduced in later sections,
together with a recommended molybdenum flotation flowsheet. Many different flotation cells are used
in modern molybdenum plants. Some of the flotation cells are designed specifically for the unique
flotation chemistry and certain molybdenite mineral characteristics. The most commonly used
flotation cells will also be introduced in later sections.

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FLOTATION CHEMISTRY
Molybdenite typically has a platy particle shape, from its crystalline structure it shows hydrophobic
on its planar surfaces but hydrophilic on its edge surface. Because of this, only fuel oil will be
required as the collector to further improve the molybdenum recovery in a primary molybdenum
plant. Other depressants could be required to depress other easily floatable gangue minerals. The
commonly used depressants for primary molybdenite ore include,

Lime to adjust pH
Iron depressant Orform D8
Nokes as main copper and lead depressant
Sodium silicate for non-sulphide gangue depression.

The flotation chemistry is more complex for byproduct molybdenite plants. The feed to byproduct
molybdenum flotation contains mainly copper minerals, with minor amounts of gangue and certain
amounts of molybdenite. A strong depressant, typically sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS), or to a less
extent sodium sulfide, will be used to depress the bulk of the copper mineral. Currently, the most
commonly used depressant is still NaHS, which is added in the molybdenum rougher conditioner and
scavenger and produces an HS- ion that consequently strips the xanthate from the surface of copper
minerals and renders them hydrophilic. To maintain a sufficient HS- ion concentration in the pulp
phase, the pulp must have the right combination of redox potential (ORP) and pH value, as shown in
Figure 1. (The Eh in Figure 1 is based on a standard hydrogen electrode.)

Fig. 1 - Eh-pH Diagram of NaHS System (After Pourbaix)

A sufficient dosage of NaHS has to be added in order to maintain the required ORP. For sufficient
copper minerals depression, an ORP between -400 and -600 mV (measured against an Ag/AgCl Pt
electrode) is typically required in the molybdenum flotation circuit. To reach such a pulp potential, a
plant typically can consume two to ten kilograms or more NaHS per metric ton of bulk concentrate.
HS- concentration in the pulp phase is also influenced by slurry pH. Figure 2 shows the relative molar
fraction between S2-, HS- and H2S against pH value. At a high pH of 11, the concentration of HSbegins to decrease and the concentration of S2- begins to increase, which will negatively influence the
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molybdenum separation. The optimum pH value for molybdenum separation should be between 9 and
11. Some plants run pH levels above 11 because of the high pH requirement of the bulk flotation
circuit, especially when there is a considerable amount of pyrite to depress. In case the pH value from
bulk flotation is too high for optimum molybdenum flotation, some acid agents (CO2 or H2SO4) can
be used to reduce the pH in the molybdenum rougher conditioner. Amelunxen (2009) illustrated that
CO2 has improved flotation performance compared with H2SO4 at the same pH value, which explains
why more plants use CO2 to adjust pH for molybdenum rougher flotation. Another benefit is that CO2
is a mild acid-generating agent and has much slower kinetics in reducing pH value. Consequently, it is
less likely to overdose and bringing pH lower than the designed value, which is a potential safety
hazard, especially with open tank cells.

1.000
0.900

Molar Fraction (0/1)

0.800

H2S

HS-

0.700
0.600
0.500
0.400
0.300

S-2

0.200
0.100
0.000
1

10

11

12

13

14

pH
(H2S)

(HS-)

(S-2)

Sumatoria

Fig. 2 - Hydrogen Sulphide Species with pH Value (After Juan Aravena, originally from Pacific Chemical Brochure)

NaHS tends to oxidize quickly with the oxygen, either from the air bubbles or the dissolved oxygen in
the pulp phase. With fresh air as the flotation gas supply, significant amounts of NaHS will be wasted
from this oxidation, leading to a very high NaHS consumption. To reduce NaHS consumption,
nitrogen or inert gas is used as the flotation gas supply. The Delany Patent (1972) showed that using
inert gas or nitrogen rather than fresh air can cut the NaHS consumption in half. Nitrogen was first
tested in enclosed WEMCO cells for byproduct molybdenum flotation at Anamax Mining Company
in 1983. The test resulted in increased rougher molybdenum recovery and reduced NaHS
consumption. Inert gas is produced in an enclosed system, and the initial ambient air inside the cell is
recycled as the flotation gas supply. The oxygen in the air is gradually depleted from the reaction with
NaHS. The inert gas typically contains 26% oxygen, minor amounts of H2S depending on pH, and
the remaining nitrogen. Current field operations have also indicated that at least 3050% of the NaHS
can be saved by using inert gas or nitrogen. Today, nearly all byproduct molybdenum plants using
NaHS use either nitrogen or inert gas in the flotation.
There is a recent trend of running a low pH in a byproduct molybdenum flotation circuit, which was
proposed by Christensen (2012) and became a popular practice in South America. The pH is typically
between six and eight, which is intended to generate large amounts of H2S inside the enclosed cells.
With a higher concentration of H2S gas inside the molybdenum cell, the aqueous H2S concentration in
the slurry phase will also increase from the chemical equilibrium. This increases HS- concentration in
the pulp phase and forces the HS- curve in Figure 2 to shift to the left. This low pH practice has
significantly improved the molybdenum flotation kinetics and selectivity. Consequently, less retention
time and fewer stages of flotation are required to produce the targeted concentrate grade. This
considerably reduces the capital costs and the floor area required in the molybdenum plant. With
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fewer cleaner stages, the recycle streams are also smaller, which is beneficial for the overall
molybdenum recovery. Molybdenum plants running with this scheme also reported an improved
molybdenum recovery. H2S gas will be produced by any molybdenum flotation circuit running with
pH below 9, and a gas collection and scrubbing system should be designed and incorporated into these
plants. The collected H2S is typically treated with caustic solution in the gas scrubber. This low pH
practice in the byproduct molybdenum plants requires completely enclosed flotation cells so the
generated H2S will not leak out to the environment. In such plants, extra safety measures are required
to be taken during operation and maintenance.

MOLYBDENUM FLOTATION FLOWSHEET

Primary molybdenum circuit
The processing of primary molybdenum ore typically includes crushing, grinding, multi-stage
flotation and multi-stage regrind. Due to the lower head grade in the flotation feed, primary
molybdenum plants typically have more stages of flotation and regrind, as indicated in Figure 3.
Besides rougher tailings and the first cleaner scavenger tailings, tailings from all other cleaner stages
typically have a counter current recycle in order to maximize the overall molybdenum recovery.

Fig. 3 - Flotation Section of a Typical Primary Molybdenum Plant

By-product molybdenum flowsheet

The current molybdenum production in North America and South America comes mainly as a
byproduct of copper concentrators. The flotation chemistry is more complex due to the need to
depress the majority of copper minerals in the bulk concentrate feed. This paper will mainly focus on
the byproduct molybdenum circuit. In a typical byproduct molybdenum plant, the feed is the bulk
concentrate generated from the copper flotation circuits. Because the majority of the feed is copper
sulphide mineral, a strong copper mineral depressant is necessary to dissolve the collector absorbed
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The main benefits of this flowsheet developed by Thompson are slurry density control and flexibility.
An intermediate thickener can be used after the first molybdenum cleaner to remove the excessive
water from later cleaner stages. The water quality of the bulk thickener overflow is difficult to control
because it is typically not desirable to add flocculant in the bulk concentrate thickener, considering its
possible effect on the downstream copper molybdenum separation. A clarifier is designed to take the
bulk concentrate thickener overflow in case the water from the bulk thickener overflow does not meet
quality standards. Depending on the molybdenum content of the clarifier underflow, it can be sent to
the copper concentrate thickener or recycled back to bulk thickener for further recovery. Depending
on the solids concentration of the first molybdenum cleaner concentrate, the concentrate can be sent to
the second cleaner or to the intermediate thickener for water control. Because it is typically difficult to
obtain sufficient and representative test samples for any Greenfield byproduct molybdenum project,
some assumptions have to be made for the circuit design. This makes circuit flexibility even more
important.

TYPES OF MOLYBDENUM FLOTATION CELLS & THEIR

SELECTION
In current molybdenum plants, the trend has been to move away from column cells and use a
combination of mechanical cells in the rougher and cleaner stages, with column cells as the final
cleaner. The most commonly used FLSmidth molybdenum flotation cells in the roughers are
WEMCO inert gas cells. The cleaners can be WEMCO inert gas, or forced air cells such as DorrOliver or XCELL flotation cells. The cleaners can be forced with nitrogen to save NaHS costs or
operated with air.

Flotation cell type in use in molybdenum plants

Table 1 summarizes the information related to the flotation cell type, reagent information, process gas
supply and pH value used in some molybdenum plants. The major mechanism of each type of
flotation cell and its advantages will be introduced in the following sections.
Table 1 - Cell type, gas supply, reagents and ph for some molybdenum plants
Main Reagents

Process gas
supply

Cell type

Cells
enclosed

PH

Andina

NaHS + H2SO4

Inert gas

WEMCO

yes

78

Bagdad

NaHS

N2 + air

Denver

no

11.5

NaHS + CO2

Inert gas

WEMCO

yes

1011
78

Plant

Cerro Verde
Chuqui

NaHS + H2SO4

N2

Denver

no

El Salvador

NaHS + As2O3

N2

Agitar

no

Gibraltar 84

NaHS + COOH

N2

Outotec

no

78

Las Tortolas, original

NaHS

Inert gas

WEMCO

yes

Pelambres, original

NaHS

N2

WEMCO

no

9.09.5

Sierrita

NaHS

N2

XCELL

no

1112

Teniente

NaHS + Nokes

N2

Metso

no

Plant A (North America)

NaHS

N2

Denver

no

9.510.5

Plant B (North America)

NaHS + CO2

N2

Outotec

yes

8.59.0

Plant C (North America)

NaHS

N2

XCELL

yes

8.5

Plant D (North America)

NaHS

N2

Outotec

no

11.5

Plant E (South America)

NaHS

Inert gas

WEMCO

yes

Plant F (South America)

NaHS

Inert gas

WEMCO

yes

Plant G (South America)

NaHS

N2

Outotec

yes

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WEMCO INERT GAS CELL

The WEMCO cell is the most common cell used in the roughing application. It is also the markets
only flotation cell with a self-aspiration mechanism that does not require nitrogen. The rotor and
aeration are in the upper section of the cell, which allows a shorter transport distance for bubble
particles to agglomerate to the froth phase. This feature is especially beneficial for coarse particles or
particles with a high detachment rate. The rotor-disperser in the cell delivers intense mixing and
aeration, which uniformly distributes the air throughput the pulp and provides optimum air-particle
contact and improved recovery. The high energy helps to increase moly recovery. Because of the selfaspiration mechanism, the ambient air is induced throughout the pulp phase by the turning rotor. This
feature makes the WEMCO cell the best flotation cell for inert gas applications. In the totally
enclosed and tightly sealed system, the oxygen in the ambient air is depleted by the reaction with
NaHS, and the oxygen-depleted gas is re-circulated as the gas supply for the air bubbles inside the
cell. Once the operation reaches a steady state, the inert gas thats generated typically contains 28%
oxygen, various percentages of H2S depending on slurry pH, and the remaining nitrogen. Figure 6
below shows a WEMCO inert gas cell installation in a South American byproduct molybdenum
plant, alone with its internal gas recirculation mechanism. Once started, the WEMCO cell does not
need much makeup gas due to the internal gas recirculation inside the cell. A window port is installed
in each WEMCO inert gas cell in order to observe the froth condition in the cell for better
monitoring and operation. This is shown in Figure 6.

Fig. 6 - Molybdenum Plant with WEMCO Inert Gas Flotation Cell

The concentrate froth in molybdenum flotation is typically dry and sticky, and sometimes difficult to
recover from the cell to the froth launder. If this poses a problem in the plant, the rectangular shape of
a WEMCO 1 + 1 cell has an advantage due to the convenience of installing a froth paddle to push
the concentrate froth to the froth launder.
Due to the tightly sealed system of the WEMCO inert gas cell, sufficient H2S gas can be
accumulated in the inert gas inside the cell when flotation is running with low pH. This helps to
produce a higher hydrosulfide ion (HS-) concentration in the pulp phase. It also increases the flotation
kinetics and selectivity. Currently, all byproduct molybdenum flotation with low pH practice uses
WEMCO inert gas cells. This low pH molybdenum flotation with WEMCO inert gas cell
considerably reduces the number of cleaner stages, maximizes the molybdenum recovery and reduces
required floor area.

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To Gas Scrubber

Fig. 7 - Inert Gas Collection System

Considering the safety issues related to H2S in the inert gas, the whole system (including the
concentrate sump) is enclosed and the inert gas is collected and treated in the gas scrubber as shown
in Figure 7. This inert gas collection system also equilibrates the gas pressure in the whole flotation
system. To maximize the hydrosulfide ion concentration, the pressure of the inert gas inside the
system is typically maintained around four inches of water. This also helps convey the inert gas to the
gas scrubbing system.

XCELL flotation cell

The flotation cells with forced air mechanisms are often used in high pH or medium pH operation, or
in the cleaner applications. Compared to most of the other forced air mechanism cells, XCELL
flotation cells have unique characteristics, mainly from their good performance in recovery, especially
for minerals in the fine particle size range. The unique design of XCELL flotation cells creates
higher energy intensity in the bubble particle contact zone, though the overall power consumption
from the cells is still low. This high energy intensity in the effective region of the bubble particle
collision zone allows fine particles easier to penetrate the stream line of an air bubble and collide with
the bubble surface. This improves the fine particle recovery.
For the molybdenite particle, the planar surface is hydrophobic and the edge surface is hydrophilic.
Consequently, the smaller particles with a lower aspect ratio also have lower hydrophobicity. Besides
the lower collision probability of fine particles, this further reduces hydrophobicity of fine particles
and leads to lower probability of bubble particle attachment. One major molybdenum plant in North
America has bi-modal size distribution in the rougher feed, and the particle size is concentrated
around 130 m and 25 m size fractions, respectively. In the tailings stream, there is a considerable
amount of molybdenum lost around 25 m size fraction. XCELL flotation cellsdue to their
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capability to recover fine particleswere an ideal choice to recover this fine size fraction of
molybdenum.
Due to the platy particle shape of molybdenite, it is more difficult for the molybdenite particles to be
entrained up the slurry flow once they settle at the bottom. Consequently, molybdenite particles sand
easily especially when the particle is coarse and slurry viscosity is high. XCELL has a specially
designed Velocity Cone that constricts the cross-section area of the slurry flow. This produces a
higher flow velocity to prevent particles from sanding. If the molybdenum particles happen to have
slow floating kinetics, either from low froth recovery or high detachment probability, this unique
design of the XCELL flotation cell is particularly beneficial in order to improve the molybdenum
recovery. Figure 8 shows an XCELL installation for molybdenum flotation and its internal structure.

Fig. 8 - Molybdenum Plant with EXCEL Flotation Cell

Dorr-Oliver cell and other types of forced air cells

The mechanism in Dorr-Oliver cells is very similar to most other forced air mechanism cells,
including Outotec and Denver cells. A Dorr-Oliver cell has a simple mechanical design and fewer
components, which makes it easy to operate and maintain. It also has relatively lower capital cost and
greater availability than other similar cells. Due to its simplicity, the Dorr-Oliver cell is popular in
molybdenum plants and is especially used in the cleaner stage. Figure 9 shows a Dorr-Oliver
installation and an illustration of its internal structure.
For all forced air cells including XCELL and Dorr-Oliver cellswhen the cells run with
medium pH, they should still be covered in order to minimize the escape of H2S to the environment.
Also, a gas collection and scrubbing system still needs to be incorporated. Currently, the nitrogen is
typically not recycled in most molybdenum plants using nitrogen as gas supply. Consequently, the
nitrogen consumption can be high especially if all the flotation cells are required to use nitrogen.
Depending on the addition points of NaHS in the molybdenum flotation circuit, some plants keep the
molybdenum rougher covered while others leave some of the cells in the cleaner stages open.

Fig. 9 - Molybdenum plant with DORR-OLIVER Flotation Cell

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Economics comparison mechanical cells

Depending on the pH running in the flotation circuit, the flotation cells in molybdenum plants can be
either completely open, covered or completely enclosed and sealed. The WEMCO inert gas cell is
the only totally enclosed and sealed cell, and it needs an additional gas collection and scrubbing
system for H2S safety. However, the WEMCO cells do not need additional nitrogen plants or air
blowers because of the self-aspiration mechanism and the internal recirculation of inert gas. The cells
with a forced air mechanismeither open tank cells or covered cellswill need an additional
nitrogen plant if no existing nitrogen source is available. Covered cells still need a gas collection and
scrubbing system even if pH is relatively high. This major ancillary equipment, including the nitrogen
plant and gas scrubbing system, will have an economic impact on the project. Figure 10 shows an
economic trade-off study on the major equipment costs in the molybdenum flotation circuit between
the WEMCO Inertgas systems (Option 1), open tank cell systems (Option 2) and covered cell
systems (Option 3) based on a 20 mtph byproduct molybdenite plant.

Fig. 10 - Economic Tradeoff (accuracy of +/- 20%) Between Three Types of Molybdenum Flotation Systems

Comparing these three options, the WEMCO flotation Inertgas systems have the lowest operational
cost since no operational cost associated with the nitrogen plant will be incurred. Though the
equipment cost of the WEMCO system is slightly higher than the open tank cells system, it is offset
by savings from its lower operational cost. However, if the plant does have an existing nitrogen
source, the most economic option would be the open tank cells system, as the WEMCO flotation
cell itself has a higher capital cost than that of the forced air cell. Overall, the cell selection and
criteria are often influenced by regional experience, degree of operational skill sets and past
experience on what works. At the early stages of the process design, a full analysis of the different
cell options and configurations is recommended.

Flotation column
The advantage of a flotation column is that it can apply froth cleaning water to wash the fine
entrainment from the froth layer. This is especially important because molybdenum flotation tends to
have sticky and dry froth, which typically leads to higher fine gangue mineral entrainment. To ensure
the final molybdenum concentrate grade, a flotation column is typically used as the last one or two
stages of cleaning in molybdenum flotation circuits. However, a flotation column is typically poor in
recovery due to its lower energy intensity and lack of internal circulation. In addition, this low
recovery from the column is typically associated with a high circulating load in the subsequent cleaner
circuit, which has a detrimental influence on the overall recovery and poses challenges for process
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control. Due to the low recovery associated with a flotation column, its tailings are often further
treated in mechanical scavenger cells to improve the molybdenum recovery.
One reason for low recovery from the flotation column is the uneven gas distribution around the
cross-sectional area of the column. Therefore, in selecting a flotation column, special attention should
be paid to its sparger design, which is closely related to the quality of gas dispersion inside the
column. The froth wash water is an important feature of the flotation column. Some plants place the
froth wash water mechanism in the middle of the froth layer, though this approach has the potential to
plug the orifices of the spray bar and make the wash water distribution uneven. In most flotation
column applications, the froth wash water is held in a pan, and the wash water passes through the
numerous orifices at the bottom of the pan and sprinkles to the top of froth layer. The second
approach is the favored froth cleaning mechanism by most column suppliers.
The optimum design for a molybdenum plant should use mechanical cells as the rougher and most of
the cleaner stages, with the last one or two stages of cleaning in flotation columns.

CONCLUSIONS
Molybdenum flotation is a complex operation compared with that required for most other minerals.
This is because of the required high concentration ratio, the unique particle shape and the complex
flotation chemistry. The difficulty in obtaining sufficient and truly representative test samples for
testwork poses a challenge for an optimum flowsheet design. Therefore the keys to a successful
molybdenum flotation circuit design are allowances in process design for circuit flexibility and slurry
density control.
The most commonly used flotation cells in molybdenum flotation are WEMCO inert gas cells,
XCELL flotation cells, Dorr-Oliver cells, Outotec cells, Denver cells and flotation columns.
FLSmidth has extensive experience in molybdenum flotation and has virtually all types of cell
mechanisms. WEMCO inert gas cells not only eliminate the nitrogen plant that is required for most
other forced air cells, but also provide the opportunity of low pH operation in molybdenum flotation
from safety and operational viewpoints. This corresponds to fewer stages of cleaner, improved
selectivity and higher recovery.
XCELL is superior in recovery when the feed consists of predominantly fine particle sizes or the
slurry is more viscous.
Dorr-Oliver and some other forced air cells have simple mechanical designs, which correspond to
lower capital cost and easier maintenance. Flotation columns are still preferred in the last one or two
stages of cleaner in molybdenum circuits due to their froth cleaning feature.
Each type of cell has distinct advantages, and clients are encouraged to consider all the flotation cell
options and size the cell based on the ore characteristics, process chemistry and the clients own
operational experience.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to express their great appreciation to the valuable input from Phil Thompson,
Carlos Letelier, Lorin Redden, Wolfgang Baum and Sean Armstrong.

REFERENCES
Amelunxen, P. and Amelunxen, R., February, 2009, Moly Plant Design Considerations, SME Annual Meeting, Denver,
CO.
Christiansen, A., May 8th, 2012, Molybdenum Plant Design Informative Presentation, Santiago, Chile.
Dabrowski, B., Lelinski, D., Redden, L., February, 2006, Final Report: Depleted Oxygen Flotation Project, La Caridad CuMo Rougher and 1st Cleaner Feeds, Internal Report.
Delaney, J.F., 1972, Separation of Molybdenum sulphide from copper sulphide with depressant, U.S. Patent 3,655,044.

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Meadows, D., Jensen, D., Traczyk, F., Yu, S., Riffo, R., February 2013, Molybdenum Flotation Practices Cell Type
Selection and Design Considerations, 2013 SME annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado.
Onstott, Y. K., Person L. P., February 26th- March 1st, 1984, By-product molybdenum flotation from copper sulfide
concentrate with nitrogen gas in enclosed WEMCO nitrogen flotation machines., SME-AIME annual meeting,
Los Angeles, CA.
Redfearn, M., March 6-10, 1983, The role of nitrogen in the flotation of by-product molybdenite at Gibraltar mines, SMEMIME Annual Meeting.
Shirley, F, J., 1979, New Concepts in Byproduct Molybdenite Plant Design, SME-AIME fall meeting.
Thompson, P., October, 2012, Molybdenum Flotation Flowsheet, FLSmidth Internal Communication.
Weiss, N. L., 1985, SME Mineral Processing Handbook, Volume 2, Society of Mining Engineers.
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