SDG 9.4

SDG 9.5

SDG 12.2

SDG 12.5

SDG 13.2

State Key Laboratory of Mineral Processing

Major Achievements

Responding to long-standing challenges posed by low-grade, fine-grained, and refractory strategic minerals such as ilmenite, where associated minerals, inefficient traditional reagents, and process blockage often hinder separation efficiency, the research team advanced a systematic interfacial-chemistry approach to flotation reagent innovation. This effort yielded a suite of technologies, including 3D-QSAR-based reagent design, targeted depressants for complex mineral assemblages, and precision foam-regulation methods. Deployed at scale across major mining operations in multiple regions of China and in several Belt and Road countries, these reagent systems have generated 3.34 billion RMB in additional sales and 1.36 billion RMB in profits over the past three years, while reinforcing the secure supply of raw materials essential for national defence, new-energy industries, and the electronics sector. This work received the First Prize of the Hunan Provincial Science and Technology Progress Awards in 2022.