Organic depressants are diverse, readily available and cost-effi-cient materials, and they have attracted a considerable amount of attention.
For instance, dextrin has been used in the separation of chalcopyrite and galena, and thioglycolic acid has been used as a chalcopyrite depressant in the separation of Cu–Mo bulk concentrate . Moreover, Ansari and Pawlik (2007a,b) studied the floatability of chalcopyrite and molybdenite in the presence of lignosulfonates.