Application of high-voltage nanosecond pulses to surface modification of geomaterials

Abstract

The application of High-Power Electromagnetic Pulses (HPEMP) in dressing of resistant gold-containing ores appears attractive as this technique provides for a significant increase in precious metal recovery in hydrometallurgical (gold and silver) and gravitational (PGM) processes [1-3]. The present work studies the effect of high-voltage nanosecond pulses on the phase composition of surface layers, physical-chemical and technological (flotation) properties of sulfide minerals with different semiconductor properties and natural dielectric minerals using a complex of physical and chemical methods (XPS, SEM-EDX, AFM), microhardness measurement (Vickers indentation method).