Physical Mineral Concentration Methods :
l. Separation dependent on optical and radioactive properties of minerals, i.e. hand pickling, optical sorting, radioactive sorting, etc.
2. Separation dependent on specific gravity (density) difference of minerals, i.e. heavy-media separation, gravity concentration by use of tables, jigs, cones, etc.
3. Separation utilizing the different surface properties (i.e. surface chemistry) of the minerals, i.e. froth flotation, etc.
4. Separation dependent on magnetic properties of the minerals, i.e. low and high, dry and wet magnetic separation, etc.
5. Separation dependent on electrical conductivity properties of the minerals, i.e. electrostatic separation, etc.
So mineral processing is concerned mainly with the physical methods of separation of minerals.
