Chrysotile, a polymorph of serpentine, is a phyllosilicate mineral that occurs as a major gangue mineral in many ores (eg Mt Keith nickel sulfide ore, Western Australia). The rheological behaviour of chrysotile stems from two main factors: its distinctive morphology and its electrical surface charge. It is believed that these factors are central to the problematic rheological behaviour and low solids throughput typically experienced in the processing of such ores. In this work, a study of the effects of chrysotile surface charge properties and particle shape on the rheology of chrysotile suspensions was conducted._x000D_
It was found that the rheology of suspensions of pure chrysotile is characterised by extremely high yield stress values over a broad pH range (pH 4 to 11).The disparity in the point of zero charge and range of maximum yield stress for chrysotile is consistent with the anisotropic nature of chrysotile particles. A comparison of the rheological behaviour of quartz suspensions (non-fibrous) to that of chrysotile suspensions (fibrous) provides a practical indication of the effects of the fibrous nature of chrysotile relative to non-fibrous minerals. The long, thin fibres are easily entangled to form suspensions with much higher plastic viscosities and Bingham yield stresses than non-fibrous particles._x000D_
Chrysotile particle shape and surface charge are central to the rheology of chrysotile suspensions, although shape appears to play a more significant role in this regard._x000D_
This fundamental study would be beneficial to the ongoing research for improved recovery in the Mt Keith nickel sulfide ore as well as other chrysotile bearing ores._x000D_
CITATION:Ndlovu, B, Burdukova, E, Becker, M, Deglon, D, Franzidis, J-P and Laskowski, J, 2010. An investigation on the effect of chrysotile particle shape and anisotropic properites on the rheology of chrysotile suspensions, in Proceedings XXV International Mineral Processing Congress (IMPC) 2010, pp 367-376 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).