Froth flotation process

Claim 1

In a process for collecting mineral values from an ore which comprises mixing ground ore with water to form an ore pulp and aerating said pulp in the presence of an effective amount of a frother, the improvement which comprises carrying out said process with a frother of the formula: R[S(EO).sub.x (PO).sub.y (BO).sub.z H].sub.n wherein, in said formula, Eo = c 2 h 4 o, po = c 3 h 6 o and BO = C 4 H 8 O, n = 1 or 2, x = 0-4, y = 1-10, z = 0-2, and where n = 1, the average sum of the x, y and z groups is from 2 to about 12, R represents alkenyl of 3-5 carbon atoms, an alkyl group of from 1 to about 8 carbon atoms or an aryl group, and where n = 2 the average sum of all x+y+z groups is from 2 to about 12, R represents, a bridging --(CH 2 ) m --radical wherein m = 1-6, or a bridging benzylidene radical ##STR7## or frother mixtures of the above formula.