Recebido em 18/7/00; aceito em 22/1/01 ADSORPTION OF XANTHATE ON PYRITE. This paper presents a study of adsorption of xanthate with alkyl chain of two (C 2 XK), four (C 4 XK) and eight (C 8 XK) atoms of carbon, on pyrite from Santa Catarina, Brazil. The results showed that pyrite surface changes from hydrophilic to hydrophobic when xanthate is adsorbed increasing the contact angle to 35 o for C 2 XK, and to 90 o for C 4 XK and C 8 XK. The rate of flotation of pyrite particles after adsorption

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... creases with the increase of the number of carbon atoms in the alkyl chain in agreement with the results of contact angle measurements.