Publication: Fertilizer International
Date: March-April 2026
Expert: Benoit Grymonprez, Technical Sales and R&DManager Mining EMEA, and Guoxin Wang, Global Technical Director, Arkema Specialty Surfactants
Forward-looking with a 50-year legacy
Do you know that the roots of Arkema’s mining solutions date back more than 50 years? Although the company itself did not yet exist, its origins go back to the expansion of the chemical product range developed by the French company CECA S.A. in the 1970s, along with the founding of ArrMaz in 1976 in the heart of central Florida’s phosphate mining district. These two historic developments formed the foundation of Arkema’s current Specialty Surfactants business dedicated to rock treatment and ore beneficiation.
Froth flotation was discovered in Australia in the early 20th century, with the first industrial flotation operations beginning in the 1920s. While oils (coal tar derivatives, crude petroleum and pine oils) were used as early flotation reagents, the quest for suitable mining chemicals, especially the need for agents to enhance or inhibit mineral floatability, has driven the development of new collectors.
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