During flotation process, collecting agent can change hydrophobicity of tungsten element surface, floating tungsten ore grains will attach to foam. Tungsten concentrate flotation is mainly flotation of tungsten slime. 

Tungsten ore is fragile, during beneficiation process, tungsten slime is easily formed. So tungsten tailings still contain many effective tungsten metal elements.

Tungsten ore is fragile, during beneficiation process, tungsten slime is easily formed. So tungsten tailings still contain many effective tungsten metal elements. According to statistics, tungsten metal in slime usually accounts for 11%~14% of original ore. 

Tungsten scheelite shear flocculation floating method is newly applied method in recent years in China. It is firstly used by Swedish which mainly used to deal with tungsten scheelite with low grade and high impurity content.

Generally speaking, shortcomings of heated flotation method are high cost and time consuming. As a result, in the consistent practice, China developed room temperature flotation method.

Heated flotation method is the main tungsten scheelite processing method in China before 1970. It was found by the Soviet Union chemist Petrove in 1940, so it is also called Petrove method.

Tungsten scheelite mainly exists in skarn rock belt, coexist with mine containing calcium, tungsten scheelite is also called calcium tungstate ore. In beneficiation process, these calcium containing ore is obscure of tungsten scheelite purification. 

Prospectors located mining claims along famous tungsten mine - Pine Creek Tungsten Mine high up in the rugged Sierra Nevada west of Bishop in 1895, but the gold and silver content of the assayed rock proved too disappointing. 

In tungsten metallurgy process, tungsten concentrate usually applies physical method which is gravity separation, tungsten scheelite applies chemical method which is flotation. 

Famous tungsten mine – Lermontov Mine locates in the boarder on the sea of far eastern Russia, near Primorsky Mine, is one of the main tungsten mine in Russia.