Sodium Ethyl Xanthate (SEX) Supplier South Africa

What Is Sodium Ethyl Xanthate?

Sodium ethyl xanthate (SEX) is the shortest-chain sodium xanthate collector commonly used in industrial flotation, containing a two-carbon (ethyl) alkyl group. Its very short chain length makes it the weakest but most selective of the sodium xanthate series — it has limited collecting power on pyrite and iron sulphides even at neutral pH, while still collecting noble sulphides and precious metals. SEX is used in specialised applications where very high selectivity is needed without the expense of high pH and heavy lime or cyanide addition.

Precious Metal and Specialty Applications

SEX is used in precious metal flotation, particularly in circuits recovering silver-bearing sulphides and electrum, and in some gold operations as a selective collector in bulk sulphide flotation. It is also used in the flotation of certain industrial minerals and in laboratory studies to establish baseline xanthate responses for new ores. In polymetallic circuits, SEX is sometimes combined with longer-chain xanthates or dithiophosphates to explore selectivity windows for specific sulphide minerals.

Supply Details

Terracore Chemicals supplies SEX in 25 kg bags to flotation chemical users across Southern Africa. We advise on collector selection across the full xanthate series and on blending strategies that balance collecting strength with selectivity for specific ore types.