Abstract: | This paper presents the breakage and wetting parameters of calcite mineral obtained experimentally and establishes a correlation between these characteristic parameters. The breakage parameter obtained from the different feed sizes of grinding is the specific rate of breakage (Si). The wettability parameter, obtained from surface chemistry‐based processes such as contact angle measurements or flotation methods, is the critical surface tension of wetting of a solid or mineral (γc). Calcite mineral, studied for the determination of the above parameters and their correlations, was ground in a laboratory‐size ceramic ball mill with dry, wet and chemically aided grindings and tested extensively to determine the γc values by using a contact angle goniometer and a newly designed micro‐column flotation cell. The highest Si value obtained was 0.35 min?1 for sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDDS)‐aided grinding, and the lowest Si value was 0.26 min?1 for dry grinding of the ?600+425 feed in the mill. The γc values for calcite were obtained as 34.0–34.9 mN/m for SDDS‐treated calcite surfaces, 29.9–31.4 mN/m for sodium oleate‐treated surfaces and >72 mN/m for both dry and wet ground products whose surfaces were not treated chemically. Some correlations were established between the Si and γc parameters; as the Si increases, γc decreases, indicating that relatively more hydrophobic surfaces are broken faster for the largest sizes, resulting in higher Si values with more fines (lower γ of Bi, j) in the finer size distribution region (i.e. ?150 μm). |