Effects of surface properties of (010), (001) and (100) of MnWO4 and FeWO4 on absorption of collector

•The (010) plane is the easiest one to be seen in wolframite, followed by (001) plane and (100) plane.•(010) and (001) are the primary planes for the absorption of anion collector ions.•W atom can be the absorption site in (001) plane but not in (010) plane.•The proportion of platy particles as well as their perfect cleavage planes increases with the decrease of particle size.•Cleavages occupied by W atom can lead to a low recovery when using BHA alone as the collector of wolframite. The atom distribution and electronic properties of (010), (001) and (100) planes of MnWO4 and FeWO4 were studied based on a DFT calculation. The surface stabilities of the three planes were compared according to their surface energies. The most stable one is (010) plane, followed by (001) and (100). (010) and (001) are the main planes for absorption of anion collector ions, which is supported by their bonding relationship and charge density distribution of surface atoms and finally proved by the results of flotation test and stereomicroscope analysis. In addition, the tungsten atoms can be viewed as the absorption site for collectors in (001) plane but not in (010) plane, which can explain the phenomenon in flotation test that the recovery of wolframite can hardly be further boosted even with a high dosage of BHA.