This paper attempts to review the most relevant problems related to the concentration of apatite from igneous deposits,the solutions so far developed to solve them and the involved mechanisms.Igneous deposits are very heterogeneous because they usually bear a thick layer of weathered ore(up to 300 m)which overlay fresh igneous rock,as carbonatite or glimmerite.The mineralogical composition of igneous phosphates is highly dependent on the weathering degree of the ore.On the upper layers of the deposits,apatite is typically associated with secondary phosphates(gorceixite,goyazite,crandallite),clay minerals and Fe-Ti-bearing oxides(magnetite,hematite,goethite,ilmenite,perovskite).Clay minerals and secondary phosphates are easily removed by desliming(conducted previously to flotation),magnetite is removed by low intensity magnetic separation,hematite and ilmenite are depressed by corn starch and apatite is concentrated by direct anionic flotation with fatty acid collectors in alkaline medium.As the mining front reaches the downer layers of the deposit and eventually the fresh rock,the traditional concentration scheme fails to yield apatite concentrates assaying P2O5 content higher than 35%and apatite recovery higher than 60%.The simultaneous presence of sparingly-soluble gangue minerals(calcite,dolomite and barite)and silicates(pyroxene,amphibole,mica)in flotation feed contributes towards a severe decay in the selectivity of the separation apatite/gangue minerals.