The study is a fundamental laboratory investigation of events occurring on a molecular scale that influence the process of ion flotation. To accomplish these objectives critical micelle concentrations and micellar molecular weights have been determined for sodium dodecyl sulfate in the presence of copper, lead, zinc, and magnesium and critical micelle concentrations have been determined with sodium and silver nitrate as the added electrolytes. Flotation studies made by frothing for four hours and then analyzing the collapsed foam showed that this surfactant is not at all selective among these divalent metal ions, increasing metal ion concentration resulted in more total metal removal but a lower percentage removal at any given surfactant concentration, formation of surfactant micelles reduced flotation efficiency markedly, and precipitation would likely be a problem in practical application.