Patent ID: 7875213

Claim:
A mineral slurry comprising: mineral particles in an amount equal to or greater than about 60 percent by total weight of the slurry, wherein 85 percent of the mineral particles have an average particle size equal to or less than 2 micrometers; a polyelectrolyte dispersant having a polydispersity of at least 1.0 to less than 1.5 comprises a first acrylate polymer and a second acrylate polymer derived from the first acrylate polymer, wherein the first acrylate polymer is formed by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization and includes a trithiocarbonate group in the center of the first acrylate polymer and the second acrylate polymer comprises endgroups comprising thio-containing residues derived from the trithiocarbonate group and has a weight average molecular weight (M w ) about one half of the first acrylate polymer, wherein the polyelectrolyte dispersant is in an amount less than about 35 pounds of the dispersant per ton of dry mineral particles, and wherein the first acrylate polymer has a molecular weight average of 6,000 to 20,000 Daltons and the second acrylate polymer has a molecular weight of 3000 to 10,000 Daltons; and the remainder water.