A process is described for the mineral separation of rare earth metal compounds, such as bastnaesite, contained in oxidic minerals. The process is a froth flotation process utilizing a novel collector emulsion, which is an emulsified mixture of:a secondary amine modified sulphonated fatty acid,a high rosin containing tall oil fatty acid,an anionic petroleum sulphonate, anda high molecular weight primary amine.The collector emulsion mixture is added to the aqueous slurry of the comminuted rare earth metal compound containing oxidic mineral, which has been previously conditioned in a conventional manner. The conditioning reagents may include alkaline pH modifiers and gangue depressants such as citric acid, oxalic acid, sodium silicates and fatty acids.The rare earth metal compounds will be concentrated in the froth, and are separated in the conventional manner.