Magnetic and flotation studies of banded hematite quartzite (BHQ) ore for the production of pellet grade concentrate

To identify and establish beneficiation techniques for banded hematite quartzite (BHQ) iron ore, a comprehensive research on BHQ ore treatment was carried out. The BHQ ore was assayed as 38.9wt% Fe, 42.5wt% SiO₂, and 1.0wt% Al₂O₃. In this ore, hematite and quartz are present as the major mineral phases where goethite, martite, and magnetite are present in small amounts. The liberation of hematite particles can be enhanced to about 82% by reducing the particle size to below 63 μm. The rejection of silica particles can be obtained by magnetic and flotation separation techniques. Overall, the BHQ ore can be enriched to 65.3wt% Fe at 61.9% iron recovery. A flowsheet has been suggested for the commercial exploitation of the BHQ ore.     

Effectiveness of sodium silicate as gangue depressants in iron ore slimes flotation

The recovery of iron from the screw classifier overflow slimes by direct flotation was studied. The relative effectiveness of sodium silicates with different silica-to-soda mole ratios as depressants for silica and silicate bearing minerals was investigated. Silica-to-soda mole ratio and silicate dosage were found to have significant effect on the separation efficiency. The results show that an increase of Fe content in the concentrate is observed with concomitant reduction in SiO₂ and Al₂O₃ levels when a particular type of sodium silicate at a proper dosage is used. The concentrate of 58.89wt% Fe, 4.68wt% SiO₂, and 5.28wt% Al₂O₃ with the weight recovery of 38.74% and the metal recovery of 41.13% can be obtained from the iron ore slimes with 54.44wt% Fe, 6.72wt% SiO₂, and 6.80wt% Al₂O₃, when Na₂SiO₃ with a silica-to-soda mole ratio of 2.19 is used as a depressant at a feed rate of 0.2 kg/t.     

A novel process for Fe recovery and Zn,Pb removal from a low-grade pyrite cinder with high Zn and Pb contents

Comprehensive utilization of pyrite cinders is increasingly important because of their huge annual outputs and potential valuable metals recovery to cope with the gradual depletion of high-grade mineral resources. In this work, a new process, i.e., a high-temperature chlorination-magnetizing roasting-magnetic separation process, was proposed for recovering Fe and removing Zn, Pb from a low-grade pyrite cinder containing 49.90wt% Fe, 1.23wt% Zn, and 0.29wt% Pb. Various parameters, including the chlorinating conditions (dosage of CaCl₂, temperature, and time) and the magnetization roasting conditions (amount of coal, temperature, and time) were investigated. The results indicate that the proposed process is effective for Fe recovery and Zn, Pb removal from the pyrite cinder. Through this process, 97.06% Zn, 96.82% Pb, and approximately 90% S can be removed, and 89.74% Fe is recovered as magnetite into the final product under optimal conditions. A purified magnetite concentrate containing 63.07wt% Fe, 0.16wt% P, 0.26wt% S, and trace amounts of nonferrous metals (0.005wt% Cu, 0.013wt% Pb, and 0.051wt% Zn) was obtained. The concentrate can be potentially used as a high-quality feed material for producing oxidized pellets by blending with other high-grade iron ore concentrates.     

Dolochar as a reductant in the reduction roasting of iron ore slimes

The present investigation examines the viability of dolochar, a sponge iron industry waste material, as a reductant in the reduction roasting of iron ore slimes, which are another waste generated by iron ore beneficiation plants. Under statistically determined optimum conditions, which include a temperature of 900℃, a reductant-to-feed mass ratio of 0.35, and a reduction time of 30-45 min, the roasted mass, after being subjected to low-intensity magnetic separation, yielded an iron ore concentrate of approximately 64wt% Fe at a mass recovery of approximately 71% from the feed iron ore slime assaying 56.2wt% Fe. X-ray diffraction analyses indicated that the magnetic products contain magnetite and hematite as the major phases, whereas the nonmagnetic fractions contain quartz and hematite.     

Upgrading and dephosphorization of Western Australian iron ore using reduction roasting by adding sodium carbonate

The technology of direct reduction by adding sodium carbonate (Na₂CO₃) and magnetic separation was developed to treat Western Australian high phosphorus iron ore. The iron ore and reduced product were investigated by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. It is found that phosphorus exists within limonite in the form of solid solution, which cannot be removed through traditional ways. During reduction roasting, Na₂CO₃ reacts with gangue minerals (SiO₂ and Al₂O₃), forming aluminum silicate-containing phosphorus and damaging the ore structure, which promotes the separation between iron and phosphorus during magnetic separation. Meanwhile, Na₂CO₃ also improves the growth of iron grains, increasing the iron grade and iron recovery. The iron concentrate, assaying 94.12wt% Fe and 0.07wt% P at the iron recovery of 96.83% and the dephosphorization rate of 74.08%, is obtained under the optimum conditions. The final product (metal iron powder) after briquetting can be used as the burden for steelmaking by an electric arc furnace to replace scrap steel.     

Occurrence mechanism of silicate and aluminosilicate minerals in Sarcheshmeh copper flotation concentrate

The Sarcheshmeh copper flotation circuit is producing 5×104 t copper concentrate per month with an averaging grade of 28% Cu in rougher, cleaner and recleaner stages. In recent years, with the increase in the open pit depth, the content of aluminosilicate minerals increased in plant feed and subsequently in flotation concentrate. It can motivate some problems, such as unwanted consumption of reagents, decreasing of the copper concentrate grade, increasing of Al₂O₃ and SiO₂ in the copper concentrate, and needing a higher temperature in the smelting process. The evaluation of the composite samples related to the most critical working period of the plant shows that quartz, illite, biotite, chlorite, orthoclase, albeit, muscovite, and kaolinite are the major Al₂O₃ and SiO₂ beating minerals that accompany chalcopyrite, chalcocite, and covellite minerals in the plant feed. The severe alteration to clay minerals was a general rule in all thin sections that were prepared from the plant feed. Sieve analysis of the flotation concentrate shows that Al₂O₃ and SiO₂ bearing minerals in the flotation concentrate can be decreased by promoting the size reduction from 53 to 38 μm. Interlocking of the Al₂O₃ and SiO₂ bearing minerals with chalcopyrite and chalcocite is the occurrence mechanism of silicate and aluminosilicate minerals in the flotation concentrate. The dispersed form of interlocking is predominant.     

铁钛平行分选对微细粒钛铁矿强磁选的影响

采用"铁钛平行分选"工艺对高压辊磨超细碎的-3.2 mm钒钛磁铁矿进行选别实验,研究了强磁选对钛铁矿的分选效果.当磨矿细度为-74μm粒级占80%时,辊压产品选钛给矿的单体解离度较颚破产品高0.58%,辊压产品-19μm+11μm粒级中铁氧化物的单体含量较颚破产品低1.38%.与颚破产品采用"阶段磨矿-阶段分选"工艺相比,"铁钛平行分选"得到的强磁精矿中Ti O2的回收率提高5.11%,-19μm粒级的含量降低2.62%.不同粒级钛铁矿在分选空间中的受力分析表明,当粒度降低时,钛铁矿所受的比阻力急剧增加,而比磁力却有所降低,这增加了钛铁矿颗粒被磁场捕获的难度."铁钛平行分选"能够降低选别过程中微细粒钛铁矿的新生成量,改善钛铁矿的强磁选别效果.     

Optimization of flotation variables for the recovery of hematite particles from BHQ ore

The technology for beneficiation of banded iron ores containing low iron value is a challenging task due to increasing demand of quality iron ore in India. A flotation process has been developed to treat one such ore, namely banded hematite quartzite (BHQ) containing 41.8wt% Fe and 41.5wt% SiO₂, by using oleic acid, methyl isobutyl carbinol (MIBC), and sodium silicate as the collector, frother, and dispersant, respectively. The relative effects of these variables have been evaluated in half-normal plots and Pareto charts using central composite rotatable design. A quadratic response model has been developed for both Fe grade and recovery and optimized within the experimental range. The optimum reagent dosages are found to be as follows: collector concentration of 243.58 g/t, dispersant concentration of 195.67 g/t, pH 8.69, and conditioning time of 4.8 min to achieve the maximum Fe grade of 64.25% with 67.33% recovery. The predictions of the model with regard to iron grade and recovery are in good agreement with the experimental results.     

Mineralogy and carbothermal reduction behaviour of vanadium-bearing titaniferous magnetite ore in Eastern India

Vanadium-bearing titaniferous magnetite bands hosted by Precambrian gabbro-norite-anorthositic rocks or their metamorphic equivalents were discovered in some parts of Eastern Indian Shield, containing 48%–49% Fe (total), 10%–25% TiO₂, and 0.3%–2.20% V₂O₅ by mass. Mineralogical and petrological study, composition, and characterization of the vanadium-bearing titaniferous magnetite ore were carried out by scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX), wave length X-ray florescence (WDXRF), inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), X-ray diffraction (XRD), etc. Chemical beneficiation for valuable metals, such as Fe, Ti, and V, was performed by reduction roasting. The direct and indirect reduction were investigated by mixing the lump ore with solid activated charcoal in a closed reactor and purging the reducing gas mixture in standard reducibility index apparatus at different temperatures and time intervals. The reduction roasting parameters were optimized. Finally, the reduced samples were crushed and upgraded by magnetic separation. The results show that, the maximum mass fractions of magnetic and nonmagnetic parts achieved are 69.36% and 30.64%, respectively, which contain 10.6% TiO₂ and 0.84% V₂O₅ in the magnetic part and 36.5% TiO₂ and 0.22% V₂O₅ in the nonmagnetic part.     

东鞍山浮选尾矿预富集精矿悬浮磁化焙烧试验研究

为实现东鞍山铁矿石浮选尾矿的资源化利用,对浮选尾矿预富集精矿开展了悬浮磁化焙烧试验研究.结果表明,浮选尾矿预富集精矿主要矿物组成为赤褐铁矿、磁铁矿、菱铁矿和石英,TFe品位为31.13%.浮选尾矿预富集精矿适宜的悬浮磁化焙烧工艺参数为:气体流量600mL/min,氢气体积分数20%,焙烧温度520℃,焙烧时间20min.焙烧产品经弱磁选可得铁精矿的TFe品位为64.23%,回收率为79.53%.焙烧产品的铁物相,XRD,VSM分析表明,经过悬浮磁化焙烧后,原矿中赤褐铁矿和碳酸铁转变为磁铁矿,矿石的饱和磁化强度和磁化率增强.     

钒钛磁铁矿固态还原的研究

研究了钒钛磁铁矿的固态还原过程及影响因素,讨论了磨矿粒度、还原温度和配碳量对固态还原金属化率及还原后炉料中钛走向的影响.采用煤基直接还原工艺流程,能够将钒钛磁铁矿中铁的氧化物还原为金属铁,然后通过磁选,可实现钛、铁的有效分离.实验结果表明,最佳工艺条件为:还原温度1 100℃,配碳量为1∶1,磨矿粒度控制在75~150μm之间.在此工艺条件下得到铁的金属化率和渣中钛的质量分数分别在80%和36%以上.该工艺为我国大批量钒钛磁铁矿的开发利用提供了新途径.     

Purification of specularite by centrifugation instead of flotation to produce iron oxide red pigment

This study used specularite, a high-gradient magnetic separation concentrate, as a raw material in reverse flotation.An iron concentrate with a grade of 65.1 wt% and a recovery rate of 75.31% were obtained.A centrifugal concentrator served as the deep purification equipment for the preparation of iron oxide red pigments, and its optimal rotating drum speed, feed concentration, and other conditions were determined.Under optimal conditions, a high-purity iron oxide concentrate with a grade of 69.38 wt% and a recovery rate of 80.89% were obtained and used as a raw material for preparing iron oxide red pigment.Calcining with sulfuric acid produced iron red pigments with different hues.Simultaneously, middlings with a grade of 60.20 wt% and a recovery rate of 17.51% were obtained and could be used in blast furnace ironmaking.High-value utilization of specularite beneficiation products was thus achieved.     

大西沟难选菱铁矿石综合利用新工艺

采用强磁预选—磁化焙烧—磁选联合工艺对大西沟难选菱铁矿石进行试验研究.结果表明:在磨矿细度-74μm占55%、强磁粗选磁场强度318kA/m、强磁扫选磁场强度717kA/m的条件下，可得到TFe品位为28.47%、回收率为96.78%的强磁精矿；强磁精矿在中性气氛中于焙烧温度700℃、焙烧时间40min、磨矿细度-43μm占95%、弱磁选磁场强度104kA/m的综合条件下，获得TFe品位为59.29%、回收率87.50%的精矿产品.XRD、光学显微镜和VSM等分析结果表明:难选菱铁矿和褐铁矿经焙烧后转变为易选磁铁矿，新生成的磁铁矿表面疏松多孔，多呈胶状，与脉石矿物紧密共生，其磁化强度和比磁化系数均显著提高.     

Mineralogical and sink-float studies of Jajarm low-grade bauxite

Jajarm’s bauxite deposits are mainly diasporic, and they have a low mass ratio of Al₂O₃/SiO₂. It is necessary to increase the run-of-mine mass ratio before feeding the material to the Bayer process. Chemical analysis indicated that the low-grade bauxite sample from Jajarm contained 43.9wt% Al₂O₃ and 13.35wt% SiO₂, resulting in a mass ratio of 3.29. According to mineralogical studies, the presence of aluminosilicate minerals such as kaolinite, illite, and quartz was the main reason for the decrease of the mass ratio. Microscopic observations revealed that, with the size reduction from -1000+710 to -38 μm, the liberation degree of diaspore increased from 10% to 60%, and that of aluminosilicates increased from 20% to 85%. Heavy liquids with the densities of 2.8, 3.0, 3.2, and 3.4 g/cm3 were used to evaluate the heavy media separation in three sizes, i.e., -3350+710, -710+212, and -212+125 μm. Laboratory studies confirm that the density of 3.2 g/cm3 can produce the concentrates (in sunk fractions) with recoveries of 89.09%, 91.24%, and 84.68% with the Al₂O₃/SiO₂ mass ratios of 5.03, 5.16, and 5.15 for the -3350+710, -710+212, and -212+125 μm sizes, respectively.     

应用选择性磁罩盖法磁选分离镍黄铁矿与蛇纹石

针对镍黄铁矿和蛇纹石浮选难分离,提出采用磁罩盖法进行磁分离.结果表明,控制一定的矿浆物化条件,随着磁种磁铁矿的添加,镍黄铁矿的磁选回收率随之升高,而蛇纹石的回收率基本保持很低,可实现两者的良好分离.人工混合矿分离结果表明,磁种质量分数为5%时,获得的精矿Ni品位为19.89%,回收率为92.46%,MgO质量分数为4.72%;X射线衍射和扫描电镜分析结果显示磁铁矿在镍黄铁矿表面产生了罩盖,在蛇纹石表面未产生明显的罩盖;Zeta电位测试和DLVO理论计算结果表明,添加六偏磷酸钠后,蛇纹石表面电性由正变负,而对镍黄铁矿和磁铁矿表面电性未产生显著影响,从而使磁铁矿与蛇纹石间的相互作用变为排斥,而与镍黄铁矿之间仍为吸引,因而磁铁矿选择性罩盖在镍黄铁矿表面,增强其磁性,实现与蛇纹石的磁分离.     

Effect of purification pretreatment on the recovery of magnetite from waste ferrous sulfate

The present study was conducted to elucidate the influence of impurities in waste ferrous sulfate on its recovery of magnetite. Ferrous sulfate solution was purified by the addition of NaOH solution to precipitate impurities, and magnetite was recovered from ferrous sulfate solution without and with purification pretreatment. Calcium hydroxide was added to the solution of ferrous sulfate as a precipitator. A mixed product of magnetite and gypsum was subsequently obtained by air oxidation and heating. Wet-milling was performed prior to magnetic separation to recover magnetite from the mixed products. The results show that with the purification pretreatment, the grade of iron in magnetite concentrate increased from 62.05% to 65.58% and the recovery rate of iron decreased from 85.35% to 80.35%. The purification pretreatment reduced the conglutination between magnetite and gypsum, which favors their subsequent magnetic separation. In summary, a higher-grade magnetite with a better crystallinity and a larger particle size of 2.35 μm was obtained with the purification pretreatment.     

Magnetic records of heavy metal pollution in urban topsoil in Lanzhou, China

This study is a systematic analysis of the magnetic characteristics and heavy metal elements in soil samples collected from Lanzhou City,China.The 117 surface soil samples were measured to study the feasibility and effectiveness of environmental magnetism for evaluating heavy metal pollution in urban soils.Results of the study indicate that low-coercivity magnetite dominates the magnetic properties in the samples.The high values of the soil magnetic mineral concentration parameters and low values of magnetic particle size parameters are distributed throughout the northern area of Xigu District,the industrial zones of the eastern section of Chengguan District and the districts of the narrow sections connecting Chengguan District and the other three districts;these parameters are fundamentally consistent with the distribution of the high values of the Pollution Load Index and Nemerow Pollution Index.Semi-quantitative studies which use the environmental magnetic method to monitor pollution of heavy metals(such as As,Cr,Cu,Ni,Pb,Zn,and Fe) have shown that when xlf≤35×10-8 m 3 kg-1,it is unpolluted;when 35≤xlf <150×10-8 m3 kg-1,it is moderately polluted to unpolluted;when 150≤xlf <365×10-8 m 3 kg-1,it is moderately polluted;when 365≤xlf <750×10-8 m3 kg-1,fd %<2.7 and ARM /SIRM<0.2×10-3m A-1,it is moderately to highly polluted;when xlf ≥750×10-8 m3 kg-1,xfd %<2.7 and xARM/SIRM<0.2×10-3m A-1,it is highly polluted.The region of moderately to highly polluted distribution is caused by industry and vehicles,showing that the change of pollution in Lanzhou City bears the trend of "vehicle emission + industrial".     

Beneficiation of the gold bearing ore by gravity and flotation

Gold concentration usually consists of gravity separation, flotation, cyanidation, or the combination of these processes. The choice among these processes depends on the mineralogical characterization and gold content of the ore. Recently, the recovery of gold using gravity methods has gained attention because of low cost and environmentally friendly operations. In this study, gold pre-concentrates were produced by the stepwise gravity separation and flotation techniques. The Knelson concentrator and conventional flotation were employed for the recovery of gold. Gold bearing ore samples were taken from Gümüşhane Region, northern east part of Turkey. As a result of stepwise Knelson concentration experiments, a gold concentrate assaying around 620 g/t is produced with 41.4wt% recovery. On the other hand, a gold concentrate about 82 g/t is obtained with 89.9wt% recovery from a gold ore assaying 6 g/t Au by direct flotation.     

Aerosol flotation of low-grade refractory molybdenum ores

The characteristics of aerosol flotation, which include the effect of the concentration and particle size of kerosene aerosol on the molybdenum (Mo) flotation index and the effect of kerosene aerosol dosing method on the kerosene dosage and flotation time, were studied in the flotation of low-grade refractory molybdenum ores using kerosene aerosol. The results revealed that the particle size and concentration of kerosene aerosol had little effect on the Mo grade but had significant effect on the Mo recovery. A smaller particle size and a lower concentration of kerosene aerosol were beneficial to the Mo aerosol flotation. For the received Mo ore samples, the optimized particle size of kerosene aerosol was 0.3-2 μm and the optimized aerosol concentration was 14 mg/L. The compressed air atomizer had a more uniform distribution of aerosol particles than the ultrasonic atomizer, and the aerosol concentration was controlled easily, so the compressed air atomizer was more suitable for the research of aerosol flotation. Compared with conventional flotation in which kerosene was directly added into the ore pulp, the flotation time was reduced by ~30%, and the dosage was decreased by ~20% in aerosol flotation, while the Mo flotation index was similar.     

Preparation of ferronickel from nickel laterite via coal-based reduction followed by magnetic separation

The sticking phenomenon between molten slag and refractory is one of the crucial problems when preparing ferronickel from laterite ore using rotary hearth furnace or rotary kiln processes. This study aims to ameliorate sticking problems by using silicon dioxide (SiO₂) to adjust the melting degree of the briquette during reduction roasting. Thermodynamic analysis indicates that the melting temperature of the slag gradually increases with an increase in the SiO₂ proportion (SiO₂/(SiO₂ + Al₂O₃ + MgO) mass ratio). Experimental validations also prove that the briquette retains its original shape when the SiO₂ proportion is greater than 75wt%, and sticking problems are avoided during reduction. A ferronickel product with 8.33wt% Ni and 84.71wt% Fe was prepared via reductive roasting at 1500℃ for 90 min with a SiO₂ proportion of 75wt% and a C/O molar ratio of 1.0 followed by dry magnetic separation; the corresponding recoveries of Ni and Fe reached 75.70% and 77.97%, respectively. The microstructure and phase transformation of reduced briquette reveals that the aggregation and growth of ferronickel particles were not significantly affected after adding SiO₂ to the reduction process.