Magnetic separation studies on ferruginous chromite fine to enhance Cr:Fe ratio

The Cr:Fe ratio (chromium-to-iron mass ratio) of chromite affects the production of chrome-based ferroalloys. Although the lit-erature contains numerous reports related to the magnetic separation of different minerals, limited work concerning the application of mag-netic separation to fine chromite from the Sukinda region of India to enhance its Cr:Fe ratio has been reported. In the present investigation, magnetic separation and mineralogical characterization studies of chromite fines were conducted to enhance the Cr:Fe ratio. Characterization studies included particle size and chemical analyses, X-ray diffraction analysis, automated mineral analysis, sink-and-float studies, and mag-netic susceptibility measurements, whereas magnetic separation was investigated using a rare earth drum magnetic separator, a rare earth roll magnetic separator, an induced roll magnetic separator, and a wet high-intensity magnetic separator. The fine chromite was observed to be upgraded to a Cr:Fe ratio of 2.2 with a yield of 55.7%through the use of an induced roll magnetic separator and a feed material with a Cr:Fe ratio of 1.6.