Characterisation-Assisted Reduction Roasting of BHJ, West Singhbhum, Jharkhand, India

Abstract

During the mining of high-grade iron ore, considerable amount of waste is generated. This poses a serious challenge to the environment as well as humans. But, with the depletion of high-grade ores, the Banded Haematite Jasper (BHJ) ore generated as a waste has attracted attention as an alternative source of iron. The purpose for this study is to develop the energy efficient process route for harnessing the Banded Hematite Jasper. Utilisation of the ore as a source of iron will also serve the additional purpose of getting rid of a major burden on the environment. Reduction roasting is a promising route for the beneficiation of the ore for the recovery of iron values profitably. However, no studies have been reported correlating the influence of the properties of the ore on the roasting process. This is crucial for developing a viable process route for reduction roasting. Preliminary characterization study of the sample indicated the presence of prismatic and specularity hematite grains embedded in fine grained siliceous matrix and vice versa. The ore contained 43.06% Fe, 36.54% SiO2 and 0.21% Al2O3. Davies Tube magnetic separator of the ore indicated the absence of highly magnetic materials in the ore. Magnetic separation of the roasted ore resulted in significant enrichment of the ore with respect to iron. The optimized parameters for reduction roasting were 13 mm particle size, 60 min roasting time and 600 °C temperature.