Abstract
Gravity, magnetic and electrostatic separation methods allowed to obtain different titanium oxide concentrates (ilmenite, leucoxene, rutile) and different varieties of zircon concentrates (premium zircon, standard zircon, medium grade zircon standard) from Senegal’s heavy mineral sands. During mining separation, monazite, which is a paramagnetic mineral, was found in a non-negligible concentration of 0.57 wt% on average in the medium grade zircon standard which also contains 37.96 wt% zircon and 44.46 wt% titanium oxides. Magnetic and gravity separation tests were carried out on the Medium grade zircon standard (MGZS) to produce a monazite concentrate at Eramet Ideas laboratory. Magnetic separation at 1.5 teslas intensity resulted in the recovery of 94.8% of the monazite from the MGZS. Gravity separation also recovered 76.6% of the monazite from the MGZS. The combination of these two treatment methods can thus produce three concentrates from MGZS (a monazite concentrate, a zircon concentrate, and a titanium oxide concentrate).
Highlights
Heavy mineral sands (HMS) have great economic interest
Magnetic separation at 1.5 teslas intensity resulted in the recovery of 94.8% of the monazite from the Medium grade zircon standard (MGZS)
This study aims to quantify the amount of monazite in heavy mineral sands and to attempt recovery tests by gravity and magnetic separation
Summary
Heavy mineral sands (HMS) have great economic interest. They are exploited to extract mainly minerals such as titanium oxides (ilmenite, rutile and leucoxene), and zircon. Monazite (Ce, La, Nd, Th) PO4 is . It is a mineral which contains rare earth elements. Monazite is already recovered as a by-product in some heavy mineral sands operations, notably on beaches and alluvial deposits in India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Brazil. Indian beach placers are an important source of monazite [1]
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have