Abstract
Simple magnetic separation for a certain magnetite mine with ultrafine disseminated lean ores has resulted in low performance, as the fine sizes and aggregation of ground mineral particles have caused inefficient recovery of the ultrafine minerals. In this study, we attempt to increase the apparent sizes of target mineral particles, and improve the separation indices, by using a multi-stage grinding-dispersion-selective flocculation-weak magnetic separation process. The results showed that under the conditions of 500 g/t sodium hexametaphospate (SHMP) as dispersant, 750 g/t carboxymethyl starch (CMS) as flocculant, agitating at 400 rpm for 10 min, with slurry pH 11, and final grinding fineness of 93.5% less than 0.03 mm, the obtained concentrate contained 62.82% iron, with recovery of 79.12% after multi-stage magnetic separation. Compared to simple magnetic separation, the concentrate’s iron grade increased by 1.26%, and a recovery rate by 5.08%. Fundamental analysis indicated that, in a dispersed state of dispersion, magnetite particles had weaker negative surface charges than quartz, allowing the adsorption of negative CMS ions via hydrogen bonding. Consequently, the aggregate size of the initial concentrate increased from 24.30 to 38.37 μm, accomplishing the goal of selective flocculation, and increasing the indices of separation.
Highlights
Hematite and magnetite are the two main minerals in China’s numerous iron ore sources
We use polymeric selective flocculation to improve the performance of the beneficiation process of an ultrafine disseminated magnetite mine in Gansu, China, and examine the variations in fineness and surface properties of mineral particles before and after flocculation
Magnetite: the are main ferrous mineral the ore, occurring euhedral semi-euhedral metasomatism at the edges by hematite; its distribution is non-uniform dissemination of largely fine fine grainsgrains, thatthe arefineness disseminated or densely disseminated in gangue minerals, with occasional size is below 0.1 mm; 90% of the grains are of fineness −0.038 mm metasomatism at the edges by hematite; itsmicroscope distribution dissemination of largely
Summary
Hematite and magnetite are the two main minerals in China’s numerous iron ore sources. As processed mineral resources become depleted, iron ores that are low-grade, fine or mixed, and generally difficult to separate have become our current focus of research and exploitation [1,2]. Much work has been done on the beneficiation of ultrafine disseminated hematite, and different separation techniques have been developed, e.g., hydrophobic and selective flocculation, The selective flocculation-desliming-flotation process has been successfully adopted in industrial practice [6,7]. The beneficiation of ultrafine disseminated magnetite suffers from ultrafine particles, low relative susceptibility and poor performance Current work on such minerals has been limited to the optimization of conventional processes. The obtained results could provide useful information on the optimization of similar magnetic separation processes
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