Technology

ISSUES RELATING TO CHARACTERIZATION AND BENEFICIATION OF LOW GRADE IRON ORE FINES
B.K. Mishra, P.S.R. Reddy, B. Das, S.K. Biswal, S. Prakash, S. K. Das Institute of Minerals & Materials Technology

(Continuation from the November issue) 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 3.1 Mineralogical characterization Different iron minerals associated with iron ore samples are shown in Table 1. Most of the samples contain hematite, martite magnetite and goethites. In the iron ores of Barajamda and Barbil areas, magnetite is mostly altered to martite and rarely relicts of magnetite in martite are observed. (Figure1). Goethite is another important iron bearing mineral in the samples. Goethite is of two types, viz., vitreous and ochreous. Vitreous goethite is hard and compact; earthy goethite is fine grained and friable in nature. Goethite replaces martite and hematite in varying degrees viz., from incipient to complete replacement (goethite pseudomorph martite). Due to the complex intergrowth patterns of the ore minerals, complete liberation of these minerals will be difficult. Free hematite, goethite or limonite occurs at extremely fine sizes. Laterite fragments contain thin veins of kaolinite and possibly gibbsite. The quartz grains are dusty and contain inclusion of course to fine opaque minerals. Kaolinite and gibbsite constitute the major volume of aluminous gangue minerals in hematite bearing iron ore samples. These minerals are fine grained and often intimately associated with earthy goethite. In BHQ sample, quartz, hematite and magnetite are the dominant mineral species. The quantitative mineralogy and hematite liberation of a typical hematite bearing sample is shown in Table 2. Hematite liberation is calculated to be about 87% at -53+37.5 micron size. The contents of free hematite particles in general increase with decrease in particle size. Locked particle percents decrease with decrease in grain size. The clayey earthy goethite particles with kaolinite and gibbsite are concentrated in below 45 micron size along with free fine hematite grains which needs separation by the suitable processing techniques. Table1. Mineralogical variations of the iron ore samples.

BHQ

Goa

Barajamada Martite, Hematite Goethite

Barbil Hematite Goethite Quartz

Bailadilla Hematie Goethite Quartz

Hematite Hematite Quartz Goethite

Magnetite Maghemite Quartz Quartz Kaolinite Kaolinite Gibbsite

Shale Magnetite fragments Gibbsitic clays Iron silicates

Table2. Quantitative mineralogy and liberation of typical hematite sample.

Size (microns) Hem (H) Goethite (G) Limonite (L) Locked H+G Locked H+L Total Weight % Liberation % -700 +500 9.5 30.0 13.0 05.2 42.3 100 11 32 -500 +325 11.0 19.8 20.3 06.0 43.9 100 8 32 -325+ 250 12.0 16.9 23.3 02.9 45.3 100 8 34 -250+ 180 15.5 17.6 16.3 04.4 46.2 100 3 40 -180 +125 12.7 23.5 33.5 02.4 27.9 100 5 48 -125 +90 25.3 27.3 26.4 05.0 16.0 100 3 76 -90 +53 32.8 14.5 31.5 21.2 100 3 76 -53 +37.5 32.7 13.2 44.1 10.0 100 2 87

Trace Trace

3.2 Chemical characteristics of the sample The complete chemical analysis of different samples is shown in Table 3. All the hematite samples contain around 1.5-

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6.7% SiO2, where as the BHQ sample contains around 44.6% of SiO2. The alumina content varies between 1.2-6.0%. The BHQ sample contains lower alumina and iron where as the highest iron values were observed in case of Bailladila sample. The characteristics of all the samples have indicated that the silica and alumina are preferentially accumulated in the finer size fractions. It has been also observed that better quality of iron fines are accumulated in coarser size ranges. Table3. Chemical analysis of the received samples.
Constituents,% Fe(T) Fe2O3 SiO2 Al2O3 CaO MgO K2O Na2O LOI BHQ 37.9 54.2 44.6 0.50 0.02 0.10 Traces 0.06 0.42 Barajamada 60.5 85.8 4.0 3.1 6.0 Goa 57.84 82.70 6.7 6.0 0.10 0.08 0.10 0.11 4.0 Barbil Bailadilla 60.31 86.24 4.4 4.73 4.6 64.06 92.44 1.56 1.24 3.50

Figure 1. (a) Martite-M and goethite-G patches within martite. Martite grains completely devoid relict magnetite; (b) Goethite as veins and patches replacing martite grains. Magnetite relict within martite is also replaced by goethite. Martite grains are also disintegrated into fine granules due to deformation with abundant voids; (c) Microplaty hematite (MH) forming aggregate with abundant voids filled with limonite and probably cryptocrystallinen quartz where aggregates of specular hematite (SH) forming compact mass goethite within clusters of dissected martite grains; (d) Three laterite fragments containing thin veins of kaolinite and possibly gibbsite. 3.3 Beneficiation Studies 3.4 Hematite iron ore of Barbil Different flowsheets have been developed and commercialized depending upon the types of ore and its response to different unit operations. The beneficiation of Egyptian ore composed mainly of goethite, hematite and high amount of quartz is mainly carried out by size reduction, classification and magnetic separation7. In Kirondul iron ore beneficiation plant, India, the iron ore fines are being beneficiated by grinding, hydrocycloning, spiralling and magnetic separation (HGMS) techniques to achieve the iron concentrate with 67% Fe for pellet feed. In Western Australia, Batac jig in combination with spirals are being employed for the beneficiation of iron ores.

In the present case (Barbil), the beneficiation studies were aimed to prepare the pellet feed by subjecting the iron ore fines to grinding, cycloning, spiraling and high intensity magnetic separation techniques. The sample was subjected to grinding in order to obtain particle size of below 1 mm. The ground sample was subjected to stub cyclone to produce 77 % by weight containing around 62.7 % Fe in the underflow. The over flow material contains 23. % weight with 52.1% Fe. The results of the spiral studies of stub cyclone underflow indicate that the spiral concentrate contains around an overall yield of 43.2% with 63.76, % Fe. The spiral tailing which contain 34.3 % by weight with 61.0% Fe needs further up-gradation by magnetic separation techniques. The composite samples of cyclone over flow and spiral tailings were subjected to wet high intensity magnetic separation (HGMS) techniques. It has been observed that in most cases the treatment of spiral tailings in HGMS could give rise to some encouraging results where as the cyclone overflow sample which is extremely fine in nature could not be captured in the magnetic matrix gaps. It was thus possible to obtain an iron concentrate of 64.5 % Fe with 26.8 % of yield. The summary of the results indicate that an overall product at 70.0 % yield with 64.06 % Fe could be recovered from a feed containing around 60% Fe. The overall reject is around 30 % by weight with 51.85 % Fe. Results of the studies are shown in Table-4. The flow-sheet developed based on the experimental results is shown in Figure 2. This flow-sheet is general in nature and fine tuning is required for specific sample based on its characteristics. The hematite ore fines can be beneficiated to prepare pellet feed by this type of flow-sheet. The sample from this region contains clay material as the gangue constituents which may cause some problem in grinding. It is therefore essential to scrub the material prior to grinding.

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Table 4. Results of beneficiation of hematite ore of Barbil fines. Techniques Stub cyclone underflow Overflow Spiral conc. Spiral tail Mag (HGMS) Nonmag Product(Final) Rejects(Final) Feed Weight, % 77.2 22.8 43.2 34.0 26.8 7.2 70.0 30.0 100 Fe, % 62.6 52.21 63.76 61.0 64.5 48.72 64.06 51.85 60.40 3.6. BHQ ore Detail beneficiation studies were undertaken on the BHQ iron ore sample of Hospet area to enrich the iron content suitable for pellet making. The sample on an average contains around 38% Fe, 45 % SiO2 and 0.5% Al2O3. The XRD studies reveals that the minerals associated in the sample are magnetite, hematite and quartz. Various beneficiation studies such as hydrocyclone, magnetic separation, spiral, and column flotation have been carried out to recover good grade iron concentrate. These studies indicate that the sample needs to be ground to finer sizes to effect liberation of gang materials. The techniques valuable for the fine size ranges are either wet magnetic separation (WHIMS) or flotation. Both the alternatives have been tried to develop suitable flow-sheet to beneficiate this type of ore. The results of the studies indicate that an iron concentrate of 64-66% Fe at 42-44 % of overall yield could be obtained either by the combination of medium and high intensity magnetic separation technique or by column flotation techniques. A flow-sheet involving column flotation technique has been worked out and shown in Figure 3. The typical results of both magnetic separation and column flotation are presented in Table-6. These results indicated that the BHQ ore can be beneficiated to generate iron fines with 66% Fe with low silica content. An iron concentrate containing 63.1% Fe can be achieved by the combination of low and high wetting magnetic separation. The concentrate thus produced is superior in quality for pellet making as it contains very low amount of alumina. This type of concentrate will have a high potential value in commercial market. Typical results obtained from different samples are compared and shown in Table-7. It is revealed from these results that low grade iron ore fines generated at different mines can be a potential source of pellet feed if beneficiated by the suitable techniques. The techniques adopted are different for different types of ores. The characteristics of the ores play a great role in selecting the separation methods. Standard deviation Mean Tailing Standard Deviation 2.57 50.6 2.76 0.37 55.2 1.19 2.38 46.9 2.68 sodium silicate 500g/tonne; wash water rate 5l/m; feed rate 20kg/hr. Stream Assay Mean Concentrate Weight, % 49.4 Fe, % 65.34 Recovery % 53.6

3.5 Goa Ore (Slimes) In view of the importance of flotation practice in the beneficiation of iron ores in many parts of the World, a systematic approach has been made to assess the amenability of recovering the additional iron values from the tailings being generated at one of the existing iron ore washing plant of Goa region. The chemical analysis of the tailing sample indicated that it contains 6.7% SiO2, 5.6% Al2O3 and 57.9% Fe (T). The size analysis data indicate that the sample is extremely fine in nature and gangue materials are preferentially accumulated in finer fraction (-20 microns). Flotation is the ideal approach for this type of fine sample. It can be carried out either by using cationic or anionic collector to float either silica or iron. The actual technique to be adapted can be decided based on the surface properties and characteristics of the tailings sample. The mineralogical characteristics of the sample reveal that the bulk sample contains hematite as the major minerals with moderate amount of goethite, kaolinite, and quartz. Mineralogical study supported by XRD findings indicates the presence of hematite in flotation concentrate sample while the tailing samples are rich in goethite, kaolinite and locked hematite. The results indicate that superior grade iron concentrate can be obtained using flotation techniques by both cationic and anionic reagents. A column flotation technique was also applied to improve both the grade and recovery of iron values from the plant tailings. It was possible to obtain iron concentrate with 64-66% Fe with minimum silica and alumina which is suitable for pellet feed. Typical results of column flotation studies are shown in Table 5. Table 5: Results of column flotation for iron values from tailings. Conditions: Collector 1 kg/tonne; frother 0.5 litre/tonne;

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Table 6. Typical results of beneficiation of BHQ sample. Methods Grinding and Magnetic separation Percentage Yield Fe content Recovery SiO2 Al2O3 Yield Fe content Recovery SiO2 Al2O3 Products 42.3 63.1 70.4 9.0 0.23 44.7 66.0 77.2 5.0 0.22 Rejects 57.7 19.12 30.0 70.2 55.7 15.1 22.8 77.3 -4. CONCLUSIONS The characteristics of iron ore fines samples collected from different mines of India reveals that the bulk samples contain hematite as the major minerals with moderate amount of goethite, kaolinite, and quartz. Mineralogical study supported by XRD findings indicates the presence of hematite in concentrate sample while the tailings samples are rich in goethite, kaolinite and locked hematite. The presence of clayey/earthy materials rich in aluminum in low grade iron ore poses severe problem in beneficiation. For this reason scrubbing of raw material as a pretreatment option must be considered.

Grinding and Column flotation

Table7. Beneficiation results of iron ore from various mines using different techniques.
Details d80 of feed, m Stream Feed Reject Yield BHQ Barajamada Goa 210 Barbil 4750 Bailadilla 210

Lumpy ore 3350 % Fe 37.8 15.2 44.7 55.65 61.5% 47.7 62.5 83.3

51.94 65.2 46.35 66.8 58.9

60.3 64.5 51.85 70.0 74.8

64.5 66.9 55.2 86.2 88.2

Concentrate 66.0

Figure 3. Flow-sheet to recover iron values from BHQ ore. The process synthesis for hematitic ore fines as suggested by grinding, cycloning, spiraling and magnetic separation techniques indicates that by manipulating the design and operating parameters better yield and quality products can be achieved suitable for pellet feed. A concentrate with more than 63% Fe can be obtained with 70% yield from the hematite iron ore fines available at different mines. A common flow-sheet with provision for fine tuning to meet specific ore requirement can be adapted for each type of fines to produce pellet grade concentrate. Superior grade iron concentrate with 64-66% Fe quite suitable for pellet feed can be prepared from low-grade Goa ore slimes by using column flotation techniques. BHQ ore available in Karnataka can yield super grade concentrate with minimum alumina and silica content either by flotation column or magnetic separation. The results of these investigations reveal that most of the low grade sources available in India which is not suitable for blast furnace or direct reduction can be beneficiated to produce pellet grade concentrate. This will help not only to conserve good grade iron ore but also reduce environmental pollution. Further studies are required to perfect these flowsheets for specific applications.

Recovery, % 77.2 List of unit processes Crushing, grinding, column flotation.

employed

Screening, Cyclone, Grinding, Grinding, jigging, column cyclone, cyclone, spiral, flotation Spiral & spiral, WHIMS HGMS HGMS

Figure 2. Flowsheets to recovery iron values from Hematite ore

The paper was presented at International Seminar on Iron ore Beneficiation & Pelletization by Ministry of Steel, New Delhi

m m m

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