Mineralogy, physical characterization and magnetic separation performance of a raw ilmenite concentrate for its purification

Abstract

Mineralogy, physical characterization and magnetic separation performance were investigated for purification of a raw ilmenite concentrate. With the aid of mineral liberation analyzer (MLA) and optical microscope, it was found that (1) most of heavy minerals were distributed in the narrow size fraction, (2) clays and Ti-bearing magnetite needed to be separated prior to magnetic separation, (3) harmful elements such as Ca, P, ²³²Th and except Mg would’t be enriched in ilmenite concentrate, but enrichment of Mg could’t affect the concentrate quality, (4) Monazite was the main carrier mineral of Th, Ca and P. In addition, the expected yield of rejection and theoretical magnetic inductions were determined by separation tests of heavy minerals and magnetic analysis, respectively. Both the wet and dry magnetic separations were performed focusing on the examination of magnetic induction and it was found that the dry separator has an excellent selectivity against radionuclide bearing minerals. Finally, the dry magnetic separation as a core process technology was proposed to purify the raw concentrate.