A Predictive Model For Heavy Media Cyclone Separation Of Phosphate Pebble From Dolomite

As Florida phosphate mining gradually moves from the Bone Valley formation to the Hawthorn formation, a greater portion of the minable deposit contains dolomitic diluents which result in lower product grades that can be detrimental to the production of phosphoric acid for fertilizer uses. One beneficiation technique found applicable to the phosphate pebble size range (3 X 16 mesh) is heavy media separation using suspensions of magnetite and ferrosilicon. As part of an ongoing investigation of dolomite removal technology, a pilot heavy media cyclone system was constructed by IMC and used in the testing of a variety of drill core composites and hulk samples. The results of these tests were used to develop a predictive model for heavy media cyclone separation based on pebble fraction assays and heavy media operating parameters. This model is currently being used in the evaluation of specific future mining areas.