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Traditional mineral processing techniques are more and more difficult to recover the increasingly low grade phosphate ores today. Although bioleaching method has been attempted to process low grade ores in hydrometallurgical field due to economical and environmental reason, it has been hardly used in leaching phosphate ore at home and abroad. Strains of Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans and Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans were collected and separated from the acid drainage of a coal mine in Anhui province of China. Ultraviolet irradiation and Microwave inducement were applied to the bacterial cultivation process to produce strains of Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans and Acidithi-obacillus ferrooxidans able to tolerate extremely low pH conditions and generate sulphuric acid by oxidizing elemental sulfur or sulphide and the mutagenesis can achieve higher leaching rate. The bioleaching result will improve more by the addition of Tween series surfactants.

Jan 1, 2014

By T. Fujita

The incinerated bottom ash includes titanium oxides and a small amount of chromium oxides. Initially, 89 % of chromium was removed from ash at magnetic flux density at several stages of wet magnetic separation from 0.05 T to 6 T. The bottom ash from an industrial waste incineration process includes about 10 % of TiO2. The minerals that contain titanium are rutile and perovskite. These minerals are paramagnetic and show low magnetic susceptibility, therefore, the high magnetic field strength, created by a superconducting magnet, is necessary to capture these minerals. At the first stage of separation, a magnetic field strength of 6T was applied in order to attract the particles that contain iron oxides to the higher magnetic field region. At the second stage of separation, the magnetic capture rate of weekly magnetic particles decreased with increasing the magnetic susceptibility of the aqueous solution (i.e. the medium for dispersing the particles) in order to separate the highly magnetic materials. The para-magnetic salt such as ferric chloride was dissolved in the water to increase the magnetic susceptibility of the medium. After a two-step wet HGMS with superconducting magnet, the grade of TiO2was increased from 10 % to 28 % with a recovery of 64 %.

Jan 1, 2014

By Kobus (J. J. ) Rossouw, P. Chris Pistorius, Johannes Sono

"Different coal properties are important in SL/RN (coal-based rotary kiln) direct reduction of iron ore, and in electrical smelting of prereduced iron ore. Laboratory simulation was used to evaluate two candidate coals, which were similar in volatile content and rank, but differed in reactive maceral content. The tests served to evaluate both the reduction rate (during direct reduction) and the dissolution rate of carbon from the coal into an iron bath.Reduction rates of mixtures of magnetite and devolatilised coal were assessed isothermally, using samples of 55 grams. The off-gas analysis was used to follow the extent of reduction. Results are shown in Figure 1 a). Coal B was expected to be more reactive, based on its higher content of reactive macerals (77%, compared with 61% for Coal A). In line with this, Figure 1 a) does show a higher reduction rate with this coal. However, increasing the reduction temperature increases the reduction rate substantially,especially for the less-reactive Coal A.For the dissolution experiments, samples (mass: 250 g) were melted in an alumina crucible (under a nitrogen atmosphere), to give a starting composition around 1%C. When the desired temperature was reached, 25 g of char was added on top of the melt, through a feeding port. Results are shown in Figure 1 b). The more-reactive Coal B was less crystalline (the graphite crystallite size estimated from X-ray diffraction was 4.6Å, compared with 11.4Å for Coal A). This is associated with a lower dissolution rate in iron."

Jan 1, 2003

By Q. Cui, Z. G. Song, S. S. Lin, S. Q. Li, S. S. Lu, G. B. Zheng, A. J. Ren

"Mine tailings is one of the most important bulk industrial solid wastes, but its rate of comprehensive utilization is relatively low. Efficient separation, recovery and utilization of the valuable components is one focus of the comprehensive utilization of tailings. Beneficiation recovery of the valuable minerals is the most direct comprehensive utilization method for tailings. There are generally different kinds of nonmetallic minerals contained in the nonferrous metal mine tailings, which are secondary mineral resources waiting for further developing and recovery. Comprehensive utilization test studies on fluorite in tungsten beneficiation tailings and feldspar in molybdenum beneficiation tailings have been carried out by author and good test results are achieved. Some of the technologies developed in the test study have been applied in industrial productions, which have been working well. The economic, social and environmental benefits are remarkable. Our test studies and some production practices will be summarized and current situation and existing problems of comprehensive utilization for nonferrous metal mine tailings will also be discussed. Assumption and prospect for the future study on comprehensive utilization of nonferrous metal mine tailings will be brought at last.INTRODUCTION Mine tailings is one of the most important bulk industrial solid wastes, but its rate of comprehensive utilization is relatively low. Efficient separation, recovery and utilization of the valuable components is one focus of the comprehensive utilization of tailings. Beneficiation recovery of the valuable minerals is the most direct comprehensive utilization method for tailings. There are generally different kinds of nonmetallic minerals contained in the nonferrous metal mine tailings, which are secondary mineral resources waiting for further developing and recovery. Comprehensive utilization of nonmetallic minerals of nonferrous metal mine tailings not only can improve the value of the ore but also reduce the stock of tailings, being the key to reduce emissions at source for exploitation of nonferrous mineral resources (Cai, Yang, 2000)."

Jan 1, 2018

In order to determine the optimal process parameters of agitation leaching and provide industrial process design parameters, experiments were carried out on leaching behaviors of copper oxide ore with high mud content. Condition tests show that the main factors affect the leaching efficiency as follows: Temperature, Initial acid concentration, leaching time and particle size. As the temperature increases, the copper leaching rate was increased. At 60 ?, the initial acid concentration 80g / L, leaching time 2h, liquid-solid ratio 2:1 and grinding fineness65%-0.074mm, the optimal copper extraction was 83.15%, the acid consumption was 187.91kg / t. ore. Keywords: agitation leaching, copper oxide ore, mud

Sep 1, 2012

By T. Kumaresan

The Bayer process used for refining bauxite to smelting grade Alumina serves as the linchpin of the Aluminum production industry worldwide. Even though the process is well established, the presence of impurities in the liquor affects the quality of product and imposes a major economic cost on the industry. This review article focuses on the issues pertaining to Gibbsitic (Al2O3.3H2O) precipitation circuit. The comprehensive review provides a basic understanding of the aluminum trihydrate precipitation and agglomeration phenomena. Crystal growth rate and agglomeration play a significant role in determining the output PSD of agglomerates. Hence, the effect of certain thermodynamic and hydrodynamic parameters along with the impact of impurities (oxalates, aldols, acids etc.) and additives on hydrate growth has been reviewed.

Sep 1, 2012

By Pat Turner, Abrie Schutte, Tim Olson, Roman van Ommen

The key to good cyclone circuit design and operation in primary grinding circuits will be discussed. Cyclone circuit design issues include individual cyclone design features such as cone angle or materials of construction, as well as orientation and manifold configuration. Cyclone performance issues as well as maintenance considerations will be detailed in an effort to achieve consistent cyclone operation with minimal coarse solids in the overflow. The new gMAXTM. cyclones will be introduced and evaluated using operating circuit data in closed circuit grinding applications

Jan 1, 2003

By Reza M. Rahman

The froth phase plays an important role in the flotation and upgrading of the final concentrate. At present, the techniques that have been used in the mineral industry to measure the froth recovery have limitations. The aim of this paper is to investigate the performance of the froth in an industrial flotation cell. A unique device has been developed which is capable of decoupling the froth zone from the pulp zone. It consists of two concentric tubes. The inner tube acts as a dropback collection chamber or catcher. The particles that detach from the froth phase fall directly into the catcher and are collected as froth dropback. The froth recovery measurements were carried out in a rougher bank of a copper concentrator treating sulphide minerals. The dropback device is designed so that it can be immersed into a plant size flotation cell and plant froth recovery measurements can be taken at any given time. During the experiments, the bubbles laden with valuable mineral particles entered the device from the plant flotation cell, subsequently rising to form a froth layer at the top of the device. The particles that detached from the froth zone were collected in the dropback collection chamber whereas the concentrate sample was collected by a launder. By drying, sizing and chemical analysis of the concentrate and dropback samples, the froth recovery, was estimated on the basis of the valuable component. The effect of air rate on froth recovery was also investigated. Keywords: flotation, froth, dropback, froth recovery

Sep 1, 2012

By Rogerio de Oliveira Baldoino

The sedimentary phosphate deposit of Bayovar is located in a very dry area of Peru (desert of Sechura) which is close to the Pacific coast. It consists of seven superposed layers (beds) which call for different strategy of concentration. The ore is composed predominantly by apatite (84% in weight basis) plus silicates (16%). In order to treat the ore from beds 1-5, a suitable standard mineral processing circuit (composed of scrubbing, screening, attrition and desliming) started its operation in 2010, yielding 3.9 Mt/y of concentrate assaying 30% of P2O5. To concentrate phosphate from beds 6-7, however, it is necessary to carry out further cationic reverse flotation of silicates, at neutral pH, to yield a concentrate, which meets market specification. The new process was developed in laboratory scale by a collaborative program conducted between Vale S.A. and the University of Sao Paulo-Brazil. A pilot plant has currently been running in order to confirm the very good results yielded in laboratory scale. The successful accomplishment of flotation in the current beneficiation flow sheet will enable a capacity expansion of 1.9 Mt/y of concentrate assaying 30% of P2O5. As water resources are very limited at Bayovar region, all the steps of concentration, including flotation, must be performed with seawater, which must be continuously recycled. This work addresses some relevant topics related to the use of seawater in the reverse cationic flotation of silicates: influence of temperature, water quality (ageing and chemical composition) and collector type (ether amine versus condensate). The results indicate that condensate amine works better than ether amine. If flotation is conducted with the former collector, the separation process is able to tolerate changes in temperature (25-40oC) and water quality caused by either evaporation or ageing. Keywords: phosphate, flotation, seawater, temperature, ageing, concentration, salt

Sep 1, 2012

By M. Eraydin

Dewatering fine particles (e.g., flotation concentrates) is inefficient, energy intensive and often requires large capital and operating costs. To address these issues, a series of advanced dewatering technologies have been developed at Virginia Tech. These include novel dewatering aids and a hyperbaric centrifuge. Typically, the moistures obtained using these methods are 30% to 50% lower than those obtained using conventional methods, as demonstrated in laboratory and pilot-scale test programs. With another novel dewatering technology that has been tested in bench-scale tests, the moistures can be reduced to levels once believed to be attainable only through the use of thermal dryers. In this communication, test results obtained with these advanced dewatering technologies are presented and compared.

Jan 1, 2014

By Carmina Quintanar, Mario Palominos

"The mining industry is currently facing significant challenges to identify and adopt sustainable collector chemistry that effectively recover value minerals in difficult-to-process low-grade resources. These are typically characterized by complex mineralogy and the presence of significant amounts of penalty gangue sulfide minerals, especially pyrit which is a challenge to separate from value minerals at many major mine operations. Three chemical strategies for dealing with gangue sulfides and penalty elements are: a) selective flotation of value minerals while rejecting penalty minerals in the whole circuit, b) rejecting penalty minerals in an appropriate part of the circuit using selective depressants, c) using a combination of selective collectors and depressants in appropriate parts of the circuit. This paper will evaluate different strategies for dealing with those penalty elements and propose the most efficient alternative. New products and application technologies have been developed in the past 25 years by Cytec for implementing these strategies as dictated by the particular needs of a given plant. However, in recognition of the growing interest in meeting the sustainability challenges, Cytec Research and Development have been focused in the development of greener products (collectors, modifiers and frothers) and processes using FLOTATION MATRIX 100TM approach used to develop the optimal collector system for each specific ore. An overview of these new developments is given in this paper using case studies of application of selective collectors and polymeric modifiers including the newer, greener chemistries."

Jan 1, 2014

By Carina Ulsen

The existing construction and demolition (C and D) waste recycling technologies and standards have been essentially focused on the production and use of coarse recycled aggregates. Very few papers focus on the production of recycled sand, although some previous results show that fine aggregates fraction represents around 40 to 60% (in mass) of the Brazilian waste and it is usually used as road sub-base or disposed in landfills. The quality of the recycled aggregate is strictly related to the content of porous and low strength phases, mainly the patches of cement remaining on recycled aggregate surface. Some technologies have already been described in the literature, even though, to the moment none of these technologies has clearly succeeded in reaching the large market available. This paper presents a summary of the main properties of the sand produced from C and D waste by tertiary crushing at vertical shaft impact crusher (VSI). Additionally mineral processing technologies were applied on the attained product, such as gravity concentration by shaking table and spirals and removal of cement paste by attrition. The main properties of recycled sand are discussed and compared to the previous C and D waste, respectively: particle size distribution, particle shape, chemical composition, cement paste content and porosity. The results demonstrates that the crushing allowed producing a VSI-sand with low porosity and water absorption due to the increasing on the content of silicates from natural rock phases and increasing liberation between these phases and porous cement paste; the particles from the attained product presented also a better shape (sphericity and aspect ratio). The attrition tests assayed on VSI recycled fine aggregates accomplished a further selective disaggregation of cement paste and other porous materials - the porosity was reduced from 10% to 7%. The concentration by shaking table at narrow sieve fractions led to a product with low porosity and reduced content of cement paste, however, concentration on spirals did not succeed since separation was performed essentially by the size of the particles. The heavy product from shaking table represented almost 75% in weight and has less than 60% recovery of CaO+LOI, and expressive reduction on porosity. The aim of producing sand from construction and demolition waste through mineral processing unit operations changes the recycling approach and contributes for up cycling the recycled sand. The exhaustion of sand deposits on Brazilian large centers, the increasing price and the construction boom encourages the development of alternative materials as construction raw material. Keywords: recycled sand, construction and demolition waste, technological characterization

Sep 1, 2012

By C. Y. Wang

Anodic reaction mechanism of complicated antimony-lead concentrate in Slurry Electrolysis has been investigated by the anodic polarization curves determined under various conditions. The main reactions on the anode are the oxidation of FeCln (2-n), though the oxidation of jamesonite particle on the anode can occur during the whole process, it is less. With the help of mineralogy study and relevant tests, the leaching reaction mechanism of jamesonite and gudmundite during Slurry Electroly-sis has been ascertained also. Because of the oxidation reaction of FeCl3 produced by antimony-lead concentrate itself, the non-oxidation complex acid dissolution of jamesonite, the oxidation complex acid dissolution of gudmundite, and the oxidation of air carried by stirring, the leaching ratio of antimony reaches to about 35% when using HCl-NH4Cl solution to leach antimony-lead concentrate directly. So given the theoretical electric quantity, which to oxide antimony in Slurry Electrolysis, all of antimony, lead and iron, which contained in antimony-lead concentrate, are leached.

Jan 1, 2014

By Maurício Torem, Gabriela Huaman, Antonio Merma

The purpose of this review paper is to succinctly present the most significant works related to Mineral Processing and Environmental Bioremediation and developed by the Mineral and Environmental Technology Group (METG) of the Materials Engineering Department of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio). In mineral processing it was emphasized the use of the Rhodococcus opacus bacteria as a bioreagent in the bioflotation of some mineral samples (magnesite, calcite, hematite, quartz and apatite). The adsorption of the bacterial cells on the mineral surface can be due to specific and/or non-specific interactions, which will depend on several factors, as their surface charge and hydrophobic character. The zeta potential evaluation of the mineral particles before and after interaction with the R. opacus cells showed that the biomass modified the zeta potential profiles of the minerals, which confirm the adsorption of bacterial cells on the mineral surface. Moreover, the bacterial cells adsorbed caused a change in the mineral flotability which is related to a change in their hydrophobic character, thus, the mineral bioflotability was found to be dependent on the pH and the bacterial concentration. On the other hand, the environmental bioremetiation assessed the biosorption potential of three metal ions (lead, copper, and cobalt) by four different biomass Streptomyces lunalinharesii, Rhodococcus opacus, Rhodococcus ruber and coconut shell powder. For this purpose, biosorption process was characterized under different operating conditions such as initial pH and biosorbent dosage. The Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models were applied to the equilibrium data obtained at different concentration.

Jan 1, 2014

By Hong Zhong, Shuai Wang, Xin Ma

"In this paper, we report a simple and effective process for producing a surfactant mixture of O-isopropyl-N-ethyl thionocarbamate (IPETC) and 4-(tert-butyl)benzyl mercaptan (BBSH). The composite collector was synthesized via one-pot reaction of sodium isopropyl xanthate, 4-tert-butylbenzylchloride and ethylamine using tert-butyl alcohol as solvent. The whole process for the synthesis of composite collector involves neither foul smelling reagents or intermediates, nor any by-products requires special treatment for disposal, and thus can be scaled up to an industrial level. The flotation response of chalcopyrite and pyrite independently with IPETC and BBSH collectors and with their mixture (the mole ratio of IPETC and BBSH is 1:1) was assessed. The microflotation results showed that the collecting ability of BBSH was slightly stronger than that of IPETC and that IPETC was more selective collector than BBSH against pyrite, and that the composite collector displayed a stronger collecting ability toward chalcopyrite than IPETC, and superior selectivity for chalcopyrite against pyrite than BBSH. The batch flotation results showed that composite collector exhibited better performance than IPETC and BBSH. It was demonstrated that the mixing of IPETC and BBSH would give rise to a synergistic effect significantly enhancing overall flotation performance. In addition, the adsorption mechanism of BBSH on the surface of chalcopyrite was conducted by adsorption test and infrared spectrum measurement, and the results showed that the interaction of BBSH on the chalcopyrite surface was dominated by the chemical adsorption, and the formation of a strong S-M bond plays a key role in the adsorption of mercaptans on minerals surfaces. The developed flotation reagents with special preparation method is the author’s original design, patented (patent of the People’s Republic of China) and have no analogues in the world of mineral processing. (Application number 201810100107.1, ""Alkyl thioether alcohol compounds, methods for their preparation and applications thereof "", China).1. INTRODUCTION Froth flotation is an essential method widely used in the mineral processing industry to selectively separate valuable minerals from gangues[1]. Worldwide, more than 109 tons of materials are treated annually by this method with the majority being metal sulfides and oxides[2]. Nowadays, the judicious utilization of complex sulfides to meet the ever-growing demand of mineral resources gains more attention, due to the gradual depletion of deposits with high grade, making imperative the development of new high-efficiency collectors and mixtures of collectors to process complex minerals. In comparison to individual collectors, the use of mixtures has several notable benefits including lower dosage requirements, improved selectivity, rates and recovery and an increase in the recovery of coarse particles[3-9]. Moreover, in terms of cost and environmental issues, using collector mixtures can reduce the total amount of agents used, thus reducing the overall effect on the environment and economic costs without affecting the flotation performance. Therefore, the search for high-efficiency mixtures of collectors is still interesting and relevant."

Jan 1, 2018

By S. J. Liu

The conventional collector for bauxite mineral is oleic acid, which is highly insoluble and must be used in high dosage in bauxite flotation operations, that is the great drawback of oleic acid in use. A series of hydroxamic acid were synthesized, and their collecting ability to certain minerals in bauxite: diaspore, kaolinite were studied. The collecting power of various reagents to diaspore in an incremental sequence were shown as follows: benzyl hydroxamic acid<amylic hydroxamic ac-id<heptylic hydroxamic acid<oleic acid<octylic hydroxamic acid; while the incremental sequence of the collecting power to kaolinite was like this: benzyl hydroxamic acid<amylic hydroxamic ac-id<heptylic hydroxamic acid<octylic hydroxamic acid<oleic acid. It could be seen that octylic hydroxamic acid had the capability of high collectivity and good selectivity, and octylic hydroxamic acid was chosen to use in the following experiments. Reduced zeta potential showed the adsorption of the anionic collector on the mineral. By the adsorptive capability and IR tests, the adsorption of octylic hydroxamic acid on diaspore was determined to be chemical absorption, which was greater than that of oleic acid, as it was physical absorption. Results of floatation experiments on manually mixed minerals indicated that the collectivity and selectivity of octylic hydroxamic acid were better than oleic acid.

Jan 1, 2014

By Guanghua Ai, Xiong Huang, Huashan Yan, Ting Li, Tingsheng Qiu

"Cyanide tailings of gold and silver concentrates contain considerable quantities of copper-lead-zinc sulfide minerals that can be recovered. However, the strong inhibition effect of cyanide often makes it difficult to recover these sulfide minerals effectively. In this research, a sample of cyanide tailings was investigated based on the principles of process mineralogy; activating flotation tests were carried out for the target minerals in the tailings, and the activation mechanism of the activator and its influence on the target minerals were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Mixed flotation of copper and zinc was carried out using QJ-01, a combined agent containing sulfite, as the activator of copper and zinc minerals, and ammonium dibutyl dithiophosphate (ADD) and butyl xanthate (BX) as the combined collector. Copper concentrate was obtained from the mixed concentrate by using a combined inhibitor of sodium sulfide and zinc sulfate to inhibit the zinc mineral. Zinc concentrate was extracted from the copper tailings by using copper sulfate as the activator and BX as the collector. The flotation test yielded copper concentrate with a grade of 22.56% and recovery of 76.96%, and zinc concentrate with a grade of 42.56% and recovery of 82.29%, which shows that comprehensive recovery of the sulfide minerals – copper and zinc –from the cyanide tailings was realized. The FTIR analysis showed that CN- was chemisorbed on the surface of chalcopyrite and sphalerite following cyanide treatment, while the combined activator QJ-01 containing sulfite reduced CN- into SCN- and weakened the complexing ability of CN- with metal ions on the mineral surface, thus achieving a good activation effect on chalcopyrite and sphalerite. The results of this study can provide practical guidance in increasing the resource utilization ratio of cyanide tailings in gold mines, and thus contribute to alleviating environmental problems caused by stockpiling cyanide tailings. INTRODUCTION Cyanidation, the most widely used technology for extraction of gold, has several advantages such as high recovery, process maturity, low cost, etc. According to available data, the annual discharge of cyanide tailings from China's gold mines exceeds 20 million tons (Li et al., 2011). Lower grades of exploitable gold ore entail increased discharge of cyanide tailings. Huge quantities of cyanide tailings are regarded as waste and stored, resulting in significant wastage of land resources. Moreover, residual beneficiation reagents, cyanide ions, and heavy metal ions in cyanide tailings cause severe pollution of water and land (Laitos et al., 2013; Donato et al., 2007; Mudder and Botz, 2004). In addition, cyanide tailings often contain valuable elements such as gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, sulfur, and iron, which, if not recycled, would result in considerable wastage of resources. Hence, it is imperative to study the reduction and safety of cyanide tailings, and the mineral resources present in them."

Jan 1, 2018

By Bharat Garg

The coking coal or clean coal from raw material division, Tata Steel Ltd. is a prime source of energy for inhouse steel making. Coal reserves of semi soft coking coal at West Bokaro is beneficiated by dense media cyclone and froth flotation processes to produce clean coal. In dense media cyclone process two byproducts-middling and rejects are also produced along with clean coal. With the growing demand for clean coal, it becomes imperative to maximize the recovery of clean coal in beneficiation processes. This will help, not only in reduction in cost of production, but also in raw resource conservation, and proper utilization. In this context, a case study was conducted at West Bokaro to identify opportunities for clean coal recovery from by-products. This paper mainly discusses the process for recovery of clean coal from byproducts and study of further liberation of clean coal from byproducts for economic consideration.

Sep 1, 2012

By T. V. Chnyrenkova, J. Troncoso, V. A. Luganov, G. P. Kluev

"Arsenic-gold bearing ores are used as flux in smelting or are leached to extract gold. The main aim is to decrease the arsenic content in processed materials and to break up the ore lattice, thus liberating the gold. Some regulations were established by authorities for sulfidizing of arsenic bearing compounds in a presence of pyrite and for oxidation of ores and concentrates in the presence of soda.This article analyses the results of laboratory and pilot plant testing of dissociating and oxidizing roasting of gold-arsenic bearing concentrates. During the dissociation roasting under vacuum, arsenic is sublimated into elemental and sulfide forms. This process allows for the minimization of the negative influence on the environment, but requires costly engineering solutions. Roasting in a limited quantity of oxygen in the gaseous phase makes it possible to sublimate arsenic in the form of oxides and sulfides and it may be carried out in fluid bed furnaces.Oxidizing roasting of the concentrates in the presence of soda results in formation of water-soluble compounds and forces practically all arsenic and sulfur to remain in the cinder."

Jan 1, 2003

By A. Pirson, J. Souza, A. Araujo, M. Barbosa, F. Guimarães, J. Lima

"Although a large number of processes have been developed and applied to the separation of barite from other minerals, there is a lack of information in the literature about the separation of barite from iron ores. Nowadays, there are millions of tonnes of iron ore disposed as a waste or tailings given its high content of sulphur in the form of barite. In order to effectively separate barite from iron ore and ensure that mining business is truly creating economic and sustainable values, this paper provides a greater understanding of barite properties, the origin and occurrence of this barium-bearing mineral, and the employed beneficiation processes. A test work is conducted in a barite bearing iron ore from a deposit located in the Republika Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina) in order to separate the barite and check if a marketable by-product can be produced by drawing upon rich barite tailings. INTRODUCTION The exploration of iron ore containing barite results in a large amount of unrecovered material. The main difficulty in processing and using barite bearing iron ores is given by their high content of sulphur, silica and barium, which are unwanted chemical compounds in the subsequent processes in iron industry. As a result, millions of tonnes of iron ore are discarded every year into tailings or as a waste, which results in production losses, higher operation costs and environmental impacts (Praes et al. 2013). Therefore, the separation of barite from iron ores not only means reducing the environmental impact, but also an opportunity to generate income and beneficiate society. The beneficiation of barite bearing iron ores is a subject which requires a deeper investigation to solve the challenges faced by the iron industry. There are only a few studies that describe flowsheets proposed for the production of barite concentrate of iron ores. The most likely reason for this gap is that barite is frequently exploited commercially as a primary product rather than a by-product. In order to effectively separate barite from iron ore and ensure that mining business is truly creating economic and sustainable values, this paper provides a greater understanding of barite properties, the origin and occurrence of this barium-bearing mineral, and the employed beneficiation processes. A test work is conducted in a barite bearing iron ore from a deposit located in the Republika Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina) in order to separate the barite and verify if a marketable by-product can be produced by drawing upon rich barite tailings."

Jan 1, 2018