AU615126B2 - Improving the quality of heavy mineral concentrates - Google Patents
Improving the quality of heavy mineral concentrates Download PDFInfo
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- AU615126B2 AU615126B2 AU46065/89A AU4606589A AU615126B2 AU 615126 B2 AU615126 B2 AU 615126B2 AU 46065/89 A AU46065/89 A AU 46065/89A AU 4606589 A AU4606589 A AU 4606589A AU 615126 B2 AU615126 B2 AU 615126B2
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- Australia
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- mineral
- minerals
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- flotation
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- 229910052500 inorganic mineral Inorganic materials 0.000 title claims description 79
- 239000011707 mineral Substances 0.000 title claims description 79
- 239000012141 concentrate Substances 0.000 title claims description 52
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims description 26
- 238000005188 flotation Methods 0.000 claims description 23
- 230000002285 radioactive effect Effects 0.000 claims description 23
- IKNAJTLCCWPIQD-UHFFFAOYSA-K cerium(3+);lanthanum(3+);neodymium(3+);oxygen(2-);phosphate Chemical compound [O-2].[La+3].[Ce+3].[Nd+3].[O-]P([O-])([O-])=O IKNAJTLCCWPIQD-UHFFFAOYSA-K 0.000 claims description 19
- 229910052590 monazite Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 19
- 230000008569 process Effects 0.000 claims description 13
- 238000012545 processing Methods 0.000 claims description 11
- 239000004115 Sodium Silicate Substances 0.000 claims description 5
- 230000003750 conditioning effect Effects 0.000 claims description 5
- NTHWMYGWWRZVTN-UHFFFAOYSA-N sodium silicate Chemical compound [Na+].[Na+].[O-][Si]([O-])=O NTHWMYGWWRZVTN-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 5
- 229910052911 sodium silicate Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 5
- 230000003247 decreasing effect Effects 0.000 claims description 2
- 230000001747 exhibiting effect Effects 0.000 claims description 2
- 239000000383 hazardous chemical Substances 0.000 claims description 2
- 239000010423 industrial mineral Substances 0.000 claims description 2
- 239000002253 acid Substances 0.000 claims 1
- 235000014113 dietary fatty acids Nutrition 0.000 claims 1
- 239000000194 fatty acid Substances 0.000 claims 1
- 229930195729 fatty acid Natural products 0.000 claims 1
- 125000005313 fatty acid group Chemical group 0.000 claims 1
- 235000010755 mineral Nutrition 0.000 description 68
- 229910000164 yttrium(III) phosphate Inorganic materials 0.000 description 18
- UXBZSSBXGPYSIL-UHFFFAOYSA-N phosphoric acid;yttrium(3+) Chemical compound [Y+3].OP(O)(O)=O UXBZSSBXGPYSIL-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 17
- 238000000926 separation method Methods 0.000 description 15
- GFQYVLUOOAAOGM-UHFFFAOYSA-N zirconium(iv) silicate Chemical compound [Zr+4].[O-][Si]([O-])([O-])[O-] GFQYVLUOOAAOGM-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 13
- 238000011084 recovery Methods 0.000 description 12
- 229910052845 zircon Inorganic materials 0.000 description 12
- GWEVSGVZZGPLCZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Titan oxide Chemical compound O=[Ti]=O GWEVSGVZZGPLCZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 10
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 6
- 239000002245 particle Substances 0.000 description 6
- 239000000428 dust Substances 0.000 description 5
- YDZQQRWRVYGNER-UHFFFAOYSA-N iron;titanium;trihydrate Chemical compound O.O.O.[Ti].[Fe] YDZQQRWRVYGNER-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 5
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 5
- 238000009837 dry grinding Methods 0.000 description 4
- 238000007885 magnetic separation Methods 0.000 description 4
- 239000010453 quartz Substances 0.000 description 4
- 229910052761 rare earth metal Inorganic materials 0.000 description 4
- VYPSYNLAJGMNEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N silicon dioxide Inorganic materials O=[Si]=O VYPSYNLAJGMNEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 4
- 229910001773 titanium mineral Inorganic materials 0.000 description 4
- HEMHJVSKTPXQMS-UHFFFAOYSA-M Sodium hydroxide Chemical compound [OH-].[Na+] HEMHJVSKTPXQMS-UHFFFAOYSA-M 0.000 description 3
- 229910052770 Uranium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 3
- 230000008901 benefit Effects 0.000 description 3
- 230000005484 gravity Effects 0.000 description 3
- 150000002910 rare earth metals Chemical class 0.000 description 3
- -1 rare earth phosphates Chemical class 0.000 description 3
- 229910052613 tourmaline Inorganic materials 0.000 description 3
- 239000011032 tourmaline Substances 0.000 description 3
- 229940070527 tourmaline Drugs 0.000 description 3
- RVHSTXJKKZWWDQ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 1,1,1,2-tetrabromoethane Chemical compound BrCC(Br)(Br)Br RVHSTXJKKZWWDQ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- ZSLUVFAKFWKJRC-IGMARMGPSA-N 232Th Chemical compound [232Th] ZSLUVFAKFWKJRC-IGMARMGPSA-N 0.000 description 2
- XEEYBQQBJWHFJM-UHFFFAOYSA-N Iron Chemical compound [Fe] XEEYBQQBJWHFJM-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 229910052776 Thorium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- RTAQQCXQSZGOHL-UHFFFAOYSA-N Titanium Chemical compound [Ti] RTAQQCXQSZGOHL-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 238000013459 approach Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000009826 distribution Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000007613 environmental effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000003628 erosive effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000009434 installation Methods 0.000 description 2
- 229910052585 phosphate mineral Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 230000000750 progressive effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 239000002002 slurry Substances 0.000 description 2
- 239000007787 solid Substances 0.000 description 2
- XOLBLPGZBRYERU-UHFFFAOYSA-N tin dioxide Chemical compound O=[Sn]=O XOLBLPGZBRYERU-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 239000010936 titanium Substances 0.000 description 2
- 229910052719 titanium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 239000004408 titanium dioxide Substances 0.000 description 2
- DNYWZCXLKNTFFI-UHFFFAOYSA-N uranium Chemical compound [U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U][U] DNYWZCXLKNTFFI-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 229910052727 yttrium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- VWQVUPCCIRVNHF-UHFFFAOYSA-N yttrium atom Chemical compound [Y] VWQVUPCCIRVNHF-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- KPZGRMZPZLOPBS-UHFFFAOYSA-N 1,3-dichloro-2,2-bis(chloromethyl)propane Chemical compound ClCC(CCl)(CCl)CCl KPZGRMZPZLOPBS-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 229910052684 Cerium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 229910019142 PO4 Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 238000009825 accumulation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000007792 addition Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000002411 adverse Effects 0.000 description 1
- INJRKJPEYSAMPD-UHFFFAOYSA-N aluminum;silicic acid;hydrate Chemical compound O.[Al].[Al].O[Si](O)(O)O INJRKJPEYSAMPD-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 238000004458 analytical method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 229910052849 andalusite Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 230000015572 biosynthetic process Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000015556 catabolic process Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000000919 ceramic Substances 0.000 description 1
- GWXLDORMOJMVQZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N cerium Chemical compound [Ce] GWXLDORMOJMVQZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 239000003153 chemical reaction reagent Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000004140 cleaning Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000011248 coating agent Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000000576 coating method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 150000001875 compounds Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- 239000004020 conductor Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000000356 contaminant Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000010908 decantation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000006731 degradation reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- NZZFYRREKKOMAT-UHFFFAOYSA-N diiodomethane Chemical compound ICI NZZFYRREKKOMAT-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 229940042400 direct acting antivirals phosphonic acid derivative Drugs 0.000 description 1
- 239000006185 dispersion Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000011143 downstream manufacturing Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000005516 engineering process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000002223 garnet Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000010437 gem Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910001751 gemstone Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- PCHJSUWPFVWCPO-UHFFFAOYSA-N gold Chemical compound [Au] PCHJSUWPFVWCPO-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 239000010931 gold Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910052737 gold Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 230000036541 health Effects 0.000 description 1
- 231100000206 health hazard Toxicity 0.000 description 1
- 229910052742 iron Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000003350 kerosene Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000010443 kyanite Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910052850 kyanite Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 238000002386 leaching Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000007788 liquid Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000011738 major mineral Substances 0.000 description 1
- 235000011963 major mineral Nutrition 0.000 description 1
- 230000007246 mechanism Effects 0.000 description 1
- 229910052751 metal Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000003801 milling Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000005065 mining Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000000203 mixture Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000012544 monitoring process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000003647 oxidation Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000007254 oxidation reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 235000021317 phosphate Nutrition 0.000 description 1
- 150000003007 phosphonic acid derivatives Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- 238000004094 preconcentration Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000011158 quantitative evaluation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000009467 reduction Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000011819 refractory material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000011268 retreatment Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000011435 rock Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000004576 sand Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000004626 scanning electron microscopy Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000005204 segregation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 229910052851 sillimanite Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 238000004513 sizing Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000000344 soap Substances 0.000 description 1
- 235000011121 sodium hydroxide Nutrition 0.000 description 1
- 229910052854 staurolite Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000000126 substance Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000006467 substitution reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000012360 testing method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000010977 unit operation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000009423 ventilation Methods 0.000 description 1
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 238000001238 wet grinding Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000012463 white pigment Substances 0.000 description 1
- UXBZSSBXGPYSIL-UHFFFAOYSA-K yttrium(iii) phosphate Chemical class [Y+3].[O-]P([O-])([O-])=O UXBZSSBXGPYSIL-UHFFFAOYSA-K 0.000 description 1
- 229910001735 zirconium mineral Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
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- Manufacture And Refinement Of Metals (AREA)
Description
Ii I
AUSTRALIA
PATENTS ACT 19526 Form COMPLETE SPE ICATION
(ORIGINAL)
FOR OFFICE USE Short Title: Int. Cl: Application Number: Lodged: Complete Specification-Lodged: Accepted: Lapsed: Published: Priority: Related Art: TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT 4. r 4 4 4 4 Name of Applicant- Address of Applicant: Wimmera Industrial Minerals Pty. Ltd.
Floor 2 15-29 Bank Street SOUTH MELBOURNE Victoria 3205 Australia GRIFFITH HACK CO., 601 St. Kilda Road, Melbourne, Victoria 3004, Australia.
Actual Inventor: Address for Service: Complete Specification for the invention entitled: IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF HEAVY MINERAL CONCENTRATES 0 The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to me:- 3a\2h~ B 1 A 0 0 IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF HEAVY MINERAL CONCENTRATES This invention relates to a process for improving the quality of heavy mineral concentrates, more particularly for the removal of and/or recovery of radioactive contaminants in such concentrates.
*Bulk concentrates are usually further processed 10 to produce individual mineral concentrates, and the 0 presence of radioactive particles in those individual mineral concentrates may cause problems in the handling thereof. In one aspect the present invention addresses S this problem by providing a process in which the bulk concentrate is subjected too a flotation step to separate certain components before it is further processed to 2 produce individual mineral concentrates. Further advantages of the process of the invention will be apparent from the following disclosure.
It will be understood that concentrations of detrital heavy minerals result from normal cycles of erosion of the land surface and economic deposits occur where the rock material has yielded sufficient quantities of the valuable mineral types and where physiography and climate have provided suitable conditions of transport and accumulation.
Deposits of heavy minerals occur widely throughout the world, with Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Africa, Madagascar and USA being well-known for such concentrations. The usual concentrating mechanisms are water and wind. Such deposits are now the common
S
*SP
source of titanium minerals, primarily used for the production of the white pigment, titanium dioxide, and of zircon, a material used in ceramics and refractories.
The term "heavy mineral" has come to be 20 associated with the higher density phases present in such deposits and is therefore used herein to refer to those minerals which have a density greater than 2.96, the density of tetrabromoethane (TBE) the liquid normally used in a sink-float operation to give preliminary estimates of valuable mineral content. A number of minerals such as tourmaline have densities between 2.96 and 3.3 and these can be quantified as "light heavy minerals" by further separation with methylene iodide at a density of 3.3.
30 Minerals which survive the erosive and corrosive environments commonly involved are ilmenite, rutile, zircon, monazite, xenotime, cassiterite, gold, minerals of the platinoid group, gemstones, garnet, sillimanite and tourmaline. A variety of other minerals are often associated with such deposits, e.g. leucoxene which results from the progressive oxidation and leaching 3 of the iron present in the mineral ilmenite. Because of the progressive nature of these chemical changes, the mineralogy and chemistry of leucoxene grains vary very widely.
The common method of recovery of such minerals is by wet or dry mining, most commonly by wet dredging, followed by wet processing to recover the valuable minerals as a bulk concentrate while rejecting the bulk of minerals of no economic importance, such as quartz, as quickly as possible. The ability to achieve this objective quickly and cheaply becomes important when it is recognised that deposits containing as little as 1% valuable heavy minerals are currently treated. This wet separation usually is based on gravity methods, and use may be made of spirals, shaking tables or cone separators.
The bulk concentrate, after retreatment, if appropriate, to reduce the amount of quartz contained, is normally further processed through a relatively complicated set of unit operations to produce saleable grades of individual mineral concentrates. Commonly the first stage involves recovery of the ilmenite mineral by wet or dry magnetic separation. The concentrates generated normally require cleaning to improve the grade 25 by rejection of other minerals entrained during the magnetic separation. Following this separation, the non-magnetic fraction must be dried, if this operation was not performed prior to magnetic separation, and then subjected to a further range of separations based on the
S.
30 use of electrostatic and magnetic principles.
Essentially the separation of the less magnetic minerals S"rely upon the initial use of electrostatic separation to ooooo separate the conductors, particularly rutile and MOW leucoxene, from the non-conducting minerals, such as 35 zircon and monazite. The various streams resulting from the electrostatic separation then pass to units where C 4 both wet and dry separations using magnetic, gravity and/or further electrostatic separations are practised to achieve the final grades required.
A major problem encountered in such complex circuitry is the difficulty of achieving high recoveries of the minerals monazite and xenotime which are frequently present in such deposits. Both these minerals are rare earth phosphates, and apart from their economic value, they normally contain variable amounts of the radioactive elements uranium and thorium which are undesirable environmentally and in other ways. Monazite may contain up to 12% ThO 2 while a typical xenotime has been reported to carry 1.85% ThO 2 and 0.32% U 3 0 8 Monazite and xenotime are characterised by high densities and are normally recovered, together with other heavy minerals, in the initial preconcentration circuit.
However, because of the generally low levels of each and the variability of composition, subsequent separation steps involving passage through numerous items of S 20 equipment often result in incomplete recovery in final monazite or xenotime concentrates (if indeed such concentration is attempted) and the minerals disperse ease unevenly throughout the major concentrates, with a particular tendency to report to zircon rich fractions.
25 However, sufficient of the radioactive particles may report to the rutile and leucoxene concentrates to cause concern to receivers responsible for down stream processing and transport and to Government authorities.
Certain of the procedures used in the 30 production of titanium dioxide from titanium mineral concentrates, and particularly those involving the formation of the intermediate compound titanium •tetrachloride, result in the further concentration of the .trace amounts of radioactive elements present in such concentrates. Concern exists regarding the handling of products and equipment contaminated with radioactive 5 materials and it is understood that US Government Agencies are imposing stringent specifications on the permissible levels of radioactivity in titanium concentrates.
The environmental situation is aggravated by the preferential degradation of the rare earth phosphate minerals by attrition during wet and dry milling, as they are generally the least resistant minerals present with the potential for dust particles containing uranium and thorium to become airborne during dry separation operations. For this reason, greater emphasis is being placed on monitoring the work environments to ensure adequate levels of industrial hygiene are observed, since inhalation of radioactive dusts represents an occupational health hazard. Dust control is often necessary, requiring the installation of hooding and proper ventilation to remove the radioactive dust at the point of generation. Effective installation of equipment to achieve this is expensive and complicated by the large 20 number of small capacity machines normally found in dry milling sections of heavy mineral separation plants.
Up to the present time, flotation has not been oooo a favoured beneficiation procedure within the industry, however the invention herein disclosed proposes just such 25 a procedure.
While this technique is more suitable to finer grained deposits than to the coarser beach or dune sand deposits normally treated, it can also be applied to the latter. Some limited use of flotation has been made in Se 030 heavy mineral separation, including the "hot soap" flotation of zircon at Byron Bay, NSW before the S" introduction of electrostatic separation devices.
This invention proposes a novel approach to the problems associated with the presence in heavy mineral ore bodies of monazite and/or xenotime as accessory minerals. The economic importance of these minerals is .1
A
6 generally minor in the context of heavy mineral p:oduction, the more important factors now being the strong need to eliminate adverse health risks associated with the presence of fine radioactive dust particles generated during milling and likely to be released into the atmosphere during dry milling and also to minimize the radioactivating level of individual mineral concentrates. The procedures described herein not only substantially eliminate such industrial hygiene risks, but can be important economically in enabling better recovery of high grade concentrates of these minerals.
It was pointed out above that the complexity of the usual processing circuits and the multitude of individual items of equipment, coupled with the :::generally low content of the radioactive rare-earth S phosphate minerals, caused an uneven distribution of such minerals throughout the final products.
Consideration of such circuits has led us to the recognition of two important criteria which in current operations are not observed.
i. The operating stages should be carried out in slurry form as far as possible to minimise or eliminate dust concentration.
2. Recovery of monazite and xenotime should take S place as early as possible.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a process for decreasing environmental hazards associated S with processing a heavy mineral ore or concentrate containing a radioactive mineral which process comprises conditioning the heavy mineral ore or concentrate with sodium silicate subjecting the heavy mineral ore or concentrate to a selective flotation procedure to form a single flotation fraction comprising the radioactive mineral and a tailing fraction comprising a heavy mineral ore or concentrate 6a exhibiting reduced radioactivity; subjecting the tailing fraction to further processing steps to recover saleable heavy mineral products; and removing the floation fraction for disposal or further processing to recover the radioactive mineral, the selective flotation procedure comprising flotation in the presence of a collector for said radioactive mineral.
S.i i U- 7 The following examples show that the above two criteria can in fact be met by appropriate flotation technology applied to bulk heavy mineral concentrate normally produced in the first stage of concentration.
This clearly reverses the normal approach within the industry whereby recovery of xenotime and monazite is among the final stages of treatment, usually from zircon-rich process streams. Treatment of a multitude of concentrate products, particularly zircon concentrates is thus reduced to one treatment of the bulk concentrate.
From the example given below it will be apparent that by using a carefully selected flotation procedure, it is possible to establish a different and novel regime for the treatment of bulk heavy mineral concentrates in which removal of monazite and/or xenotime immediately after production of the bulk concentrate will result in the following very significant advantages: i. Segregation of the two radioactive minerals into a single concentrate thus minimising 20 distribution or dispersion into numerous process streams and products; 2. Minimisation of industrial hygiene hazards ~during any subsequent dry milling operations which would be necessary to produce specific individual mineral concentrates; 3. Increased recovery of the two minerals and thus potential for improving economic returns from processing of a deposit. The production of a mixed concentrat( of these two minerals can S 30 obviously be used as an advantageous starting point for separation into individual concentrates taking advantage of known fdifferent characteristics such as magnetic susceptibilities.
8 4. Positive removal of radioactive minerals which may otherwise report partly to titanium mineral concentrates and cause marketing difficulties, and even rejection of such concentrates because of inability to meet government or industry standards imposed to maintain acceptable standards of industrial hygiene during subsequent processing.
Example 1 A 1 kilo sample of bulk fine grained heavy mineral concentrate containing approximately 40% by weight of minerals denser than SG 2.96 was used. This material had been produced in a semi-continuous pilot flotation plant using phosphonic acid derivatives as the flotation collector. The heavy minerals present were rutile, anatase, ilmenite, leucoxene, zircon, monazite and xenotime with "light heavies" such as tourmaline and andalusite also present and quartz as the major gangue mineral. The monazite content expressed as Ce was 0e 20 about 0.3% (approximately 1.4% monazite) while the xenotime content expressed as Y was about 0.15% (approximately 0.3% xenotime).
The conditions used in this example to float the monazite and xenotime were: Sodium silicate 500g/t pH (caustic soda) Conditioning time 10 minutes Acintol FA2 (Collector) 500g/t Conditioning time 5 minutes S. 30 Flotation time 8 minutes Cleaner flotation time 4 minutes Rougher flotation was carried out in a 2.2 r- litre Denver laboratory flotation cell.
9 The rougher concentrate was refloated once in a 1.1 litre cell with no further reagent additions to clean the product.
The concentrate produced amounted to 1.79% by weight of the total carrying 97.9% of the monazite (at a cerium grade of 17.6%) and apparently 66.7% of the xenotime (at an yttrium grade of The total monazite and xenotime content of said concentrate exceeds The result was confirmed by QEMSEM (Quantitative Evaluation of Materials by Scanning Electron Microscopy) analysis of another concentrate sample produced by similar means. Effectively this means a reduction in the content of these radioactive minerals in the bulk concentrate of the order of The discrepancy between recoveries of monazite and xenotime are due to the fact that in this ore about of the element yttrium is associated with zircon.
The two minerals have an isostructural relationship and substitution of yttrium phosphate into the zircon lattice
S..
S 20 is known to occur. In addition, inclusions of xenotime in zircon grains have been noted.
ee Example 2 The heavy mineral concentrate used for Example 1 was relatively fine-grained, having a particle size typically finer than 63 micrometres.
A different concentrate typical of the product from the West Coast deposits of Australia was used for Example 2. This material was characterised by a particle S' sizing in the 300/75 micrometre range and represented a S 30 gravity concentrate from which the ilmenite fraction had been removed by wet high intensity magnetic separation.
As such it was considered representative of the normal Smineral suite fed to a dry mill, the major minerals I 10 present being zircon, rutile, leucoxene, quartz and a minor amount of monazite Light heavies such as staurolite and kyanite were also present.
The minerals were found to have a coating of fine slimes and high density attritioning followed by decantation of a slime fraction was essential.
The following typifies the conditions used and results obtained for this ore: Attritioning: Mass of solids Pulp density Sodium Silicate Time 1 kg 500 g/t 10 minutes Desliming: Conditioning: 0e 0 @0 0 50 0.000 5*05 90*0 0**0 050 Two stages. Slurry diluted to litres, stirred and decanted immediately solids have settled.
Pulp density 66% Sodium silicate 250 g/t pH Time 10 minutes Collector ACINTOL FA2 400 g/t Kerosene 400 g/t Time 7 minutes
S*
S
S
5..
Flotation: Flotation was 25 cleaner stage Time 17 minutes carried out in a 1.2 litre cell. No was used.
The concentrate from this test amounted to 1.8% by weight of the original feed and reported on a total rear earth metal grade of 50.47% for an overall recovery of
_~~II
i 11 It will be apparent to those versed in the art that other flotation regimes may be substituted for that described in the examples, but this is incidental to the principal objective of the invention, namely to overcome the potentially severe problems of an environmental and industrial hygiene nature associated with the presence of radioactive rare earth minerals in heavy mineral deposits, while maximising the recovery of these valuable accessory minerals and facilitating the production of high grade concentrates of zircon and titanium minerals in subsequent processing.
It will be clearly understood that the invention in its general aspects is not limited to the specific details referred to hereinabove.
9
D
4~
Claims (4)
1. A process for decreasing environmental hazards associated with processing a heavy mineral ore or concentrate containing a radioactive mineral which process comprises conditioning the heavy mineral ore or concentrate with sodium silicate subjecting the heavy mineral ore or concentrate to a selective flotation procedure to form a single flotation fraction comprising the radioactive mineral and a tailing fraction comprising a heavy mineral ore or concentrate exhibiting reduced radioactivity; subjecting the tailing fraction to further processing steps to recover saleable heavy mineral products; and removing the floation fraction for disposal or further processing to recover the radioactive mineral, the selective flotation procedure comprising flotation in the presence of a collector for said radioactive mineral.
S.. S2. A process according to claim 1 wherein the radioactive mineral is monazite, zenotime or both. oooo,: S
3. A process according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the collector is a fatty acid.
4. A process according to Claim 3 wherein the fatty 2 acid is Acintol FA2. .e A process substantially as hereinbefore described 2 with reference to the examples. DATED THIS 3RD DAY OF JULY 1991 WIMMERA INDUSTRIAL MINERALS PTY. LTD. By Its Patent Attorneys: GRIFFITH HACK CO. Fellows Institute of Patent Attorneys of Australia. ~L I
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| AU46065/89A AU615126B2 (en) | 1988-12-19 | 1989-12-11 | Improving the quality of heavy mineral concentrates |
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUPJ201888 | 1988-12-19 | ||
| AUPJ2018 | 1988-12-19 | ||
| AU46065/89A AU615126B2 (en) | 1988-12-19 | 1989-12-11 | Improving the quality of heavy mineral concentrates |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| AU4606589A AU4606589A (en) | 1990-06-21 |
| AU615126B2 true AU615126B2 (en) | 1991-09-19 |
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| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| AU46065/89A Withdrawn - After Issue AU615126B2 (en) | 1988-12-19 | 1989-12-11 | Improving the quality of heavy mineral concentrates |
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| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| AU (1) | AU615126B2 (en) |
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| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
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| CN116037311B (en) * | 2023-01-17 | 2025-04-25 | 包头钢铁（集团）有限责任公司 | A method for recovering and beneficiating weakly magnetic tailings of oxide ore |
Citations (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AU149966B2 (en) * | 1950-10-23 | 1951-01-11 | Geoffrey Sly | Selective flotation of zinc sulphide minerals |
-
1989
- 1989-12-11 AU AU46065/89A patent/AU615126B2/en not_active Withdrawn - After Issue
Patent Citations (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AU149966B2 (en) * | 1950-10-23 | 1951-01-11 | Geoffrey Sly | Selective flotation of zinc sulphide minerals |
| AU5325064A (en) * | 1964-01-03 | 1966-06-23 | Albright & Wilson (Australia) Proprietary Limited | Separation of minerals by flotation |
| AU494965B2 (en) * | 1975-01-15 | 1977-07-21 | Berol Kemi Ab | Flotation process of lead, copper, uranium, and rare earth minerals |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| AU4606589A (en) | 1990-06-21 |
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