Quantitative mineralogical comparison between HPGR and ball mill products of a Sn-Ta ore

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Document typeArticle
Date issued2018
Rights accessOpen Access
European Commisision's project
OptimOre - Increasing yield on Tungsten and Tantalum ore production by means of advanced and flexible control on crushing, milling and separation process (EC-H2020-642201)Abstract
The mineralogy and liberation characteristics of the comminuted Penouta leucogranite host of the Sn-Ta ore were determined. Grinding developed by a combination of high-pressure grinding rolls (HPGR) followed by a ball mill (BM) was compared with a single ball mill process. The mineral characteristics of the grinding products were analyzed using a Tescan Integrated Mineralogical Analyzer (TIMA-X) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). The ore contains 103 ppm of Ta and is mainly composed of quartz, albite, microcline, muscovite, and kaolinite. Nb, Ta-rich minerals are columbite-(Mn) and tantalite-(Mn), as well as minor microlite and wodginite. The liberation in the product is high in the size fraction of less than 250 m (51–52 wt % for columbite-group minerals (CGM) and 74–80 wt % for cassiterite) and reduced in larger particles (8.8–17 wt % for CGM and
28–37 wt % for cassiterite). The recovery in the ¿250 m fraction was high, while in the larger fraction it is limited, remaining up to 80 ppm in some tailings. The combined use of HPGR and a BM reduces the particle size distribution of the product and, thus, increases the liberation of the ores. Smaller fractions can be treated directly using gravity methods; however, particles of a size greater than +250 m should be ground more.
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CitationHamid, S., Alfonso, P., Anticoi, H., Guasch, E., Oliva, J., Dosbaba, M., García-Vallès, M., Chugunova, M. Quantitative mineralogical comparison between HPGR and ball mill products of a Sn-Ta ore. "Minerals", 2018, vol. 8, núm. 4, p. 1-16.
ISSN2075-163X
Publisher versionhttp://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/8/4/151
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