An integrated and efficient process for borax preparation and magnetite recovery from soda-ash roasted ludwigite ore under CO–CO_(2)–N_(2) atmosphere

To realize the comprehensive utilization of ludwigite ore,an integrated and efficient route for the boron and iron separation was proposed in this work,which via soda-ash roasting under CO–CO_(2)–N_(2) atmosphere followed by grind-leaching,magnetic separation,and CO_(2) carbonation.The effects of roasting temperature,roasting time,CO/(CO+CO_(2))composition,and Na_(2)CO_(3) dosage on the boron and iron separation indices were primarily investigated.Under the optimized conditions of the roasting temperature of 850℃,roasting time of 60 min,soda ash dosage of 20 wt%,and CO/(CO+CO_(2)) of 10 vol%,92%of boron was leached during wet grinding,and 88.6%of iron was recovered during the magnetic separation and magnetic concentrate with a total iron content of 61.51 wt%.Raman spectra and^(11)B NMR results indicated that boron exists asB(OH)_(4)^(-) in the leachate,from which high-purity borax pentahydrate could be prepared by CO_(2) carbonation.

Enrichment of Nb and Ti from carbonatite pyrochlore ore via calcining-slaking followed by gravity separation

In this work,a novel process consisting of calcining-slaking followed by gravity separation for the enrichment of niobium(Nb)and titanium(Ti)from carbonatite pyrochlore ore was proposed,validated and compared with the current mainstream flotation method.During calcining of the pyrochlore ore,within which the carbonates were transformed into lime.Subsequently,when the calcined ore was slaked,lime was transformed into hydroxide with fine particles which were amenable to gravity separation.After calcining at 900℃for 60 min,slaking at 90℃for 10 min with a liquid–solid ratio of 3:1(mL/g),approximately 40%of tailings can be removed by gravity separation,the recoveries of Nb and Ti were 94.7%and 91.0%,and the enrichment ratios of Nb and Ti were 1.61 and 1.43,respectively.The new approach exhibits high separation efficiency of carbonate gangue minerals and valuable minerals,satisfactory recoveries of niobium as well as titanium can be achieved.