Evidence of Iron Mineralization Channels in the Messondo Area (Centre-Cameroon) Using Geoelectrical (DC &IP) Methods: A Case Study

A geophysical survey was conducted in the Kelle-Bidjocka village, Messondo subdivision, in the Centre Region, Cameroon. The data acquisition was made by combining Schlumberger profiling and electrical soundings along six (06) profiles of 1500 m in length for a total of 64 geoelectrical stations’ survey conducted through a variable mesh 100 m × 200 m, or 100 m × 300 m. The equipment used is the DC resistivimeter Syscal Junior 48 (Iris Instrument). Processing and modelling of field data are made by using the Res2Dinv, Qwseln and Surfer software. The investigation methods used are electrical resistivity (DC) and induced polarization (IP) methods. The analyses and interpretations have helped to highlight areas of weakness or conductive discontinuities (fractures, faults, shear zones, etc.) in Precambrian gneiss formations, sometimes undergoing weathering processes. They identify the weathering or mineralogical accumulation horizons, the most promising is a mineralization channel identified in the NE-SW direction. The highlighted mineralization is characterized by strong gradients of chargeability or polarization. Samples and other geological evidences observed in the area are used to associate the most polarizable structures with ferriferous formations. Weakly polarizable and particularly conductive backgrounds identified by the inverse pseudo-sections are thought to be sulphate minerals or groundwater targets for future hydrogeological studies.

A preliminary study on ore-forming environments of Xianglushan-type iron deposit and the weathering mineralization of Emeishan basalt in Guizhou Province, China

Xianglushan-type iron deposits are one of the new types of iron deposits found in the Weining Area of Western Guizhou. The iron-bearing rock system is a paleo-weathered crustal sedimentary(or accumulating) stratum between the top of the Middle-Late Permian Emeishan basalt formation and the Late Permian Xuanwei formation. Iron ore is hosted in the Lower-Middle part of the rock system. In terms of the genesis of mineral deposit, this type of deposit should be a basalt paleo-weathering crustal redeposit type, very different from marine sedimentary iron deposits or continental weathering crust iron deposits. Based on field work and the analytical results of XRD Powder Diffraction, Electron Probe, Scanner Electron Microscope, etc., the geological setting of the ore-forming processes and the deposit features are illustrated in this paper. The ore-forming environment of the deposit and the Emeishan basalt weathering mineralization are also discussed in order to enhance the knowledge of the universality and diversity of mineralization of the Emeishan Large Igneous Province(ELIP), which may be a considerable reference to further research for ELIP metallogenic theories, and geological research for iron deposits in the paleo-weathering crust areas of the Emeishan basalt,Southwestern, China.

Evidences by Multiscale Analysis and 2D3/4 Models from the Magnetic Anomalies and Iron Mineralization (BIF) over the DJADOM-ETA Area, Southeastern Cameroon

The Magnetic method is one of the best geophysical techniques used to delineate subsurface structures. This study was conducted to investigate the basement faulting and ore mineralization into the overlying geological cover. The GEOSOFT v8.4 software was used to process the data. Upward continuation of the residual magnetic intensity map at various altitudes and the maxima of their horizontal gradient magnetic were used to highlight faults from shallow to deep, as well as, their dips and mineralization zones. The faults with the directions E-W, ESE-WNW and ENE-WSW are identified confirming the result of [1]. This study also reveals that, the layer is affected by faults propagating from the basement upwards into the cover. Our results added additional information to the knowledge of the geological structure and the mineral resources potential in the study area. Based on the 2D3/4 modeling, the Dja Fault (DF) is revealed and highlighted sub-area marked by a magnetite/or hematite dolerite, schist and sandstone blocks, which show strong magnetization. Specifically, in this area, models are made of BIF (bounded iron formation) and BIQ (bounded iron quartzite) as dominant minerals.

Geological Features,Mineralization Types and Metallogenic Setting of the Phlaythong Large Iron Deposit,Southern Laos

The Phlaythong large iron deposit in Shampasak of southern Laos,is located in the Kon Tum microblock （Fig.1A）,central-southern part of the Indo-China block,and the geographic coordinate of the central mining area is 14°43′04″ N and 106°07′02″ E.

Enrichment and separation of iron minerals in gibbsitic bauxite residue based on reductive Bayer digestion

The mineralogical characteristics of three kinds of gibbsitic high-iron bauxite and the effects of various digestion conditions on the enrichment and separation of iron minerals were investigated. The results show that adding an appropriate organic reductant such as glycerol can promote the digestion of concomitant diaspore, boehmite and alumogoethite as well as the conversion of goethite to hematite in the reductive Bayer digestion. Processing Bauxite A with A/S of 25.41 can directly produce qualified iron concentrates(TFe>56%) by the reductive Bayer digestion, and thus realize the zero red mud discharge. For Bauxite B and Bauxite C with A/S of 7.82 and 3.35, the iron recoveries of 65.13% and 79.13% can be achieved with the corresponding TFe of 52.05% and 50.16% in the iron concentrates by gravity separation, respectively, resulting in the red mud discharge reduction of ~50% or above.

Mineral processing plant location using the analytic hierarchy process——a case study:the Sangan iron ore mine(phase 1)

Locating the mineral processing plant near a mine is the most important parameter that affects the whole process.Many factors,and their preferences,should be considered in this stage.The factors include economical,geological,technical,environmental and tectonic parameters.A multi-criteria decision making method is necessary to rank the alternatives.In this paper we describe how plant location is selected by using the Analytic Hierarchy Process(AHP).This method,with eight criteria,was used to select a location for the mineral processing plant at the Sangan iron ore mine(phase 1).Three alternatives for the processing plant were evaluated.The main criteria were distance from the mine,access to heavy machinery transport,the amount of excavation required for grading,bed mixture capacity,belt conveyor length,distance from the tailing dam,distance from the waste dumps and surface water diversion requirements.Finally,the alternatives were ranked and the best location was proposed.

The Experimental Study of Iron Sulfide Mineral Evolution Under Thermal Sulfurization Condition

Iron sulfide minerals are widely distributed, of which characteristics had the identification significance of formation environment. Previously, there were more research on iron sulfide minerals under hydrothermal condition, and few studies under volcanism formation condition. To simulate volcanic mineralization, the study of different temperature from 250 to 410℃ , different iron sulfur ratio from Fe:S=2∶1 to 1∶8, and two different sources of iron, reduced iron powder (Fe) and ferrous sulfide (FeS), on iron sulfide mineral evolution was investigated under thermal sulfurization condition. By using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and other methods, the morphology, composition and structural characteristics of the products were observed and analyzed.

Chemical Forms of Heavy Metals in Carbonate-Derived Laterite and Enrichment of Its Iron Oxide Minerals

In this paper the seven-step continuous extracting method was employed in the studyof chemical forms of the six heavy metals Co, Zn, Pb, Cu, Cr and Mn. The result shows thatthe metals in the laterite are present in the chemical form of crystalline iron oxides andresidues, and they are transformed toward organic and exchangeable forms in the surface soil.Linear regression analysis indicates that the above heavy metals have a positive correlation withthe crystalline iron oxide minerals. The crystalline iron oxide minerals have a very importantrole to play in the enrichment of heavy metals, especially the solid components in the laterite.

Zircon U-Pb-Hf isotopes and mineral chemistry of Early Cretaceous granodiorite in the Lunggar iron deposit in central Lhasa, Tibet Y, China

The Lunggar iron deposit belongs to the Bangong-Nujiang metallogenic belt and is located in central Lhasa on the Tibetan Plateau.In the Lunggar deposit,iron mineralization formed in the skarnization contact zone between the Early Cretaceous granodiorite and the late Permian Xiala Formation limestone.In this study,we achieved detailed zircon U-Pb-Hf isotopes and mineral chemistry for the Early Cretaceous granodiorite.Zircon U-Pb dating results indicate that the Early Cretaceous granodiorite emplaced at ca.119 Ma.Based on the trace elements in zircons and the mineral chemical composition of amphibole and biotite,the Early Cretaceous granodiorite was believed to form under condition of high temperature(>700°C),low pressure(100400 MPa),and relatively high oxygen fugacity(lgfO2)(13.6 to 13.9)and H2O content(4%8%).Zircon trace elements,Hf isotope and biotite chemistry collectively reveal that significant juvenile mantle-derived magmas contributed to the source of the granodiorite.The relatively high logfO2 and shallow magma chamber are beneficial for skarn iron mineralization,implying remarkable potential for further prospecting in the Lunggar iron deposit.

Magnetic Mineralogical Characteristics of Hamersley Iron Ores in Western Australia

This paper presents the research outcomes of a magnetic mineralogical study on Hamersley iron ores. Thermal magnetic analysis shows that typical high-grade martite-microplaty hematite or M- (mpl H) and martite-microplaty hematite-goethite or M-(mpl H)-g ores contain a small amount of original magnetite. A small amount of magnetite/maghemite and pyrite/pyrrhotite/siderite may exist in typical martite-goethite (M-G) and martite-ochreous goethite (M-oG) ores. In “the hardcap zone”, M-(H)-g ores contain a small amount of magnetite and maghemite. Compared with XRD, thermal magnetic analysis is not only more sensitive in identifying trace of magnetite contained in high-grade hematite ores, but also more diagnostic in identifying other unstable magnetic minerals like maghemite and pyrite/pyrrhotite/siderite co-existed in the ores.

Effect of Foliar Application of Iron on Seasonal Changes of Minerals Composition in Petioles and Berries of Halwani Lebanon and Kamali Grape Cultivars （Vitis vinifera L,）

A field experiment was conducted in 2009 and 2010 growing seasons, to study the effect of foliar application of iron-chelated ＂Fe-EDTA＂ at concentration 0, 100 and 200 mg/L on the seasonal dynamic of mineral composition of N, P, K, Fe and Zn in petioles and berries of Halwani Lebanon and Kamali grape cultivars, grown on a calcareous soil in Mosul region, Iraq. The results revealed that the foliar application of 200 mg Fe/L caused a significant increase of N, P, K, Fe and Zn concentrations in petioles and berries compared with the control for both seasons. Additionally, the N, P, K, Fe and Zn concentration in petioles were high at the beginning of the growth season, whereas, decrease towards in the end of the growth season in both cultivars and seasons. While the N, P, K, Fe and Zn in berry content was increased towards from berry set to veraison and ripening stage in both cultivars and seasons. So there are various element contents in the cultivars.

Development and Testing of a Method to Estimate the Mineral Composition of Ore from Chemical Assays with a View toward Geometallurgy: Application to an Iron Ore Concentrator

For complex orebodies in which the valuable metal is carried by several minerals that respond differently to the concentration process, an ore block model should not be characterized solely with elemental assays, as this information is not sufficient to anticipate the mill performances. Data from an iron ore concentrator is used to demonstrate the idea. A method is then proposed to estimate the mineral contents of ore samples from elemental assays. The method can readily be extended to combine the estimation of the mineral contents in the feed of the mill with an estimation of the recovery of these minerals into the products of the concentrator. These mineral recoveries can subsequently be incorporated into a block model to predict the concentrator response to the processing of an ore block.

FURTHER STUDIES ON THE MALIGNANT TRANSFORMATION OF SYRIAN GOLDEN HAMSTER EMBRYO CELLS IN VITR0 BY THORIUM DIOXIDE AND RARE EARTH IRON MINERAL DUSTS

Malignant transformation of hamsterembryo cells was induced in vitro by rareearth iron mineral dusts(MP),naturalthorium(Th02) and MP plus Th02.Dusts of MP,MP plus Th02 or Th02 were added into themedium with the final concentration of 17.0,

Different Effects of Wet and Dry Grinding on the Activation of Iron Ore Tailings

Improving the activity of Iron Ore Tailings(IOTs)to utilize them as a mineral admixture in cement-based minerals is still challenging.In this paper,the wet grinding technology was employed to stimulate the activity of IOTs,and the traditional dry grinding method was used as a reference.The effect of wet grinding on the activation of IOTs was evaluated through ion leaching from an alkaline solution and the reactivity index.Additionally,a detailed comparison between Dry-grinding Iron Ore Tailings(DIOTs)and Wet-grinding Iron Ore Tailings(WIOTs)was made.This comparison was based on particle characteristics,crystal structures,chemical structure,and surface properties.The results showed that the particle size of IOTs reduced rapidly during wet grinding.In addition,WIOTs had a higher activity index compared to DIOTs.The storage of lattice distortions in the quartz crystal structure was also more significant during the wet grinding process than during the dry grinding process.Moreover,both prolonged dry and wet grinding could destabilize the Si-O bond and decrease the surface binding energy.

Calcium ferrite formation characteristic during iron ore sintering with different oxygen atmospheres

It is generally known that the large formation amount of calcium ferrite is favorable for the iron ore sintering. The effects of sintering temperature and O2 content of inlet gas on the calcium ferrite formation characteristic of typical iron ores, including hematite, limonite, specularite and magnetite, were investigated. And the effect of O2 content on the microstructure of the roasted briquettes was also studied in detail. The results show the amount of calcium ferrite initially increases then decreases with the increase of the sintering temperature. The temperature of maximum calcium ferrite generation amount is determined as follows： for hematite and limonite it is 1275 ~C, whereas for specularite and magnetite, 1250℃. The maximum contents of calcium ferrite for hematite, limonite, specularite and magnetite under the optimal sintering temperature are 73%, 82%, 67% and 63%, respectively. Increasing O2 content of the airflow is advantageous to the formation of calcium ferrite. Relatively, the effect of O2 content on the calcium ferrite formation of magnetite is the most pronounced, while O2 content of inlet gas has little effect on the calcium ferrite formation of limonite.

Evaluation and Application of Two High-Iron Transgenic Rice Lines Expressing a Pea Ferritin Gene

A total of 105 transgenic dce lines independently transformed with a pea ferritin gene （Fer） were previously obtained. After seven generations of selfing and β-glucuronidase （GUS） assisted selection, 82 transgenic lines with stable agronomic traits were got. Among the 82 transgenic lines, two high-iron transgenic rice lines Fer34 and Fer65, with the iron contents in the milled rice being 4.82 and 3.46 times of that of the wild type Xiushui 11, respectively were identified. In the two transgenic lines, the exogenous Fer gene was highly expressed, and inherited as a single locus. The transgene had no negative effect on the agronomic traits of rice plant, other mineral nutritional components, appearance quality and eating quality of the milled rice, indicating that these two lines were elite high-iron breeding lines. Furthermore, the practical application and further studies facilitating utilization of the two elite breeding lines were discussed.

Engineering Economy Analysis on the Production of Iron Ore in Nigeria

In line with the Federal government decision to attract direct foreign investment to the solid mineral sector and to further diversify the Nigerian economy;this study used the discounted cash flow micro-economic as-sessment to evaluate large-scale iron ore production in Nigeria. The iron ore project has an initial investment cost of US$ 73.934 m, annual expenditure and benefit of US$ 48.128 m and US$ 270 m respectively .The net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR) and payback period of financial analysis at 100% ca-pacity utilizations are US$ 833.10 m, 444.36% and 6 years respectively. The economic assessment also shows a positive NPV at both 75% and 60% capacity utilizations. The study further show that the iron ore project has good economic potential and will also guide potential investor(s) in making decision on whether or not to commit resources to the project.

Ore Minerals and Genesis of Lala Copper Deposit,Sichuan Province

The Lala Cu deposit in Sichuan Province is one of the most important large deposits in SW China,both in terms of Cu and associated Au-Mo-Co-REE-Fe. Systematic ore petrology study shows that ore minerals are mainly composed of hydrothermal magnetite,chalcopyrite and molybdenite.The wall-rock alterations include biotitization,silicification, carbonatation,albitization,potash feldspathization, apatitation,actinolitation and fluoritation,et al. The Pyrite and magnetite have euhedral-subhedral crystalline grained texture and the chalcopyrite

The Prospects of Uganda’s Iron Ore Deposits in Developing the Iron and Steel Industry

Uganda aspires to exploit its abundant iron ore resources to supply the required raw material for developing its iron and steel industry across all the phases of the value chain. The country imports USD 369 million worth of iron and steel products annually, 60% of which are raw materials for the steel processing plants. The National Planning Authority, the government planning agency, undertook a study to assess the possibility of using the iron ore deposits available in the country, as a source of supply for iron and steel production. In the study, available geological literature was collected from various sources and analysed in order to understand the mode of iron ore mineralization in Uganda, particularly, that in the South West. A field excursion to the deposits was conducted in order to ground truth the information obtained from literature research;carry out a detailed reconnaissance study so as to benchmark the likely scenarios required in the development of the iron and steel value chain;and establish the likely mining and processing requirements of the deposits. The reconnaissance survey confirmed the existence of hematite deposits that visually show characteristics of high-quality iron ore (55% - 68% Fe) suitable for iron production. From surficial investigations, the deposits are mainly comprised of thin beds of mineralisation. The deposits occur in the form of massive hematite, which is amenable to mining and direct feed to the ore processing plants, and specularite hematite (a metamorphic platy variety), which normally requires mineral processing for amenability to reduction processes. From the analysis, the country has sufficient deposits of a high grade that can support a steel industry, though more detailed quantifications and characterisations need to be prioritised by the government.