Recovery of zinc from low-grade zinc oxide ores by solvent extraction

The recovery of zinc from low-grade zinc oxide ores with solvent extraction-electrowinning technique was investigated by using D2EHPA as extractant and 260 # kerosene as diluent. The results show that it is possible to selectively leach zinc from the ores by heap leaching. The zinc concentration of leach solution in the first leaching cycle is 32.57 g/L, and in the sixteenth cycle the zinc concentration is 8.27g/L after solvent extraction. The leaching solution is subjected to solvent extraction, scrubbing and selective stripping for enrichment of zinc and removal of impurities. The pregnant zinc sulfate solution produced from the stripping cycle is suitable for zinc electrowinning. Extra-pure zinc metal was obtained in the electrowinning test under conventional conditions.

Experimental study on preferential solution flow during dump leaching of low-grade ores

The phenomenon of preferential solution flow during dump leaching of low-grade ores was studied.The formative mechanism of preferential solution flow was investigated through analyzing the relationship between permeability and ore diameter,and the relationship between surface tension and ore diameter.The preferential solution flow happened within the fine ore area when the dump was unsaturated.And it could happen within the coarse ore area when the dump became saturated.The results of experiment show that the outflow of coarse ore area increases sharply with higher applied rate.The outflow of fine ore area is greater than that of coarse ore area when the applied rate is below 3.2 L/min,and the preferential solution flow happens in fine ore area.But the preferential solution flow happens in coarse ore area when the applied rate is higher than 3.2 L/min.The result of the experiment is consistent with the mechanism analyzing.

Study on hydrometallurgical process and kinetics of manganese extraction from low-grade manganese carbonate ores

In order to utilize low-grade manganese ore resources effectively, a hydrometallurgical process was developed for manganese extraction in dilute sulfuric acid medium, and the kinetics of leaching manga- nese was also investigated. At room temperature, manganese from low-grade manganese carbonate ores was extracted by sulfuric acid leaching without reductants. During the extracting process, single-factor analysis method was used to evaluate the effects of grinding fineness, sulfuric acid concentration, liquid-to-solid ratio, agitation rate and leaching time on the leaching efficiencies of Mn and Fe. The optimal leaching conditions are determined as coarse particles of below 2 mm size （without ball-milling）, sulfuric acid concentration of 0.86 mol/L, liquid-to-solid ratio of 5：1, agitation rate of 150 r/rain and leaching for 180 min at room temperature. Under the optimal conditions, the leaching efficiencies of Mn and Fe are 96.21g and 13.35%, respectively. In addition, through the experiments at different temper- atures, it is found that the leaching process follows the shrinking core model under the conditions of changing acid concentration and intermittent reaction device. Moreover, the apparent activations of effective diffusion and chemical reaction in the kinetic model are calculated to be 18.83 and 27.15 kJ/mol, respectively.

Ore petrography of low-grade siliceous manganese ores from the Bonai-Keonjhar belt, Orissa, India: The influence of mineral-fabric on their beneficiation

Low grade siliceous manganese ores from the iron ore group of the Bonai-Keonjhar belt, Orissa, India are found mostly in shear zones. The ore characteristics of siliceous manganese ore samples from three differ- ent mines, viz. the Shankar (Barbil OMC lease hold area), the Sone-Patuli (Patmunda, OMM lease hold area), and the Musaghar (Roida, OMDC lease hold area), were studied. These siliceous manganese ores are of three types, respectively: (i) spongy-granular; (ii) massive-mosaic; and (iii) hard-mylonitized. The spongy-gran- ular type contains granular, saccharoidal quartz and the major manganese mineral present is pyrolusite. The second type contains well crystallized quartz and cryptomelane, while the third has cherty, fine grained quartz (mylonite) along with romanechite. All three ores were subjected to physical beneficiation under similar conditions. Both gravity and magnetic separation techniques were employed. The mineral-fabric of the ores has been correlated to the extent of their beneficiation using these physical techniques. Of these three ores only the spongy-granular type responded well to upgrading. The feed with 22% Mn content could be upgraded to 44% with a 28% yield and a 49% recovery. The good response to beneficiation of the spongy- granular sample could be due to the large euhedral crystals of pyrolusite and the friable nature of the sac- charoidal quartz. This study reveals the influence of mineral-fabric on beneficiation of low grade ore, siliceous Mn ore in particular.

New Technology “Flotation to Form Agglomerates and Magnetic Separation” Allows Great Breakthrough for World Low-Grade Light Rare Earth Ores

Rare earth resources are relatively scarce worldwide, but their global consumption is increasing year-by-year. At present, China has about 36% of the global rare earth reserves, but provides 90% of the world＇s supply, which has generally met world demand and promoted the development of the world economy. In order to continuously and stably supply rare earths to international markets, the Chinese Government has financially supported the Institute of Multipurpose Utilization of Mineral Resources within the China Geological Survey to study the utilization of low-grade rare earth ores. Following many years of experimental research, the project has developed a new technology entitled ＂Flotation to Form Agglomerates and then Magnetic Separation＂, which will bring a technological revolution to the world＇s light rare earth ore dressing.

Removal of Silica and Alumina as Impurities from Low-Grade Iron Ore Using Wet High-Intensity Magnetic Separation and Reverse Flotation

This study investigates the removal of silica and alumina as impurities from hematite based low-grade iron ore containing 34.18 mass% iron, 31.10 mass% of silica and 7.65 mass% alumina. Wet high-intensity magnetic separation (WHIMS) and reverse flotation (RF) were investigated. In WHIMS process, 93.08% of iron was recovered with a grade of 53.22 mass% at an optimum magnetic density of 10,000 mT, and pulp density of 2% used the L-4 machine. In RF experiments, optimal results showed 95.95% of iron recovered with 51.64 mass% grade using 1 kg/t of 1% alkaline starch as iron depressant and 1:1 mixture ratio of 0.75 kg/t DAA and NaOL as silica and alumina collectors. The designed multi-stage process involving feeding the concentrate from WHIMS into RF process reduced silica to 2.02 mass%, alumina to 1.04 mass% whilst recovering 81.94% of the iron with 67.27 mass% grade. As a result of this research, a process to produce high quality iron concentrate from hematite based low-grade iron ore with high iron recovery rate was constructed.

Leaching kinetics of low-grade copper ore containing calcium-magnesium carbonate in ammonia-ammonium sulfate solution with persulfate

The leaching kinetics of copper from low-grade copper ore was investigated in ammonia-ammonium sulfate solution with sodium persulfate. The effect parameters of stirring speed, temperature, particle size, concentrations of ammonia, ammonium sulfate and sodium persulfate were determined. The results show that the leaching rate is nearly independent of agitation above 300 r/min and increases with the increase of temperature, concentrations of ammonia, ammonium sulfate and sodium persulfate. The EDS analysis and phase quantitative analysis of the residues indicate that bornite can be dissolved by persulfate oxidization. The leaching kinetics with activation energy of 22.91 kJ/mol was analyzed by using a new shrinking core model （SCM） in which both the interfacial transfer and diffusion across the product layer affect the leaching rate. A semi-empirical rate equation was obtained to describe the leaching process and the empirical reaction orders with respect to the concentrations of ammonia, ammonium sulfate and sodium persulfate are 0.5, 1.2 and 0.5, respectively.

Diffusion and reaction mechanism of limestone and quartz in fluxed iron ore pellet roasting process

The increase to the proportion of fluxed pellets in the blast furnace burden is a useful way to reduce the carbon emissions in the ironmaking process.In this study,the interaction between calcium carbonate and iron ore powder and the mineralization mechanism of fluxed iron ore pellet in the roasting process were investigated through diffusion couple experiments.Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy was used to study the elements’diffusion and phase transformation during the roasting process.The results indicated that limestone decomposed into calcium oxide,and magnetite was oxidized to hematite at the early stage of preheating.With the increase in roasting temperature,the diffusion rate of Fe and Ca was obviously accelerated,while the diffusion rate of Si was relatively slow.The order of magnitude of interdiffusion coefficient of Fe_(2)O_(3)-CaO diffusion couple was 10^(−10) m^(2)·s^(−1) at a roasting temperature of 1200℃for 9 h.Ca_(2)Fe_(2)O_(5) was the initial product in the Fe_(2)O_(3)-CaO-SiO_(2) diffusion interface,and then Ca_(2)Fe_(2)O_(5) continued to react with Fe_(2)O_(3) to form CaFe_(2)O_(4).With the expansion of the diffusion region,the sillico-ferrite of calcium liquid phase was produced due to the melting of SiO_(2) into CaFe_(2)O_(4),which can strengthen the consolidation of fluxed pellets.Furthermore,andradite would be formed around a small part of quartz particles,which is also conducive to the consolidation of fluxed pellets.In addition,the principle diagram of limestone and quartz diffusion reaction in the process of fluxed pellet roasting was discussed.

Ore-blending optimization model for sintering process based on characteristics of iron ores

An ore-blending optimization model for the sintering process is an intelligent system that includes iron ore characteristics, expert knowledge and material balance. In the present work, 14 indices are proposed to represent chemical composition, granulating properties and high temperature properties of iron ores. After the relationships between iron ore characteristics and sintering performance are established, the ＂two-step＂ method and the simplex method are introduced to build the model by distinguishing the calculation of optimized blending proportion of iron ores from that of other sintering materials in order to improve calculation efficiency. The ore-blending optimization model, programmed by Access and Visual Basic, is applied to practical production in steel mills and the results prove that the present model can take advantage of the available iron ore resource with stable sinter yield and quality performance but at a lower cost.

Extraction of valuable metals from low-grade nickeliferous laterite ore by reduction roasting-ammonia leaching method

Nickel and cobalt were extracted from low-grade nickeliferous laterite ore using a reduction roasting-ammonia leaching method.The reduction roasting-ammonia leaching experimental tests were chiefly introduced,by which fine coal was used as a reductant.The results show that the optimum process conditions are confirmed as follows:in reduction roasting process,the mass fraction of reductant in the ore is 10%,roasting time is 120 min,roasting temperature is 1 023-1 073 K;in ammonia leaching process,the liquid-to-solid ratio is 4:1(mL/g),leaching temperature is 313 K,leaching time is 120 min,and concentration ratio of NH3 to CO2 is 90 g/L:60 g/L.Under the optimum conditions,leaching efficiencies of nickel and cobalt are 86.25% and 60.84%,respectively.Therefore,nickel and cobalt can be effectively reclaimed,and the leaching agent can be also recycled at room temperature and normal pressure.

Removal of phosphorus from iron ores by chemical leaching

Alkali-leaching and acid-leaching were proposed for the dephosphorization of Changde iron ore, which contains an average of 1.12% for phosphorus content. Sodium hydroxide, sulfuriced, hydrochloric and nitric acids were used for the preparation of leach solutions. The results show that phosphorus occurring as apatite phase could be removed by alkali-leaching, but those occurring in the iron phase could not. Sulfuric acid is the most effective among the three kinds of acid. 91.61% phosphorus removal was attained with 1% sulfuric acid after leaching for 20 rain at room temperature. Iron loss during acid-leaching can be negligible, which was less than 0.25%.The pH value of solution after leaching with1% sulfuric acid was about 0.86, which means acid would not be exhausted during the process and it could be recycled, and the recycle of sulfuric acid solution would make the dephosphorization process more economical.

Transformation and leaching kinetics of silicon from low-grade nickel laterite ore by pre-roasting and alkaline leaching process

The mineralogical phase transformation of a low-grade nickel laterite ore during pre-roasting process and the extraction of silicon during alkaline leaching process were investigated.The results indicate that the reaction activity of nickel ores is effectively improved by pre-roasting at650°C for2h,because of the transformation of lizardite into magnesium olivine and protoenstatite.When finely ground ore samples(44-61μm)pre-roasted firstly react with sodium hydroxide solution(60g/L)with a solid/liquid ratio of1:5at140°C for120min,the extraction of silicon can reach89.89%,and the other valuable elements of magnesium,iron and nickel are accumulated in the solid residues.The leaching kinetics of nickel laterite ore can be described successfully by the diffusion through the product layer control model.The activation energy is calculated to be11.63kJ/mol and the kinetics equation can be expressed as1-3(1-x)2/3+2(1-x)=13.53×10-2exp[-11.63/(RT)]t.

Recovery of Zn, Pb, Fe and Si from a low-grade mining ore by sulfidation roasting-beneficiation-leaching processes

To recover Zn, Pb, Fe and Si from a low-grade mining ore in the Lanping basin, Yunnan Province, China, a novel technology using the roasting with pyrite and carbon followed by beneficiation and hydrochloric acid leaching was proposed. Firstly, several factors such as pyrite dosage, roasting temperature, carbon powder dosage, holding time and particle size affecting on the flotation performance of Zn(Pb) and magnetic separation performance of Fe were simultaneously examined and the optimum process parameters were determined. A flotation concentrate, containing 17.46% Zn and 3.93% Pb, was obtained, and the Zn and Pb recoveries were 86.04% and 69.08%, respectively. The obtained flotation tailing was concentrated by a low-intensity magnetic separator. The grade of iron increased from 5.45% to 43.45% and the recovery of iron reached 64.87%. Hydrochloric acid leaching was then carried out for the magnetic separation tailing and a raw quartz concentrate containing 81.05% SiO2 was obtained. To further interpret the sulfidation mechanism of smithsonite, surface morphology and component of the sample before and after reactions were characterized by XRD and EPMA-EDS. The aim was to achieve the comprehensive utilization of the low-grade mining ore.

Hydrometallurgical leaching and kinetic modeling of low-grade manganese ore with banana peel in sulfuric acid

Manganese was leached from a low-grade manganese ore(LGMO)using banana peel as the reductant in a dilute sulfuric acid medium.The effects of banana peel amount,H2SO4 concentration,reaction temperature,and time on Mn leaching from the complex LGMO were studied.A leaching efficiency of~98%was achieved at a leaching time of 2 h,banana peel amount of 4 g,leaching temperature of 120°C,manganese ore amount of 5 g,and sulfuric acid concentration of 15vol%.The phase,microstructural,and chemical analyses of LGMO samples before and after the leaching process confirmed the successful leaching of manganese.Furthermore,the leaching process followed the shrinking core model and the leaching rate was controlled by a surface chemical reaction(1−(1−x)^1/3=kt)mechanism with an apparent activation energy of 40.19 kJ·mol^−1.

Leaching kinetics of low-grade copper ore with high-alkality gangues in ammonia-ammonium sulphate solution

The leaching kinetics of low-grade copper ore with high-alkality gangues was studied in ammonia-ammonium sulphate solution.The main parameters,such as ammonia and ammonium sulphate concentrations,particle size,solid-to-liquid ratio and reaction temperature,were chosen in the experiments.The results show that the increase of temperature,concentrations of ammonia and ammonium sulphate is propitious to the leaching rate of copper ore.The leaching rate increases with the decrease of particle size and solid-to-liquid ratio.The leaching rate is controlled by the diffusion through the ash layer and the activation energy is determined to be 25.54 kJ/mol.A semi-empirical equation was proposed to describe the leaching kinetics.

Influence of gangue existing states in iron ores on the formation and flow of liquid phase during sintering

Gangue existing states largely affect the high-temperature characteristics of iron ores. Using a micro-sintering method and scan- ning electron microscopy, the effects of gangue content, gangue type, and gangue size on the assimilation characteristics and fluidity of liquid phase of five different iron ores were analyzed in this study. Next, the mechanism based on the reaction between gangues and sintering mate- dais was unraveled. The results show that, as the SiO2 levels increase in the iron ores, the lowest assimilation temperature （LAT） decreases, whereas the index of fluidity of liquid phase （IFL） increases. Below 1.5wt%, Al2O3 benefits the assimilation reaction, but higher concentra- tions proved detrimental. Larger quartz particles increase the SiO2 levels at the local reaction interface between the iron ore and CaO, thereby reducing the LAT. Quartz-gibbsite is more conductive to assimilation than kaolin. Quartz-gibbsite and kaolin gangues encourage the forma- tion of liquid-phase low-Al2O3-SFCA with high IFL and high-Al2O3-SFCA with low IFL, respectively.

Acid equilibrium during bioleaching of alkaline low-grade sulfide copper ore

This article reports the study on acid equilibrium during bioleaching of alkaline low-grade copper sulfide ore. Adding auxiliary agents 1# （sulfur） and 2# （pyrite） makes bacterial leaching of copper and acid production carried out simultaneously because the auxiliary agents can be oxidized by bacteria and the oxidation products involve acid. The acid required for dissolving alkaline gangue during bacterial leaching is produced, and acid equilibrium is reached during the ore bio-leaching. The recovery of copper reaches more than 95%.

Effects of particle characteristics on the granulation ability of iron ores during the sintering process

The granulation behavior of iron ores is essential for subsequent parameter optimization and efficient granulation, especially under changing material conditions. In this study, the effects of surface properties and particle size were analyzed using a laboratory granulation method; an estimation of the granulation of sintering blends was subsequently conducted for the base ores. Circularity and porosity were observed to negatively affect the granulation of iron ores, whereas wettability positively affected the granulation and was the most influential factor, indicating that wetting of iron ores is desirable during granulation. When iron ores with complex size distributions were granulated, the equivalent surface area was the main influencing factor for coarse particles larger than 1 mm and the ratio of adhering fines to intermediates was the main factor for fine particles smaller than 1 mm. By combining the granulation of coarse and fine particles with their proportioning, we proposed a calculation method for estimating the granulation ability of sintering blends. Good verification was demonstrated with the designed schemes. The results suggest that the developed method is effective for predicting the granulation of iron ore mixtures.

Bulk geochemistry,Rb-Sr,Sm-Nd,and stable O-H isotope systematics of the Metzimevin high-grade iron ore deposit,Mbalam iron ore district,southern Cameroon

Bulk geochemistry,Sr,Nd,and O-H isotope systematics are reported for the first time on banded iron formation(BIF)-hosted high-grade iron ore at the northwestern segment of Congo Craton(CC).Located in Mbalam iron ore district,Southern Cameroon,Metzimevin iron ore deposit is a hematite-magnetite BIF system,dominated by SiO_(2)+Fe_(2)O_(3)(97.1 to 99.84 wt%),with low concentrations of clastic elements e.g.,Al_(2)O_(3),TiO_(2),and HFSE,depicting a nearly pure chemical precipitate.The REE+Y signature of the iron deposit displays strong positive Eu anomaly,strong negative Ce anomaly,and chondritic to superchondritic Y/Ho ratios,suggestive of formation by mixed seawater-high temperature hydrothermal fluids in oxidising environment.The^(87)Sr/^(86)Sr ratios of the BIF are higher than the maximum^(87)Sr/^(86)Sr evolution curves for all Archean reservoirs(bulk silicate earth,Archean crust and Archean seawater),indicating involvement of continentally-derived components during BIF formation and alteration.TheƐ_(Nd)(t)(+2.26 to+3.77)and Nd model age indicate that chemical constituents for the BIF were derived from undifferentiated crustal source,between 3.002 and 2.88 Ga.The variable and diverse O and H isotope data(−1.9‰to 17.3‰and−57‰to 136‰respectively)indicate that the Metzimevin iron ore formed initially from magmatic plumes and later enriched by magmatic-metamorphic-modified meteoric fluids.Mass balance calculations indicate mineralisation by combined leaching and precipitation,with an average iron enrichment factor of>2.67 and SiO_(2)depletion factor of>0.99.This is associated with an overall volume reduction of 28.27%,reflecting net leaching and volume collapse of the BIF protholith.

Co-extraction of valuable metals and kinetics analysis in chlorination process of low-grade nickel-copper sulfide ore

To efficiently co-extract Ni and Cu from low-grade nickel-copper sulfide ore,chlorination roasting with NH;Cl followed by a water leaching process was investigated.The results show that 98.4%Ni and 98.5%Cu can be synchronously extracted when the ore particle size is 75-80μm,the roasting time is 2 h,the mass ratio of NH;Cl to ore is 1.6:1 and the roasting temperature is 550°C.The evolution behavior of various minerals was elucidated using X-ray diffraction(XRD)coupled with scanning electron microscopy(SEM).The kinetics of the chlorination process based on the differential thermal and thermogravimetric analysis(DTA-TG)data was analyzed by Kissinger method and Flynn-Wall-Ozawa(FWO)method.The chlorination process of low-grade nickel-copper sulfide ore mainly contains two stages:the decomposition of NH;Cl and the chlorination of ore.The maximum apparent activation energies(Ea)at two stages are determined to be 114.8 and 144.6 kJ/mol,respectively.The condensed product of exhaust gas is determined to be ammonium chloride,which can be recycled as the reactant again,making the process economic and clean.