High-extraction magnetic filtration: A new beneficiation process for industrial minerals

摘要

Many high-quality industrial mineral deposits are being rapidly depleted, and lower-quality deposits must be beneficiated to meet the specifications required for industrial uses. In a number of instances, iron and titanium mineral impurities are the major contaminants. High-extraction magnetic filtration (HEMF) will remove magnetic and paramagnetic minerals from industrial rocks and minerals such as ball clay, bauxite, bentonite, high silica sand, kaolin, kyanite, talc, tripoli, and wollastonite. Data are presented on all of the above minerals, showing that each can be upgraded in quality by removing iron- and titanium-bearing minerals. For example, the iron content of an Arkansas bauxite was reduced from 7.92% to 0.86%, and the brightness of a white Texas bentonite was increased from 83.5% to 93.0%. HEMF can be used as a beneficiation process to increase the reserves of many industrial minerals and to produce higher-quality products. The process involves selectively filtering magnetic or paramagnetic mineral particles from a slurry, allowing the nonmagnetic mineral particles to pass through a magnetic matrix filter.