Mineral Processing of Low Grade Beryllium Ores in the Jiulong Area of Western Sichuan

Abstract

This is an essay in the field of mineral processing engineering . Beryllium is known as "super metal" and "cutting-edge metal", and is listed as a key and strategic mineral resource in China. Beryl is an important source of beryllium, but due to the low grade of the raw ore and the limitations of beneficiation technology, the problem of the availability of low-grade beryl has not been solved yet. Therefore, this article conducts beneficiation experiments on extremely low-grade beryllium ore in western Sichuan. Self-developed new and efficient inorganic combination activator MD-2 and chelating collector ST-12 are developed and employed. For the raw ore with a BeO grade of 0.089% in the Jiulong area, under the condition of grinding fineness of -0.074 mm content of 89.1%, a beryllium concentrate with a BeO grade of 4.09% and a BeO recovery rate of 89.60% was obtained through a flotation closed circuit experiment of "one roughing, one scavenging, and six cleanings". After a stage of high intensity separation with a magnetic field strength of 0.8 T, the BeO grade of the closed circuit flotation of beryllium concentrate can be increased from 4% to over 5%, meeting the requirements for qualified beryllium concentrate grade. The BeO operation recovery rate reaches 87.08%, and the technical indicators are good. The overall beneficiation technology of "flotation enrichment-magnetic separation upgrading" developed in this experiment obtained concentrate with a BeO grade of 5.47% and a BeO recovery rate of 78.09%. The research findings of this study can provide important technical support for the development and utilization of this mine and similar mineral resources.

Keywords

• beryllium
• beryl
• mineral processing
• process technology
• comprehensive utilization