Process Mineralogy of Niobium Tantalum Iron Ore in Hubei

Abstract

This is an essay in the field of process mineralogy. Rare metals such as lithium, beryllium, niobium and tantalum, as national strategic emerging resources, are mainly used in industrial fields such as national defense, aviation and aerospace, and have attracted the attention of geologists in recent years. A niobium tantalite deposit in Hubei Province is a niobium-bearing trachytic volcanic rock and pyroclastic rock deposit. In this paper, a systematic process mineralogical study is carried out on the ore. It is found that the main niobium-containing minerals in the ore are niobium iron ore, niobium iron rutile, hematite and limonite, ilmenite and pyrite. Niobium iron ore is the main recovered mineral for the separation of niobium concentrate. The embedded particle size of most niobium minerals is less than 0.04 mm, and the particle size of niobium iron ore is fine, mostly 0.5 ~ 8 μm. However, at 90% of -0.037 mm, the monomer dissociation can reach 71.11%. Magnetic separation can be considered to separate niobate and gangue minerals; Gangue minerals in the ore are mainly sericite and plagioclase, which are seriously argillized after grinding. Attention should be paid to the influence of mud grade material agglomeration on beneficiation test.

Keywords

• process mineralogy
• niobium-tantalite
• niobium-iron rutile
• vein minerals