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Microwave-assisted reduction roasting—magnetic separation studies of two mineralogically different low-grade iron ores

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Abstract

The microwave-assisted reduction behaviours of two low-grade iron ores having a similar Fe content of 49wt% but distinctly different mineralogical and liberation characteristics were studied. Their performances in terms of the iron grade and recovery as obtained from statistically designed microwave (MW) roasting followed by low-intensity magnetic separation (LIMS) experiments were compared. At respective optimum conditions, the titano-magnetite ore (O1) could yield an iron concentrate of 62.57% Fe grade and 60.01% Fe recovery, while the goethitic ore (O2) could be upgraded to a concentrate of 64.4% Fe grade and 33.3% Fe recovery. Compared with the goethitic ore, the titano-magnetite ore responded better to MW heating. The characterization studies of the feed and roasted products obtained at different power and time conditions using X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy, vibrating-sample magnetometry, and electron-probe microanalysis explain the sequential reduction in the iron oxide phases. Finally, taking advantage of the MW absorbing character of the titano-magnetite ore, a blend of the same with the goethite-rich ore at a weight ratio of 60:40 (O2: O1) was subjected to MW roasting that resulted in a concentrate of 61.57% Fe grade with a Fe recovery of 64.47%.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the Director, CSIR-IMMT, Bhubaneswar for his permission to publish this paper and the Ministry of Steel, Government of India, for their financial support (F. No. 11(12)/GBS/2014-TW).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mineral Processing Department, CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, Bhubaneswar, 751013, India

    Subhnit K. Roy, Deepak Nayak, Nilima Dash & Swagat S. Rath

  2. Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, 247667, India

    Nikhil Dhawan

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  1. Subhnit K. Roy
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  2. Deepak Nayak
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Correspondence to Swagat S. Rath.

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Roy, S.K., Nayak, D., Dash, N. et al. Microwave-assisted reduction roasting—magnetic separation studies of two mineralogically different low-grade iron ores. Int J Miner Metall Mater 27, 1449–1461 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-020-1992-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-020-1992-5

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