1556 XXXI International Mineral Processing Congress 2024 Proceedings/Washington, DC/Sep 29–Oct 3
CONCLUSIONS
In summary, the characterization of a pegmatite type lith-
ium ore has provided insights into its mode of occurrence,
distribution of lithium and gangue minerals, and their
impacts on mineral processing. The ore contains 0.84 wt.%
Li2O along with Al (8.93%), K (5.34%), Si (34.1%), and
Na (2.1%), and low concentration of impurities such as Fe,
P, Ca, Cu, Ba, and Mn. The primary lithium-bearing min-
eral is spodumene, which accounts for about 20% of the
ore by weight, while the primary gangue minerals are other
silicate minerals including plagioclase (21.5%), K-Feldspar
(38%), and quartz (17%).The coarse grain size and com-
pletely liberated spodumene in the ore suggests that there
is little or no need for further grinding prior to employing
various beneficiation techniques to recover and upgrade
spodumene. This makes the ore a good candidate for early
gangue rejection though gravity concentration via dense
media separation. Also controlled grinding may be carried
out followed by knelson concentration and/or froth flota-
tion. The ore is not suitable for magnetic separation due to
the low concentration of iron oxide gangue minerals and
the absence of zinnwaldite, a paramagnetic lithium bearing
mineral. The present study demonstrates the capabilities of
ICP-MS, QXRD, and QEMSCAN analyses for the charac-
terization of pegmatite ore with the view of identifying pru-
dent beneficiation methods to recover its lithium bearing
mineral (spodumene). The obtained data provide valuable
key information on quantitative mineralogy, mineral asso-
ciation, particle, and mineral grain sizes, as well as mineral
liberation and elemental deportment data. The results illus-
trate that the characterization tools can be used to check
lithium bearing phases and select processing techniques to
recover them.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
George Abaka-Wood acknowledges the financial support
from the Australian Research Council for the ARC Centre
of Excellence for Enabling Eco-Efficient Beneficiation
of Minerals, grant number CE200100009. The authors
also acknowledge the facilities and technical assistance of
the staff of Microscopy Australia at the Future Industries
Institute, University of South Australia.
REFERENCE
Abaka-Wood, G., Acquah, G., Owusu, C., &Addai-
Mensah, J. (2022). A Review of Characterization
Techniques and Processing Methods for Lithium
Extraction.
Abaka-Wood, G. B., Addai-Mensah, J., &Skinner, W.
(2022). The use of mining tailings as analog of rare
earth elements resources: part 1–characterization and
preliminary separation. Mineral processing and extrac-
tive metallurgy review, 43(6), 701–715.
Atlantic Lithium Limited, A. A., ASX: A11, OTCQX:
ALLIF, “Atlantic Lithium” or the “Company”), (2023).
Definitive Feasibility Study. https://static1.squarespace
.com/static/61711d27ed0db12cacbcfb5a/t/649d3f8
51c02121fcf7bffcd/1688027016483/2023.06.29
+-+Project+Update+-+Ewoyaa+Definitive+Feasibility
+Study+%28ASX%29.pdf.
Chen, K., &Yin, W. (2022). Differences in early rejec-
tion of gangue for low-grade iron ores with different
textures from HPGR. Mineral processing and extractive
metallurgy review, 1–7.
Gibson, C. E., Aghamirian, M., Grammatikopoulos, T.,
Smith, D. L., &Bottomer, L. (2021). The recovery and
concentration of spodumene using dense media sepa-
ration. Minerals, 11(6), 649.
Greim, P., Solomon, A., &Breyer, C. (2020). Assessment
of lithium criticality in the global energy transition
and addressing policy gaps in transportation. Nature
Communications, 11(1), 4570.
Grosjean, C., Miranda, P. H., Perrin, M., &Poggi, P.
(2012). Assessment of world lithium resources and
consequences of their geographic distribution on the
expected development of the electric vehicle indus-
try. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 16(3),
1735–1744.
Kavanagh, L., Keohane, J., Garcia Cabellos, G., Lloyd, A.,
&Cleary, J. (2018). Global lithium sources—indus-
trial use and future in the electric vehicle industry: a
review. Resources, 7(3), 57.
Kundu, T., Das, S. K., Dash, N., Parhi, P. K., Sangurmath,
P., &Angadi, S. I. (2023). Characterization and grav-
ity concentration studies on spodumene bearing peg-
matites of India. Separation Science and Technology,
58(13), 2331–2343.
Kundu, T., Rath, S. S., Das, S. K., Parhi, P. K., &Angadi,
S. I. (2023b). Recovery of lithium from spodumene-
bearing pegmatites: A comprehensive review on geo-
logical reserves, beneficiation, and extraction. Powder
Technology, 415, 118142.
Lessard, J., de Bakker, J., &McHugh, L. (2014).
Development of ore sorting and its impact on mineral
processing economics. Minerals engineering, 65, 88–97.
CONCLUSIONS
In summary, the characterization of a pegmatite type lith-
ium ore has provided insights into its mode of occurrence,
distribution of lithium and gangue minerals, and their
impacts on mineral processing. The ore contains 0.84 wt.%
Li2O along with Al (8.93%), K (5.34%), Si (34.1%), and
Na (2.1%), and low concentration of impurities such as Fe,
P, Ca, Cu, Ba, and Mn. The primary lithium-bearing min-
eral is spodumene, which accounts for about 20% of the
ore by weight, while the primary gangue minerals are other
silicate minerals including plagioclase (21.5%), K-Feldspar
(38%), and quartz (17%).The coarse grain size and com-
pletely liberated spodumene in the ore suggests that there
is little or no need for further grinding prior to employing
various beneficiation techniques to recover and upgrade
spodumene. This makes the ore a good candidate for early
gangue rejection though gravity concentration via dense
media separation. Also controlled grinding may be carried
out followed by knelson concentration and/or froth flota-
tion. The ore is not suitable for magnetic separation due to
the low concentration of iron oxide gangue minerals and
the absence of zinnwaldite, a paramagnetic lithium bearing
mineral. The present study demonstrates the capabilities of
ICP-MS, QXRD, and QEMSCAN analyses for the charac-
terization of pegmatite ore with the view of identifying pru-
dent beneficiation methods to recover its lithium bearing
mineral (spodumene). The obtained data provide valuable
key information on quantitative mineralogy, mineral asso-
ciation, particle, and mineral grain sizes, as well as mineral
liberation and elemental deportment data. The results illus-
trate that the characterization tools can be used to check
lithium bearing phases and select processing techniques to
recover them.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
George Abaka-Wood acknowledges the financial support
from the Australian Research Council for the ARC Centre
of Excellence for Enabling Eco-Efficient Beneficiation
of Minerals, grant number CE200100009. The authors
also acknowledge the facilities and technical assistance of
the staff of Microscopy Australia at the Future Industries
Institute, University of South Australia.
REFERENCE
Abaka-Wood, G., Acquah, G., Owusu, C., &Addai-
Mensah, J. (2022). A Review of Characterization
Techniques and Processing Methods for Lithium
Extraction.
Abaka-Wood, G. B., Addai-Mensah, J., &Skinner, W.
(2022). The use of mining tailings as analog of rare
earth elements resources: part 1–characterization and
preliminary separation. Mineral processing and extrac-
tive metallurgy review, 43(6), 701–715.
Atlantic Lithium Limited, A. A., ASX: A11, OTCQX:
ALLIF, “Atlantic Lithium” or the “Company”), (2023).
Definitive Feasibility Study. https://static1.squarespace
.com/static/61711d27ed0db12cacbcfb5a/t/649d3f8
51c02121fcf7bffcd/1688027016483/2023.06.29
+-+Project+Update+-+Ewoyaa+Definitive+Feasibility
+Study+%28ASX%29.pdf.
Chen, K., &Yin, W. (2022). Differences in early rejec-
tion of gangue for low-grade iron ores with different
textures from HPGR. Mineral processing and extractive
metallurgy review, 1–7.
Gibson, C. E., Aghamirian, M., Grammatikopoulos, T.,
Smith, D. L., &Bottomer, L. (2021). The recovery and
concentration of spodumene using dense media sepa-
ration. Minerals, 11(6), 649.
Greim, P., Solomon, A., &Breyer, C. (2020). Assessment
of lithium criticality in the global energy transition
and addressing policy gaps in transportation. Nature
Communications, 11(1), 4570.
Grosjean, C., Miranda, P. H., Perrin, M., &Poggi, P.
(2012). Assessment of world lithium resources and
consequences of their geographic distribution on the
expected development of the electric vehicle indus-
try. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 16(3),
1735–1744.
Kavanagh, L., Keohane, J., Garcia Cabellos, G., Lloyd, A.,
&Cleary, J. (2018). Global lithium sources—indus-
trial use and future in the electric vehicle industry: a
review. Resources, 7(3), 57.
Kundu, T., Das, S. K., Dash, N., Parhi, P. K., Sangurmath,
P., &Angadi, S. I. (2023). Characterization and grav-
ity concentration studies on spodumene bearing peg-
matites of India. Separation Science and Technology,
58(13), 2331–2343.
Kundu, T., Rath, S. S., Das, S. K., Parhi, P. K., &Angadi,
S. I. (2023b). Recovery of lithium from spodumene-
bearing pegmatites: A comprehensive review on geo-
logical reserves, beneficiation, and extraction. Powder
Technology, 415, 118142.
Lessard, J., de Bakker, J., &McHugh, L. (2014).
Development of ore sorting and its impact on mineral
processing economics. Minerals engineering, 65, 88–97.