3326 XXXI International Mineral Processing Congress 2024 Proceedings/Washington, DC/Sep 29–Oct 3
Procedure
Dense Media Separation (DMS)
In this study, DMS testing was conducted using sodium
polytungstate (density of 3.10 g/cm3) dissolved with dis-
tilled water. The test was conducted with heavy media den-
sities ranging from 2.70 to 3.00 g/cm3 in increments of
0.10 g/cm3, according to the flowsheet shown in Figure 2.
The DMS test was initiated with 300 g of 1000/+850 μm,
and –850/+500 μm feed materials at the highest liquid den-
sity (3.00 g/cm3), using a separatory funnel to facilitate sep-
aration of heavy material (spodumene) from light material
(quartz, feldspars, muscovite). The float fraction from the
first DMS stage formed to feed to the second DMS stage,
conducted at a specific gravity cut point of 2.90. This pro-
cedure continued for all densities in the series, beginning
at the highest density (3.00 g/cm3) and ending at the low-
est density (2.60 g/cm3). The sink product from the DMS
stages formed the spodumene concentrate at each specific
gravity (4 total), and the float product formed the final
silicate tailings product (1 total). The density of the media
was measured before and after each test to ensure the target
was maintained. The sink and float products were washed,
filtered, dried, and weighed and subsamples were obtained
for analysis by XRD and MP-AES.
Spodumene Flotation
Flotation tests for the spodumene samples were carried out
by adding 17.50 g of ore sample to 350 mL of deionized
water in the agitair flotation cell (Gorain et al., 2000) under
constant stirring (800 rpm), and this was followed by the
addition of pH regulators (HCl or NaOH) to adjust slurry
pH to target pH ranging from 2 to 12 and conditioned for
10 min. After adding the desired amount of NaOL, DAA,
or mixture of NaOL(Gorain et al., 2000)/DAA (collectors),
the suspension was agitated for 5 min before adding MIBC
at 200 g/t into the slurry. The flotation was conducted for 3
min. The froth products and tails were weighed separately
after filtration and drying, and the recovery was calculated
based on the dry weight of the product. The flowsheet of
flotation condition illustrated in Figure 3.
Table 1. Chemical composition of the ore sample (wt.%)
Size Fraction Li
2 O Al
2 O
3 SiO
2 Fe
2 O
3 Na
2 O CaO K
2 O Total
–1000/+850 μm 0.67 20.78 64.98 0.63 5.98 0.28 3.30 96.62
–850/+500 μm 0.49 20.25 63.41 0.43 4.69 0.20 3.01 92.48
–74/+38 μm 0.26 21.36 61.95 0.42 6.24 0.30 3.28 93.81
Float
Feed
Sink
SG
3.0
SG
2.9
SG
2.8
SG
2.7
Float Float Float
(tail)
Sink Sink Sink
Figure 2. Dense media separation experiments procedure
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
2 (deg)
Q: quartz (SiO2)
M: muscovite (KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2)
F: feldspar ([K,Na]AlSiO3)
S: spodumene (LiAl(SiO2)3)
M M
M
F F
F
Q
Q Q S S S S Q Q Q
Q Q Q
Q F M M
Q
M
Figure 1. XRD pattern of the spodumene sample
Procedure
Dense Media Separation (DMS)
In this study, DMS testing was conducted using sodium
polytungstate (density of 3.10 g/cm3) dissolved with dis-
tilled water. The test was conducted with heavy media den-
sities ranging from 2.70 to 3.00 g/cm3 in increments of
0.10 g/cm3, according to the flowsheet shown in Figure 2.
The DMS test was initiated with 300 g of 1000/+850 μm,
and –850/+500 μm feed materials at the highest liquid den-
sity (3.00 g/cm3), using a separatory funnel to facilitate sep-
aration of heavy material (spodumene) from light material
(quartz, feldspars, muscovite). The float fraction from the
first DMS stage formed to feed to the second DMS stage,
conducted at a specific gravity cut point of 2.90. This pro-
cedure continued for all densities in the series, beginning
at the highest density (3.00 g/cm3) and ending at the low-
est density (2.60 g/cm3). The sink product from the DMS
stages formed the spodumene concentrate at each specific
gravity (4 total), and the float product formed the final
silicate tailings product (1 total). The density of the media
was measured before and after each test to ensure the target
was maintained. The sink and float products were washed,
filtered, dried, and weighed and subsamples were obtained
for analysis by XRD and MP-AES.
Spodumene Flotation
Flotation tests for the spodumene samples were carried out
by adding 17.50 g of ore sample to 350 mL of deionized
water in the agitair flotation cell (Gorain et al., 2000) under
constant stirring (800 rpm), and this was followed by the
addition of pH regulators (HCl or NaOH) to adjust slurry
pH to target pH ranging from 2 to 12 and conditioned for
10 min. After adding the desired amount of NaOL, DAA,
or mixture of NaOL(Gorain et al., 2000)/DAA (collectors),
the suspension was agitated for 5 min before adding MIBC
at 200 g/t into the slurry. The flotation was conducted for 3
min. The froth products and tails were weighed separately
after filtration and drying, and the recovery was calculated
based on the dry weight of the product. The flowsheet of
flotation condition illustrated in Figure 3.
Table 1. Chemical composition of the ore sample (wt.%)
Size Fraction Li
2 O Al
2 O
3 SiO
2 Fe
2 O
3 Na
2 O CaO K
2 O Total
–1000/+850 μm 0.67 20.78 64.98 0.63 5.98 0.28 3.30 96.62
–850/+500 μm 0.49 20.25 63.41 0.43 4.69 0.20 3.01 92.48
–74/+38 μm 0.26 21.36 61.95 0.42 6.24 0.30 3.28 93.81
Float
Feed
Sink
SG
3.0
SG
2.9
SG
2.8
SG
2.7
Float Float Float
(tail)
Sink Sink Sink
Figure 2. Dense media separation experiments procedure
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
2 (deg)
Q: quartz (SiO2)
M: muscovite (KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2)
F: feldspar ([K,Na]AlSiO3)
S: spodumene (LiAl(SiO2)3)
M M
M
F F
F
Q
Q Q S S S S Q Q Q
Q Q Q
Q F M M
Q
M
Figure 1. XRD pattern of the spodumene sample