3338 XXXI International Mineral Processing Congress 2024 Proceedings/Washington, DC/Sep 29–Oct 3
The flotation of intermediate size fraction should define
the cut size of deslimed materials to achieve the requested Li
content for future processing. The recovery of heavy miner-
als is faced with selectivity issues if gravity separation is used.
Finally, the tailings of the heavy minerals concentra-
tion by Falcon or/and flotation are used to produce indus-
trial minerals by-products. Non-hydrofluoric acid process
(HF-free) was used to perform the quartz-feldspar separa-
tion allowing to generate a high quality feldspar concen-
trate for ceramics and quartz products to be used in the
building industry or for other purposes,
Li Minerals Recovery from Pegmatite Ores
Development of a Processing Approach for
Aplitic Pegmatite
Lepidolite in the granitic pegmatite and RMG is recovered
by flotation with a cationic collector at acidic pH close
to 2 (Korbel et al., 2023). Development of the lepidolite
pegmatite ore processing circuit was carried out on ore
samples from the Gonçalo deposit (Portugal) as part of
the H2020 “FAME” project funded by the European
Commission. Mineralogical study of the lithium-bearing
mica-rich pegmatite ore indicated an overall composition
of ≈ 10% lepidolite associated with gangue minerals such
as quartz (≈ 40%), muscovite (≈ 30%) potassic feldspar (≈
10%.) %)and albite (≈ 10%).
The strategy for developing the adapted processing cir-
cuit included:
• a preparation stage to generate different size fractions
• a pre-concentration stage using a dry separation
process
• a principal concentration stage by flotation.
The feed size distribution and lithium analysis is shown in
Figure 2.
Figure 1. Proposed flowsheet of Li and critical metals recovery from rare metal granite
The flotation of intermediate size fraction should define
the cut size of deslimed materials to achieve the requested Li
content for future processing. The recovery of heavy miner-
als is faced with selectivity issues if gravity separation is used.
Finally, the tailings of the heavy minerals concentra-
tion by Falcon or/and flotation are used to produce indus-
trial minerals by-products. Non-hydrofluoric acid process
(HF-free) was used to perform the quartz-feldspar separa-
tion allowing to generate a high quality feldspar concen-
trate for ceramics and quartz products to be used in the
building industry or for other purposes,
Li Minerals Recovery from Pegmatite Ores
Development of a Processing Approach for
Aplitic Pegmatite
Lepidolite in the granitic pegmatite and RMG is recovered
by flotation with a cationic collector at acidic pH close
to 2 (Korbel et al., 2023). Development of the lepidolite
pegmatite ore processing circuit was carried out on ore
samples from the Gonçalo deposit (Portugal) as part of
the H2020 “FAME” project funded by the European
Commission. Mineralogical study of the lithium-bearing
mica-rich pegmatite ore indicated an overall composition
of ≈ 10% lepidolite associated with gangue minerals such
as quartz (≈ 40%), muscovite (≈ 30%) potassic feldspar (≈
10%.) %)and albite (≈ 10%).
The strategy for developing the adapted processing cir-
cuit included:
• a preparation stage to generate different size fractions
• a pre-concentration stage using a dry separation
process
• a principal concentration stage by flotation.
The feed size distribution and lithium analysis is shown in
Figure 2.
Figure 1. Proposed flowsheet of Li and critical metals recovery from rare metal granite