24-hour service hotline 0086 18733132385
Send us an email [email protected]
Home News Mineral processing technology for metallurgical grade fluorspar and chemical grade fluorspar

Mineral processing technology for metallurgical grade fluorspar and chemical grade fluorspar

266 18.Sep.2023 KZ Editor


 Fluorite in nature often has bright colors, some can emit fluorescence, and is brittle and soft in texture. It is not often used as a gemstone. The normal grade of fluorspar ore cannot meet industrial demand and must be processed through mineral processing, that is, a fluorspar mineral processing production line is used. For the beneficiation of coarse-grained fluorspar ore, it usually includes three beneficiation processes: hand selection, gravity separation, and flotation. For fluorspar ore with uneven thickness distribution, the beneficiation process includes gravity separation and flotation. For low-grade fluorspar ore with poor grade, fluorite and waste rock are mixed with each other, and flotation can only be used for beneficiation and purification. The function of the fluorite beneficiation production line is to improve the grade of fluorspar ore to meet the needs of industrial production.

Metallurgical grade fluorspar ore beneficiation

Metallurgical grade fluorspar contains 60 to 85% CaF 2 . Most of this material is used in the production of iron, steel and other metals. Fluorite can be used as a flux to remove impurities such as sulfur and phosphorus from the molten metal and improve the fluidity of the slag. For every ton of metal produced, 20 to 60 pounds of fluorspar are used.

The gravity separation process is mainly used to produce metallurgical grade fluorspar lump ore. According to the difference in specific gravity between fluorite ore and waste rock, they are layered according to specific gravity in gravity sorting equipment such as jigs. 

Metallurgical grade fluorspar ores require coarse-grained, massive, high-grade concentrates. Therefore, during the sorting process, the combination of fluorite and waste rock must first be broken up, and then the waste rock that is obviously different in nature from fluorite must be discarded by re-selection. In this way, high-quality fluorite crystal blocks can be obtained, which can be used as fluorite for metallurgy.

This gravity separation method has high-efficiency, energy-saving, and environmentally friendly mineral processing effects, and can produce fluorspar lump ore and granular ore in most sizes in the metallurgical industry. The jig beneficiation process is the core method and equipment for producing metallurgical fluorspar ore.

Chemical grade fluorspar ore beneficiation

Acid grade fluorspar, also called chemical grade fluorspar, is a high-purity material used in the chemical industry. It contains over 97% CaF 2 . Most fluorspar consumed is acid grade, even though it is used in lower grade applications. Mainly used in the chemical industry for the manufacture of hydrofluoric acid (HF). Hydrofluoric acid is then used in the manufacture of a variety of products including: fluorocarbon chemicals, foam blowing agents, refrigerants, and various fluoride chemicals.

Chemical grade fluorite ore concentrate generally requires a grade of 95-97% and a particle size of -200 mesh accounting for 80%. It is mainly used to react with concentrated sulfuric acid to produce hydrofluoric acid. Fluorite ore flotation is a method of extracting fine-grained disseminated fluorspar ore using flotation ore separation. This method is mainly used to produce high-quality chemical grade fluorspar concentrate. Due to the high requirements for concentrate grade, it is also the only way to produce chemical grade fluorspar powder ore.

Fluorite flotation

Fluorite ore has good natural buoyancy. Calcium fluoride can be efficiently collected by adding various chemical reagents. Generally, the flotation process of fluorite ore is mainly mineral processing. Due to the good floatability of fluorspar ore, the recovery rate of the flotation process is very high.

However, due to strict grade requirements for fluorspar ore used in the chemical industry, multiple selections are required. Fluorite ore flotation beneficiation usually takes more than 7 times, while roughing and sweeping only require 1-2 times. In addition, fluorite ore flotation also has certain requirements on temperature, and heated flotation is usually used.

The equipment used in fluorite ore flotation mainly includes crushers, vibrating screens, ball mills, classifiers, mixing drums, flotation machines, filter presses, dryers, etc. Although the fluorite ore flotation process is complex, the equipment investment is large and there is certain environmental pollution. However, the market demand for high-quality fluorite powder is relatively large, and the market sales price is also very high. Therefore, many companies are still engaged in flotation of fluorspar ores and have achieved considerable economic benefits.

Fluorite mineral resources are abundant, but the average grade is low and sorting is difficult. Among them, the medium and coarse-grained fluorspar lump ores and granular ores produced by gravity separation are used as fluxes in the metallurgical industry. Fine-grained fluorspar powder produced by flotation is used in the chemical industry to produce hydrofluoric acid. In terms of fluorspar ore beneficiation, graded grinding, graded separation and multiple beneficiation are the main processes of fluorspar ore flotation.


© 2021 Yantai KZ Mining Processing Technology & Equipment Inc.

WhatsApp 0086 18733132385
Message Leave a Message