Monometallic and polymetallic magnetite beneficiation

In recent years, monometallic and polymetallic magnetite beneficiation has attracted widespread attention due to its high economic value and wide range of applications. Magnetite is a naturally occurring iron oxide mineral known for its magnetic properties. It is commonly used as a key raw material in various industries including steelmaking, ceramics production and electronics manufacturing. Magnetite in its pure form contains a high proportion of iron (Fe), making it an attractive option for iron ore extraction.

Monomenetite beneficiation focuses on separating magnetite from other minerals present in the ore through processes such as crushing, grinding, magnetic separation, and flotation. This method concentrates valuable iron content while minimizing impurities. Polymetallic magnetite beneficiation has attracted much attention as an alternative source of rare earth elements, iron and other precious metals; the core of beneficiation involves multiple complex processes aimed at separating and concentrating valuable metals.

Single magnetite beneficiation

Refers to pure magnetite without any impurities or additional minerals. Also known as lodestone or magnetic ironstone, it is a naturally occurring iron oxide mineral. It has unique magnetic properties and has been widely used in various industries such as manufacturing, construction, and environmental remediation. The composition of the ore is simple, and a weak magnetic separation process is often used:

The raw ore is first broken into small particles. These particles are then fed into a ball mill for grinding. The ground ore is then subjected to various stages of magnetic separation to separate magnetic minerals from non-magnetic minerals. This involves passing finely ground ore through magnets to attract and remove magnetite particles. The separated magnetite concentrate is further processed through flotation and dehydration to obtain an iron-rich product with low impurity content.

Monometallic and polymetallic magnetite beneficiation

Polymetallic magnetite beneficiation

In addition to iron, polymetallic magnetite also contains nickel, cobalt, copper, vanadium and other metal elements. The presence of these additional metals gives polymetallic magnetites unique properties and makes them highly sought after for specific applications. For example, the high vanadium content in some polymetallic magnetites makes it a valuable resource for producing vanadium steel alloys with excellent strength and hardness. Generally, a combined process of weak magnetic separation and flotation is used; iron ore is recovered by weak magnetic separation, and sulfide or apatite is recovered by flotation.

For the weak magnetic separation-flotation process, the continuum mainly enters the iron concentrate;

For the flotation weak magnetic separation process, the continuum mainly enters the sulfide concentrate.

Magnetite concentrate can be passed through flotation or impact fine screening to obtain high-grade concentrate.