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Alternative beneficiation of tantalite and removal of radioactive oxides from Ethiopian Kenticha pegmatite–spodumene ores

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Abstract

The beneficiation methods for Ethiopian Kenticha pegmatite–spodumene ores were assessed through mineralogical and quantitative analyses with X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF). The tantalite in the upper zone of the Kenticha pegmatite–spodumene deposit is 58.7wt% higher than that in the inner zone. XRD analysis revealed that the upper zone is dominated by manganocolumbite, whereas the inner zone is predominantly tantalite−Mn. Repeated cleaning and beneficiation of the upper-zone ore resulted in concentrate compositions of 57.34wt% of Ta2O5 and 5.41wt% of Nb2O5. Washing the tantalite concentrates using 1vol% KOH and 1 M H2SO4 led to the removal of thorium and uranium radioactive oxides from the concentrate. The findings of this study suggest that the beneficiation and alkaline washing of Kenticha pegmatite–spodumene ores produce a high-grade export-quality tantalite concentrate with negligible radioactive oxides.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Ethiopia Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Ethiopian Mineral Petroleum and Biofuel Corporation, Department of Materials Engineering of Adama Science and Technology University and for the grant by MU-HU-NORAD of Mekelle University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jimma Institute of Technology, Jimma University, P.O. Box 378, Jimma, Ethiopia

    Berhe Goitom Gebreyohannes & Velázquez del Rosario Alberto

  2. Chemistry Department, College of Natural and Computational Science, Mekelle University, P.O. Box 823, Mekelle, Ethiopia

    Berhe Goitom Gebreyohannes

  3. School of Chemical and Bio Engineering, AAiT, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Abubeker Yimam

  4. Research and Development Directorate, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas, P.O. Box 486, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Girma Woldetinsae

  5. Department of Mining Engineering and Metallurgical Engineering, Western Australian School of Mines, Curtin University, Egan St, Kalgoorlie, WA, 6430, Australia

    Bogale Tadesse

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  1. Berhe Goitom Gebreyohannes
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  2. Velázquez del Rosario Alberto
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Correspondence to Berhe Goitom Gebreyohannes.

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Gebreyohannes, B.G., del Rosario Alberto, V., Yimam, A. et al. Alternative beneficiation of tantalite and removal of radioactive oxides from Ethiopian Kenticha pegmatite–spodumene ores. Int J Miner Metall Mater 24, 727–735 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-017-1456-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-017-1456-8

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