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Characterization and Comminution Studies of Low-Grade Indian Iron Ores

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Abstract

Banded hematite quartzite (BHQ) and banded hematite jasper (BHJ) ores represent a promising potential iron ore resource in the near future. The hematite and quartz in BHQ and the hematite and jasper in BHJ are closely related and require fine grinding for the liberation of hematite phases. The present study investigates the mineralogical features and comminution properties of BHQ and BHJ ores. In the BHQ ore, it is observed that thick bands of hematite have fine inclusions of silicate minerals, whereas silica bands have few grains of iron-bearing minerals. The hematite and quartz minerals in the iron and silicate bands of the BHJ ore appear to be more intricately associated and complex in nature, presenting difficulties for liberation. Bond work index studies were carried out for the BHQ and BHJ ores with different product fineness in order to evaluate the energy requirements in fine grinding. A higher Bond work index value was found for the BHJ ore (15.4 kWh/ton) than for the BHQ ore (12.4 kWh/ton). A decrease in the product particle size was associated with an increase in the work index value. Single-particle breakage experiments were designed by varying feed particle size and input energy. The specific energy consumption for the BHJ ore was higher than that for the BHQ ore. The comminution parameters showed that the BHJ ore is harder to grind than the BHQ ore, which may be due to the mineral composition and association of hematite phases with the silicates.

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Acknowledgements

The first author, Mr. T. Santosh, would like to acknowledge the Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB), New Delhi, for the Junior Research Fellowship under a grant-in-aid project entitled “Energy efficient advanced comminution processes to treat low grade Indian ores for energy conservation” (Ref. No.: SB/EMEQ-153/2014). The authors would also like to thank the director of the CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, Bhubaneswar, India, for allowing publication of this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mineral Processing Department, CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, Bhubaneswar, 751013, India

    T. Santosh, S. I. Angadi, Nilima Dash & C. Eswaraiah

  2. Research and Development Division, Tata Steel Ltd., Jamshedpur, India

    Sunil Kumar Tripathy

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  1. T. Santosh
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  2. S. I. Angadi
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Correspondence to S. I. Angadi.

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Santosh, T., Angadi, S.I., Dash, N. et al. Characterization and Comminution Studies of Low-Grade Indian Iron Ores. Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration 36, 303–312 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42461-019-0051-0

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