Abstract
THE usual methods for concentration of minerals from rocks by means of magnetic separation, heavy liquids, etc., do not always give satisfactory results. In some of these cases it is known that a good separation can be obtained using differences in the dielectric properties of minerals1,2. Briefly, the separation is based on the principle that, in a non-homogeneous electric field, particles with a higher dielectric constant than that of the medium in which they are immersed tend to migrate from a zone of low field strength into a zone of high field strength. Likewise, particles of lower dielectric constant than the medium are repelled into a zone of low field strength.
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References
Milner, H. B., Sedimentpetrography, 1, 200 (George Allen and Unwin, London, 1962).
Ralston, O. C., Electrostatic Separation of Mixed Granular Solids (Elsevier Publishing Co., Amsterdam, 1961).
Maijer, C., Geological investigation of the Amarante Region (Northern Portugal) with special reference to the mineralogy of the cassiterite-bearing albite pegmatites, thesis, Univ. Amsterdam, 1965.
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VERSCHURE, R., IJLST, L. Apparatus for Continuous Dielectric-medium Separation of Mineral Grains. Nature 211, 619–620 (1966). https://doi.org/10.1038/211619b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/211619b0
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