Mineral Processing Technology

Mineral Processing Technology

1. Definition

Mineral processing technology is a means of separating gangue (waste material) and valuable components according to the properties and occurrence forms of minerals in the ore. The process entails crushing and grinding the ore, followed by techniques such as gravity separation, flotation, magnetic separation, and electric separation. These techniques are employed to separate valuable minerals from gangue minerals and to isolate co - existing valuable minerals, while eliminating or reducing harmful impurities for use in smelting or as industrial raw materials.

2. Purpose

The main aim of mineral processing is to enrich valuable components, cut down on fuel and transportation consumption during smelting or processing, and make the economic utilization of low - grade ores possible. Data from mineral processing tests are the primary basis for evaluating ore deposits and designing processing plants.

3. Methods

Mineral processing uses a variety of techniques, which are classified as follows:

l  Physical Methods

These include washing, screening, gravity separation, and magnetic separation.

l  Chemical Methods

Such as flotation with reagents and leaching.

l  Biological Methods

Including bacterial oxidation.

For instance, low - temperature sulfidation roasting - flotation is used to recover copper, gold, and silver from low - grade combined oxidized copper ores. This method has advantages like low cost, a simple process, low equipment investment, low energy consumption, and being pollution - free.

4.Products

The main products of mineral processing are:

l  Concentrate

Enriched with valuable components, serving as raw materials for metallurgy (metal minerals) or other industries (non - metal minerals).

l  Tailings

Containing mainly useless components.

l  Middlings

Intermediate products that need further processing.

In addition, coal products are refined through mineral processing to produce cleaner coal.

5.Historical Development

In 1867, Rittinger's work "Mineral Processing" laid the foundation for this field. By 1903, Richards' "Mineral Processing" established it as an independent engineering discipline.

6.Evolution

Over time, mineral processing has developed from dealing with coarse materials to fine materials, from simple to complex ores, and from physical methods to physicochemical and chemical methods. Early techniques involved manual selection and simple washing tools. In China, early methods relied on physical properties without changing the mineral composition, initially named "ore selection" for metals and later extended to "mineral selection" for non - metals. Modern processes now include chemical recovery techniques.