Beneficiation of Iron Ore

Abstract

Wide reserves of iron ore is found in India. Due to the high quality of iron ore available in India, large deposits of Banded Haematite Jasper (BHJ) are left unused because of the presence of silica in unwanted quantity. ROM is put through washing to remove the clayey matter due to the presence of alumina and silica in iron ore leading to slime generation which are disposed of in tailing ponds. Slime in these tailing ponds contains iron values in the range of 45-60%. Appropriate beneficiation process has to be advanced to reduce the waste generation in mines and for the sustainable growth of the iron ore industry some. Major reason for difficulty in beneficiation of BHJ is revealed from characterization studies which show the intergrowth of haematite and quartz. Presence of Kaolonite is proved with the aid of mineralogical studies. For the separation of alumina from iron ore Beneficiation studies have to be carried out.