Shevchenko H., Cholyshkina V., Tytov O., Kurilov V., Samodryha O. Prospects of obtaining quartz flour from iron ore enrichment waste storage
- Details
- Parent Category: Geo-Technical Mechanics, 2025
- Category: Geo-Technical Mechanics, 2025, Issue 174
Geotech. meh. 2025, 174, 34-42
PROSPECTS OF OBTAINING QUARTZ FLOUR FROM IRON ORE ENRICHMENT WASTE STORAGE
M.S. Poliakov Institute of Geotechnical Mechanics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
UDC 622.7: 622.17
Language: English
Abstract. Tailings storage facilities of iron ore beneficiation in the Kryvbas region currently contain more than 6 billion tons of mineral raw material. These waste deposits could become a source for obtaining iron concentrate and a silicate product, primarily finely ground quartz sand. However, to date, no economically feasible solution has been found for processing the waste to extract iron. Less attention has been paid to the issue of obtaining silicate material (mostly quartz) from the waste. Quartz mining in Ukraine is carried out at only one deposit in Zhytomyr region, and while there are many deposits of quartz sand, their quality (purity) is insufficient. Fine grinding is required to improve quality. In this regard, the material from iron ore tailings is competitive because it does not require energy-intensive grinding processes. The purpose of this work was to analyze iron ore beneficiation waste to determine the prospects for obtaining quartz flour. To achieve this, the following tasks were solved: establishing the annual volumes of waste that fill the tailings facilities of mining plants; studying the mechanism of waste formation and grain size; determining the quantity of fractions ready for beneficiation with particle size less than 50 µm contained in the tailings; and, based on an analysis of the degree of mineral liberation, forecasting the parameters of the silicate material that can be obtained from tailings finer than 50 µm. The study notes a significant resource of raw materials for obtaining quartz flour, and provides the annual volume of waste from five mining-beneficiation plants in Ukraine. The mechanism of waste generation by beneficiation operations in the traditional magnetic scheme is investigated, and it is found that in the coarsest waste from the first stage of magnetic separation, the content of <50 µm size classes averages 23.7%. It is determined that in the tailings material, the amount of <50 µm size classes represented by liberated ore minerals averages 45%. This fraction is suitable for further processing without energy-intensive crushing and grinding operations. A microscopic analysis of mineral liberation was performed and a forecast is made for the characteristics of the silicate material that can be obtained from tailings <50 µm. The prospect of obtaining a silicate product in the form of quartz flour with a yield of 20–30% of the processed volume and iron content of 4–5% is established. The obtained quartz product is technologically competitive with sands of other origin; it has prospects as a raw material for the needs of radio electronics, the manufacture of optical instruments, fiberglass, filtration systems, metallurgy, construction, and other industries.
Keywords: iron ore, enrichment, waste, quartz, iron content.
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About the authors
Shevchenko Heorgii, Doctor of Technical Sciences (D.Sc.), Head of Department of Mechanics of Mineral Processing Machines and Processes, M. S. Poliakov Institute for Geotechnical Mechanics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (IGTM of the NAS of Ukraine), Dnipro, Ukraine, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , ORCID 0000-0002-8047-7014.
Cholyshkina Valentina, Candidate of Technical Sciences (Ph.D.), Senior Researcher of Department of Mechanics of Mineral Processing Machines and Processes, M.S. Poliakov Institute of Geotechnical Mechanics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (IGTM of the NAS of Ukraine), Dnipro, Ukraine, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , ORCID 0000-0002-1612-5591.
Tytov Oleksandr, Ph.D. (Tech.), Researcher of Department of Mechanics of Mineral Processing Machines and Processes, M. S. Poliakov Institute for Geotechnical Mechanics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (IGTM of the NAS of Ukraine), Dnipro, Ukraine, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , ORCID 0000-0002-5562-7543.
Kurilov Vladislav,Ph.D., Researcher of Department of Mechanics of Mineral Processing Machines and Processes, M.S. Poliakov Institute of Geotechnical Mechanics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (IGTM of the NAS of Ukraine), Dniprо, Ukraine, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Corresponding author), ORCID 0000-0003-3202-9003.
Samodryha Oleh, Postgraduate Student, M.S. Polyakov Institute of Geotechnical Mechanics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (IGTM of the NAS of Ukraine), Dnipro, Ukraine, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , ORCID 0009-0007-6095-0031.