Oliіnyk T., Rumnytskyi D., Skliar L. Practice of using spiral separators in magnetite ore dressing
- Details
- Parent Category: Geo-Technical Mechanics, 2025
- Category: Geo-Technical Mechanics, 2025, Issue 172
Geoteсh. meh. 2025, 172, 130-142
PRACTICE OF USING SPIRAL SEPARATORS IN MAGNETITE ORE DRESSING
Kryvyi Rih National University
UDC 622.771:622.341.2
Language: English
Abstract. The authors developed recommendations for the use of gravity spiral separation in technological schemes for the beneficiation of magnetite quartzite based on the study of the main factors affecting the operation of the spiral separator by making granulometric, chemical, mineralogical and technological analyses of magnetite quartzite beneficiation products in the SVSh-2-1000 spiral separator and conducting experiments to determine the main factors affecting the process.
The possibility of obtaining a concentrate of 12.8% with a mass fraction of Fetotal of 55.4% from sands of the second classification stage with a mass fraction of Fetotalof more than 68% at the position of the cut-off at the level of 95 mm was shown. It was established that the separation of products on a spiral separator should be carried out in narrow size fractions. It is shown that separation of oversize products with a mass fraction of Fetotalof 58.46–61.48% in spiral separators allows obtaining three products - heavy, medium, and light fractions. The heavy and light fractions are concentrates with a mass fraction of Fe totalexceeding 67%. The light fraction has the highest content of regrind magnetite. It was established that the pulp viscosity and temperature have a significant impact on the process of beneficiation of magnetite ore pulp in a spiral gravity separator. The effect of temperature on the efficiency of iron recovery from the concentrate was studied. It was found that the maximum iron recovery (74.08%) and its highest mass fraction (68.03%) in the concentrate are achieved at a temperature of 28–30 °C.
A significant decrease in temperature to 5 °C leads to a significant deterioration in performance. In particular, the viscosity of the pulp (with 80% of particles smaller than 0.033 mm) almost doubles (1.96 times). This leads to a decrease in iron recovery by 11.54% (to 62.54%) and a decrease in its mass fraction in the concentrate to 63.48%.
Raising the temperature to 50 °C also has a negative impact on the process, although less pronounced. The pulp viscosity decreases by 1.44 times, but the iron recovery decreases by 7.37% (to 66.71%), and its mass fraction in the concentrate decreases to 66.5%.
Thus, the results of the study indicate a narrow temperature range (28–30 °C), which is critical for ensuring maximum recovery and quality of iron concentrate.
The possibility of producing concentrates with a mass fraction of SiO2 of less than 2% was proven.
As a result, three areas of application of spiral separation of magnetite products in iron ore beneficiation technologies are recommended: after the second stage of grinding, selective enrichment of oversize and undersize products of fine screening of magnetite concentrate.
The practical significance is that the use of a spiral gravity separator in the beneficiation of magnetite ores allows reducing the grinding load by 10–12% and obtaining concentrates with a mass fraction of Fetotal of more than 67% and SiO2 of less than 2%.
Keywords: spiral separator, oversize, undersize, suspension viscosity.
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About the authors:
Tetiana Oliіnyk, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, Academician of AMSU, The Head of the Department of Mineral Beneficiation and Chemistry, Kryvyi Rih National University, Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Corresponding author), ORCID 0000-0002-0315-7308
Dmitry Rumnytskyi., Postgraduate Student, Department of Mineral Processing and Chemistry Kryvyi Rih National University, Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , ORCID 0009-0006-4087-2868
Liudmyla Skliar, Candidate of Technical Sciences (Ph.D), Department of Mineral Processing and Chemistry, Kryvyi Rih National University, Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , ORCID 0000-0002-2721-1436