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Mineral Proccessing

The document is an assignment submitted by a student to their professor regarding techniques used for ore concentration. It discusses four main techniques: 1) Hydraulic washing uses water to separate heavier ore particles from lighter gangue based on gravity, 2) Magnetic separation separates magnetic ores like iron from non-magnetic material, 3) Froth flotation takes advantage of surface properties to attach desired minerals to air bubbles to separate them, and 4) Leaching dissolves powdered ore in a solvent like sodium hydroxide to extract the metal and separate it from waste rock. Diagrams are included to illustrate the magnetic separation and froth flotation processes.

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19MME-S1-323 Usman Ul Hassan Pirzada
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56 views5 pages

Mineral Proccessing

The document is an assignment submitted by a student to their professor regarding techniques used for ore concentration. It discusses four main techniques: 1) Hydraulic washing uses water to separate heavier ore particles from lighter gangue based on gravity, 2) Magnetic separation separates magnetic ores like iron from non-magnetic material, 3) Froth flotation takes advantage of surface properties to attach desired minerals to air bubbles to separate them, and 4) Leaching dissolves powdered ore in a solvent like sodium hydroxide to extract the metal and separate it from waste rock. Diagrams are included to illustrate the magnetic separation and froth flotation processes.

Uploaded by

19MME-S1-323 Usman Ul Hassan Pirzada
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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UNIVERSITY OF THE PUNJAB

B.Sc. (Engg.) Metallurgy & Materials Engineering


(Semester-3)
Mineral Processing
Assignment No 1

Submitted By:
Usman Ul Hassan Pirzada
19MME-S1-323

Submitted To:
Prof. Fahad Riaz
Question No 1:
What are different techniques used for concentration of an ore?
Ans: Before we start the different techniques that, are used for concentration of an
ore we should learn about what is concentration?
Concentration:
A pure metal is obtained from an ore that are solid material. The
process through which a pure metal is separated from the waste material called
gangue particles is called concentration.

Techniques used for concentration:


Following are the techniques used for the concentration of ore.
1. Hydraulic Washing.
2. Magnetic Separation.
3. Forth Flotation Process.
4. Leaching.
Hydraulic Washing:
This process is based on the difference in the gravity of gangue
particles and the particles of the ore. That is why this process also known as
gravity separation method. In gravity separation process iron ore is cleaned or
washed with water which remove gangue particles away from the iron ore. This
method is eldest and most used method by iron making industries. Gravity
separation is a physical method based upon the densities of different minerals to
get separation. This method of concentration is relatively economical and globally
approachable.
Fig-1
Magnetic Separation Method:
If ore or a gangue particle (impurities) are having magnetic nature,
then it is concentrated by this method. A magnetic ore of iron (Fe) is separated
from non-magnetic impurities. The iron ore is made to fall from cone on the belt
which is moving on the magnetic rollers. As we know that the iron is being
attracted toward magnetic material. The roller used in this process is magnetic in
nature thus the iron from crushed ore is being attracted toward the roller and the
gangue particles show no attraction towards the roller. We placed two separated
sinks below the roller. The gangue particles dropped first because they show no
affection toward magnetic roller while iron particles attracted by the roller is
dropped into the sink which is placed separately from the other.
Fig-2

Forth Flotation Process:


Flotation is the most widely used method for the concentration of fine-
grained minerals. It takes advantage of the different physicochemical surface
properties of minerals in particular, their wettability, which can be a natural
property, or one artificially changed by chemical reagents. By altering the
hydrophobic (water-repelling) or hydrophilic (water-attracting) conditions of their
surfaces, mineral particles suspended in water can be induced to adhere to air
bubbles passing through a flotation cell or to remain in the pulp. The air bubbles
pass to the upper surface of the pulp and form a froth, which, together with the
attached hydrophobic minerals, can be removed. The tailings, containing the
hydrophilic minerals, can be removed from the bottom of the cell. Flotation makes
possible the processing of complex intergrown ores containing copper, lead, zinc,
and pyrite into separate concentrates and tailings an impossible task with gravity,
magnetic, or electric separation methods. In the past, these metals were recoverable
only with expensive metallurgical processes.

Fig-3

Leaching:
Leaching is used when the ore is soluble in a solvent. The powdered ore is
dissolved in a chemical, usually a strong solution of NaOH. The chemical solution
dissolves the metal in the ore, and it can be extracted and separated from the
gangue by extracting the chemical solution. Extraction of the Aluminium metal
from Bauxite ore is done using this process.
Fig-3

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