Upgrading The Iron Grade of Bikilal Iron Ore Using Magnetic Separation Method with Frantz Laboratory Magnetic Separation
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Date
2023-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The iron ore deposit of the Western Oromia Region of Ethiopia, at Bikilal, is a huge deposit, but it is low in grade. It assays 19.50 % Fe2O3 and 45.66% SiO2. The present study is an attempt to investigate the potential of this ore for upgrading at laboratory scale. Based on the appreciable differences in magnetic susceptibility between the desired iron minerals and gangue minerals, it was suggested that magnetic separation may be useful to concentrate this type of iron ore. The study used two feed size fractions (-500+75 micrometers; -300+75micrometers) and two currents 0.4 ampere; 0.8 ampere), and performed four experiments by adjusting these operating factors.
The iron grade and recovery were measured and recorded for each combination of tests. For run 1and 2, that received -500+75μm and 0.8 and 0.4 ampere respectively, the results of iron grade and recovery, in % were 25.02; 83.73% and 20.84;68.63%. For run 3 and 4, that received -300+75μm and 0.8 and 0.4ampere, the obtained iron grade and recovery were 31.18;90.17 % and 26.64;75.63%. Factorial Design, particularly, Two Level Factorial Design was applied to investigate the effects of feed size (-500+75 and -300+75μm) and current (0.4 and 0.8 ampere) on the process of Frantz laboratory magnetic separator using Design expert v13 software, which shows the significant influence on the values of Fe grade and recovery at roughing stage of the concentrate. The results showed that both feed size and current had a significant effect on the iron grade and recovery, and their interaction had not significant. The optimal condition was found to be using a feed size fraction of -300+75 micrometer and a current of 0.8 ampere, which gave an iron grade of 31.2 % and an iron recovery of 90.2 %.
The study demonstrated that the Frantz® Low Field Control Model LFC-2 is a useful accessory for separating ferromagnetic materials according to differences in their magnetic properties. The study also provided some insights into the trends and correlation among the factors and responses, which can help to understand and optimize the magnetic separation process.
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Keywords
Bikilal iron ore, Upgrading, Fe grade, Magnetic separation, Frantz magnetic separation