Characterization and Anionic Reverse Flotation of Boreda Kakisha Iron Ore, Melo Koza, Gofa Zone, South Ethiopia Region
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2025-06
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Iron ore, a mineral or rock from which metallic iron is extracted, mainly consists of iron in the form of oxides, hydroxides, carbonates, and sulfides. The presence of impurities like silica, alumina, phosphorus, sulfur, and trace elements can affect the ore's quality and suitability for iron and steel production, often requiring processing to reduce impurities. Anionic reverse flotation was used in this work to examine the impurity removal procedure for low-grade BK iron ore. BK iron ore sample is the low-grade and contains Fe2O3 (26.26 – 31.20 wt%, average 29.73 wt %) as iron-bearing mineral and SiO2 (43.16 – 51.78 wt %, average 45.78 wt %) and Al2O3 (11.46 – 13.60 wt %, average 12.42 wt %) as major associated impurities based on AAS analyses. The XRD mineralogical analysis showed that the iron ore sample primarily consisted of hematite and goethite as the main valuable minerals, with quartz being the dominant gangue mineral. The effect of varying particle size range was studied in the flotation test. BK iron ore was upgraded through anionic reverse flotation using the following conditions: 2 ml of 2% corn starch solution, 2 ml of oleic acid, 2 ml of 1% calcium chloride solution, and 2 ml of pine oil, pH of 11 and particle size of -250+150 microns, which is optimal particle size range because of highest concentrate grade due to mineral liberation and less affected by slimes. Under these conditions, a concentrate with 23.92% Fe grade and 97.21% iron recovery was achieved. The average iron (Fe) grade of 20.78% in the ore was increased to 23.17% in the concentrate, while the average iron oxide (Fe2O3) grade of 29.73% in the ore was upgraded to 33.15% in the concentrate. The percentage increase in iron content from the initial ore grade to the final concentrate grade was calculated to be 11.5%. This means that the average iron concentration in the concentrate has increased by approximately 11.5% compared to the original ore. However, further separation is necessary to enhance the iron content and eliminate impurities to meet the minimum iron grade specifications needed for blast furnaces and steel manufacturers.
Description
Keywords
ron ore, Low grade ore, Beneficiation, Impurities, Cationic reverse flotation, Anionic reverse flotation.