Separation of huntite and hydromagnesite from magnesite in combination of physicochemical treatment and size reduction

Abstract

Huntite and hydromagnesite are important minerals in the synthesizing of fire-safe composites. They are mostly not pure and associated with gangue minerals like magnesite, dolomite, aragonite and calcite. In this study, run of mine ore was subjected to the physicochemical treatment as a function of different size fraction. For observing the wetting behaviour, the contact angle measurements were carried out. It was found that the addition of Na-oleate rendered the particle surface hydrophobic and this finding confirmed the adsorption capability of this collector on the powdered sample. Flotation results indicated that the grade of huntite and hydromagnesite increased from 50% to 84% by decreasing the particle size of the mineral powder. The optimum degree of liberation was achieved at 38 mm. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) were used to perform the phase analysis, surface morphology and elemental analysis of the mineral. (C) 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University.