Publication: Preconcentration of rare earth minerals by using magnetic separator
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Date
2024-08-01
Authors
Aniqah Rushda Binti Zamri
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Abstract
Magnetic separation is one of the most important physical separation
techniques used in the mineral beneficiation of rare earth elements (REE). By
varying the magnetic field intensity, this technique aims to separate highly magnetic
(ferromagnetic) minerals from less magnetic (paramagnetic) and non- magnetic
(diamagnetic) minerals. The identified REE minerals (bastnäsite, monazite, florencite,
stillwellite, brannerite, and stetindite) were found in close proximity to weakly
ferromagnetic/strongly paramagnetic iron oxides (primarily hematite and goethite)
and diamagnetic silicate minerals (quartz, illite, and annite). Monazite, a phosphate
mineral that typically contains REE (lanthanum, cerium, and thorium), occurs in
association with hematite and quartz gangue minerals. I investigated the feasibility of
using the differences in magnetic susceptibility and differences of feed rate of these
minerals to concentrate monazite from Amang sample in this study. Samples were
also characterized using Particle Size Analysis (PSA), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Xray
Fluorescence (XRF) and Microscopy Study. A dry high intensity magnetic
separator (DHIMS) was used in stage-wise concentrate-tails separation tests for
amang sample with varying magnetic field intensities by changing speed of the roller
(50, 60 and 70 m/s) and feed rate (100, 200 and 300 g) to produce a monazite-rich
concentrate. Overall, increasing feed rate and speed of roller can increase the
recovery of monazite from Amang sample