How to Extract Barite Associated with Gangue Minerals by Gravity Separation

As an important non-metallic mineral, barite is widely used in industrial production. It can be used as mud weighting agent for drilling, zinc pigment and various chemical raw materials. With human continuous mining, the amount of high-grade barite ore is decreasing day by day. And due to the close association of other metal and non-metal gangue minerals, its industrial value has also been impacted. Therefore, the reasonable apply of barite beneficiation technology to separate high-grade barite concentrate is necessary.

Gravity separation is the mostly used beneficiation method in barite beneficiation plants. It is based on the density difference between useful minerals and gangue minerals. The larger the density difference between useful minerals and gangue minerals is, the more obvious the separating effect will be. The particle size of barite is generally large, which leads to a large density difference between it and gangue minerals, so gravity separation method is the most ideal one for barite ore beneficiation.

The gravity separation process can be divided into five parts: crushing process, screening process, buffering process, gravity separation process and dewatering process.

Ⅰ. Crushing Process

Barite has low hardness, so the jaw crusher is mainly used for its crushing process. In order to make barite ore meet the proper particle size range required by entering the jig machine, two-stage crushing process is generally used in this stage: the raw barite ore enters the jaw crusher through the feeder for the one-stage crushing; the crushed products are transported to the jaw crusher by the belt conveyor for the second-stage fine crushing. And water can be appropriately added in the crushing process to reduce the dust generated by the crushing.

Ⅱ. Screening Process

Jig machine is generally used for the gravity separation, but due to its strict requirements on the particle size of materials, gravity separation usually requires classification to improve the throughput and beneficiation index, so the crushed barite ores need to be screened before the gravity separation process. After screening, the minerals can enter the jig machine for gravity separation. During the process of screening, circular vibrating screen is a good choice for particle screening. This kind of equipment has the advantages of easy operation, high efficiency and large processing capacity, and is an ideal machine for barite screening operation.

Ⅲ. Buffering Process

It is necessary to ensure a stable amount when feeding barite ores. Therefore, after screening, it is necessary to set the buffering process before the product enters the jig machine. Buffering bin and vibrating feeder is of the essence in this part. When using the buffering bin, make sure that minerals are pre-stored in the silo to avoid the situation that the feeding amount fluctuates at the beginning of operation. Besides, the vibrating feeder can ensure that the minerals can enter the jig machine evenly and stably for gravity separation.

Ⅳ. Gravity Separation Process

The gravity separation of barite is mainly based on the density difference between barite ore and other associated gangue minerals. The barite enters the jig machine through the buffering bin or vibrating feeder, and undergoes density stratification under the action of alternating water flow. Due to the high density of barite, it will fast sediment and enter the lower layer of the separating tank, while the density of gangue mineral is small, it will enter the upper part of the tank. The separated barite and gangue minerals will be discharged from the machine, and then the barite concentrate and tailings can be obtained.

Ⅴ. Dewatering Process

Because the large amount of water is used during the whole gravity separation process, the barite concentrate usually has a high moisture content and requires dewatering. Mechanical dewatering or dryer dewatering is usually applied at this stage for subsequent storage and transportation. In order to avoid the waste of water resources, a water circulation system can be set up, which can not only ensure the smooth progress of the operations, but also make full use of water resources.

The barite concentrate obtained by gravity separation can reach more than 88%. And this method also has the advantages of energy saving, high efficiency and environmental protection.

Due to the different compositions and properties of barite ore, the processing design need to be accord with the actual situation. It is suggested that the beneficiation plant should conduct the ore beneficiation test before the process design, and then formulate a reasonable process.

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