Characterisation of low-grade Barsua iron ore fines and identification of possible beneficiation strategies

The consumption of iron ore has increased rapidly over the past decade due to the tremendous growth of the iron and steel industry. The depletion of high-grade iron ore resources makes it inevitable to utilise the existing low-grade iron ores/fines/tailings with proper beneficiation to meet the present specification and demand. Beneficiation and utilisation of these fines/tailings still remains a challenging task. In order to find out an effective way of utilisation of these fines, an in-depth characterisation study is essential. A detailed insight into the different mineralogical attributes involving microscopic (both optical and electron), X-ray diffraction, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Thermo Gravimetric Analysis, physical and chemical characterisation, are undertaken on the Barsua iron ore fines. These studies revealed that haematite and goethite are the major iron-bearing minerals with gibbsite, kaolinite and quartz present as gangue. Traces of magnetite are also observed. The liberation size of the sample is found to be below 150 µm. The bulk chemical composition shows around 57.67% Fe, 6.29% Al2O3, 3.52% SiO2 and 6.93% LOI. Based on the detailed characterisation, a possible route of beneficiation of these iron ore fines is discussed and successful implementation of the beneficiation strategies is envisaged.