Beneficiation of a finely disseminated low-grade iron ore by froth flotation

The gradual depletion of high-grade iron ores due to extensive utilization has necessitated the exploitation of low/off grade iron ore reserves of India. Beneficiation of low grade iron ore is required to make it suitable for industrial usage. The low grade iron ore mined from Gua mines contains 57.6% Fe. At coarser size, liberation of gangue from iron ore is not efficient, so it is needed to ground the ore to fine size. The ground material is de-slimed using a hydro cyclone and the underflow product was subjected to reverse flotation. In the flotation experimentation, the main variables investigated were collector dosage, pH, percent solids, depressant concentration and frother concentration. Results of these studies show that froth flotation can be used for beneficiation of low grade iron ore to produce a concentrate suitable for pellet feed for iron making.