Iron Ore Beneficiation Plant

Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, deep purple, to rusty red. The iron itself is usually found in the form of magnetite (Fe3O4), hematite (Fe2O3), goethite (FeO(OH)), limonite (FeO(OH). or siderite (FeCO3).

Iron ore beneficiation is the process where iron ore is processed with a view to reducing contaminants and thereby increasing the iron content of the raw iron ore. This is described as increasing the Fe value.

One of the approaches to iron ore beneficiation first involves a basic screening of the ore and then crushing it using equipment like a jaw crusher to break up the rock from its natural state down to individual block or rock sizes with dimensions of length or height no greater than 3.3 feet (1 meter). This rock is then further pulverized in medium and fine level cone crushers or fine jaw crushers, and screened down to particle sizes of 0.5 inches (12 millimeters) or less, and is then passed on to a magnetic separator or the flotation process for separation. Separation involves using low-grade magnetic fields to pull the ore with high-metal content away from lower-grade metal particles. The lower-grade ore at this point is cycled back into the rough separating stage for further refining.

The end product that emerges from crushing and magnetic separation equipment is then ground into a powder-like consistency in a ball mill. This material is then further refined through iron ore beneficiation by using a dehydration tank to remove water content and by applying magnetic fields generated by a magnetic separator. At this stage, low-grade ore that still contains metal value is placed back at the start of the cycle, and tailings, which are even lower-grade residues, are removed as waste.

The necessary equipments in iron ore processing plant are jaw crusher, cone crusher, ball mill,, flotation machine, magnetic separators, vibrating screen, etc.

The choice of the beneficiation treatment depends on the nature of the gangue present and its association with the ore structure. Several techniques such as washing, jigging, magnetic separation, advanced gravity separation and flotation are being used to enhance the quality of the Iron ore.

Kefid is a leading mining equipment manufacturer, supplies crushing, screening, grinding plant for iron ore and other kinds of ore beneficiation plant.