MLA and optical microscopy as complementary techniques to the iron ore geometallurgical studies

Abstract

Mineral liberation is an important variable to be considered in the iron ore geometallurgical studies, especially since it provides information leading to the understanding of the ore’s behaviour in the beneficiation process, mainly when harder ores are concerned. Nowadays, the professionals and researchers in the mineral industry have been using complementary techniques for mineralogical characterization. In this way, Mineral Liberation Analyser (MLA) and optical microscopy are amongst the most efficient and important tools in these studies. Together, these techniques can provide information leading to the development of geometallurgical models, including the degree of quartz liberation, mineral modal composition, mineralogical association and particle and mineral size distribution, as well as the spectrum of mineral liberation either by free surface or particle composition. The purpose of this study is to compare the degree of quartz liberation in four different iron ore types observed in optical microscopy and MLA. It also assesses the influence of mineral liberation in the quality of the resulting concentrate, according to the SiO₂ content. All the results of the various quartz liberation degrees, determined by both MLA and optical microscopy were very close, as well as the correlation between the mineral liberation and the ore’s response in the flotation process. The investigation provided evidence that the mineral liberation study is an important tool in the prediction of the ore’s behaviour in the beneficiation process.

Keywords:
iron ore; mineral liberation; MLA; optical microscopy; geometallurgy