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Notes on Phosphate Beneficiation

The specific phosphate Ore Processing Plant flow is as follows: The extracted ore should be crushed by jaw crusher initially. When it gets the reasonable fineness, it is transported into ball mill by elevating conveyer and feeder, and is milled by ball mill. The subtle milled ore gets the next procedure: classification. There is a theory that if the weights of solid particles are different, the sedimentations will be different, and the mixed ore can be classified by screw classifier.

Beneficiation of phosphate ores containing carbonate gangue minerals such as calcite and dolomite is one of the toughest problems before mineral process engineers, whereas phosphate ores with siliceous gangue can be processed by direct flottation of apatite minerals with soap collectors after desshanghai the ore before milling.Cathayphillips supply advanced technology for Phosphate ore beneficiation.

As mined, the phosphate and sand particles are embedded in compacted mud. Before separation can begin, all the particles must be liberated from the matrix of mud. The very first unit operation in the beneficiation process is to disaggregate the various particles; this actually starts while the matrix is flowing through the multi-mile pipeline from the mine to the beneficiation plant. While in the pipeline, the matrix is exposed to shear forces as it passes thru the various centrifugal pumps along the pipeline. These intense shear forces cause a significant percentage of the sand and phosphate particles to be liberated from the clay-balls by the time they arrive at the plant. Once reaching the plant, the first goal is to finish disaggregating the clay, and follow that by making a size separation at 1 mm. This processing is conducted in the “washer”. In all the currently operating beneficiation plants, the washer is a large structure that receives the matrix, screens it, then discharges a +1.0 mm “pebble” phosphate product and a -1.0 mm slurry of liberated clay, sand, and phosphate particles. This first phosphate product (the “pebble”) can be as little as 5%, and as large as 70%, of the mine’s total production depending on the nature of the matrix being mined.

In order to upgrade the initial phosphate concentrate to a salable product, a second cleaning flottation process is used to remove the last of the residual sand. The original hydrocarbons are stripped from the phosphate surfaces, and then a different hydrocarbon is applied to the rougher concentrate. This second hydrocarbon is an amine based reagent that coats sand, but not phosphate. Once again, the slurry is fed into flottation cells, agitated and exposed to tiny air bubbles. The air carries the remaining sand to the surface where it is skimmed off and discarded. The remaining phosphate mineral is collected, blended with the pebble product and shipped via rail or truck to the chemical plant for the third step in making phosphate fertilizer.