Lecture 01 – Introduction, Classification and Uses of Metals

1
• Introduction to Extractive Metallurgy
• Classification of Metals
• Important Uses of Metals
• Metal Production in India

Do not write
in the box

2
• Metallic Bonds
• Periodic Table and Metals
• Metallic Properties
• Chemical Classification of Metals
• Economic Classification of Metals
• Important Uses of Metals
• Production of Metals in India

3
 Extractive Metallurgy: Definition and Broad Introduction
Extractive metallurgy is the science and art of production/
extraction of metal from ores (naturally occurring metal bearing
compound), concentrate, scrap or other source and refining to the
level of purity suitable for commercial use.
Physical & Chemical Physical & Chemical
Transformation and Transformation and
Separation Steps Separation steps
Raw Bulk Metal Refined
Material Metal

Production of metal is essentially a separation process in two stages:

1. Separation of compound containing the desired metal from other
constituent (Mineral Engineering); Mechanical Separation
2. Separation of desired metal from other constituents of the
metallic compound and further purification of the metal
(Chemical/Extractive Metallurgy); Molecular Separation based on
reaction rate processes and chemical/phase equilibria.
4
 Extractive Metallurgy: Continued Development
Extractive metallurgy is the continued manifestation of the mastery of natural resources to
transform materials for practical purposes from prehistoric to most advanced application.

The production of metals and alloys is one of the basic industries of the transformation of
matter for use in mechanic, electromagnetic, electric and even electronic industries.
• Process Metallurgy as a continuously evolving subject
sustaining and developing with the application of modern
scientific and engineering knowledge and the use of advanced
design tools (automation, robotics, physical & mathematical
modelling, sensor developments, optimization and business
management).
• Metallurgical processes are mostly operated using online
computer models, with sensors following the compositional 5
Process Trends in Extractive Metallurgy
• Continuous/semicontinuous processing (to reduce energy & environmental
impact and improve throughput, control)
• Increased process intensity (to increase production rates & capital utilization)
• Process integration (for energy saving and valuable by-products recovery)
• Recycling (integration of primary and secondary processing)
• Clean production (enclosure of reactors and capture and treatment of
effluents)
• Flexibility of the processes (adaption to changing input/output requirements
within existing plants)
Driving force for Technology Development:
Safe, sustainable and environment friendly production with maximum
utilization of land, capital, fuels and raw materials without harming the
society and eco-system.
6
Properties of Metals

7
Properties of Metals: Metallic Bonds
Metals atoms are of larger with relatively few valence
electrons having low ionization energy and low electron
affinity, so they lose electrons relatively easily and gain them
with difficulty.
Metal atom donates one or more of its valence electrons to
make an electron sea that surrounds all of the atoms, holding
the substance together by the attraction between the metal
cations and the negatively charged electrons.
Since the electrons in the electron sea can move freely (delocalized), metals
conduct electricity very easily and metal atoms can move past each other more
easily allowing the metal to be hammered into sheets or drawn into wire.
The free electrons oscillate in the alternating electrical field of the incident light
beam and absorb energy at all wave lengths; this makes the metals opaque.
The oscillating electrons give out light rays and in this way produce the
reflected beam, accounting for the high reflectivity.
Metals are immune to radiation damage. In metals, the positive vacancies
formed by ionization, as the fast charged particles and ionizing rays knock off
electrons from the atoms, are immediately filled up by the electron gas, leaving
no sign of damage apart from a small amount of heat. 8
Classification of Elements based on Electronic Structure of Atoms

Among the118 elements that have

been discovered, 90 occur in nature in
appreciable amounts.
Three-fourth of them are metals {s-
block (except H), d and f-block
elements and some p-block (Al, Ga, In,
Sn, Sb, Tl, Pb, Bi}. Rest of the p-block
elements are non metals and
metalloids (B, Si, Ge, As, Sb, Te, Po)

9
Classification of Elements based on Electronic Structure of Atoms

Material scientist define metals as those elements which have no

(zero) electronic energy band gap and whose electrical resistivity
increase with temperature.
10
The Economic Classification of Metals: Ferrous & Non-Ferrous
Crude Steel Production of Steel in the World (million metric tons)

11
The Economic Classification of Metals
Top 6 Base Metals Production
In a year the total
Base/Primary metals are non- production of iron and
ferrous, meaning they contain steel (Ferrous) in the world
no iron. They are more abundant is 12 times more than
and sometimes easier to mine, production of all the other
so their prices are generally
metals (Non-Ferrous) put
lower than precious metals.
together in a year.
Top 4 Precious Metals Production
Gold and precious metals
grab the headlines because
of their rarity—and their
production shows just how
rare they are. 12
Commercial classification of nonferrous metals and metalloids

To be continued in next lecture (Lecture-2)….

13
1. Chemical Metallurgy: Principles and Practice. Chiranjib Kumar Gupta, 2003,
WILEY-VCH
2. Handbook of Extractive Metallurgy, Volume 1, Edited by Fathi Habashi, 1997,
WILEY-VCH
3. Treatise on Process Metallurgy, Process Fundamentals, Vol 1, Editor-in-Chief
Seshadri Seetharaman, 2014, Elsevier.
4. https://worldsteel.org/
5. https://mines.gov.in/ (Web portal of Ministry of Mines, GoI)

14
1. The term ‘Extractive Metallurgy’ is defined
2. Periodic Table and Chemical Classification of Metals is discussed
3. Metallic bond and metallic properties are explained
4. Economic/Commercial Classification of Metals is covered
A. Important Uses of Metals are reported
B. Report on production of few important Metals in India

15
16
Lecture 02 – Introduction, Classification and Uses of Metals
continued….

1
Commercial classification of nonferrous metals and metalloids

2
Important Uses of Primary Metals

3
Important Uses of Secondary Metals

4
Important Uses of Light Metals

Beryllium Copper Alloys

5
Important Uses of Precious Metals

6
 Important Uses of Refractory Metals
HSLA

Mo-Cr cast iron

Ti-Al-V alloy for engine, turbine

W-Cu alloy
throat lining

W armor-piercing
7
 Important Uses of Scattered Metals

GaAs, GaSb, GaN In2-xSnxO3 (ITO) transparent &

Transistor, IC, Solar Cell,
conductive electrodes in the
LED, mobile phone,
Laser, Microwave plasma/LCD TV, solar cell
circuits, satellite TVs

8
Important Uses of Rare Earths Metals

9
Important Uses of Alkali Metals

10
Important Uses of Alkaline Earth Metals

Beryllium

Satellites and aerospace structures

absorb heat, in rocket engines, aircraft/space shuttle brakes
inertial navigation systems for missiles and submarines
shielding material in the core of some nuclear fission reactors

11
Steels Production in India and World

12
Top Steels Producing Companies

13
• India’s per capita steel consumption is one-third of the global
average, and one-fifth of the average of developed countries. By
2040, the demand is projected to increase further by 3–4 fold from
current levels.
• India has set an ambitious target of reaching 300 MTPA install
capacity and 255 MTPA production by 2030. 14
 Non-Ferrous Metal Production in India
Installed capacity of the Indian primary Aluminium producers (in Lakh ton)
Smelting
Company Capacity Location Remarks
NALCO 4.60 Angul, Odisha
Renukoot:4.30 Lakh tonnes Hirakud: 2.06 Lakh tonnes Mahan,
Renukoot, UP &
HINDALCO 13.54 Madhya Pradesh: 3.59 Lakh tonnes, Aditya Aluminium, Odisha:
Hirakud, Odisha
3.59 Lakh tonnes
BALCO 5.75 Korba, MP
Vedanta Ltd. 17.40 Jharsuguda, Odisha Jharsuguda I: 5.50 Lakh tonnes
40.32 (4.032 MT) Production in 2021 in India, 2nd largest producer, after China (37
TOTAL 41.29
MT). 3rd largest consumer, demand expected to double in the next decade.

The installed capacity of copper production in India is 1.08 MT/yr

(7th rank, 50% self-sufficiency), mainly by Sesa Sterlite (Vedanta)
and Hindalco.
India’s overall installed zinc smelting capacity is 0.92 MT/yr (3rd rank,
100% self-sufficiency), mainly by Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL).
The installed capacity of lead in India is 0.21 MT/yr (3rd rank, 75%
15
self-sufficiency) mainly by Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL).
1. Chemical Metallurgy: Principles and Practice. Chiranjib Kumar Gupta, 2003,
WILEY-VCH
2. Handbook of Extractive Metallurgy, Volume 1, Edited by Fathi Habashi, 1997,
WILEY-VCH
3. https://worldsteel.org/
4. https://mines.gov.in/ (Web portal of Ministry of Mines, GoI)

16
1. The term ‘Extractive Metallurgy’ is defined
2. Periodic Table and Chemical Classification of Metals is discussed
3. Metallic bond and metallic properties are explained
4. Economic/Commercial Classification of Metals is covered
5. Important Uses of Metals are reported
6. Report on production of few important Metals in India

17
18
Lecture 03 – Occurrence/Source of Metals

1
• Metals containing raw materials
• Crustal abundance of Metals
• Minerals, Ores and Gangue
• Common Metallic Ores
• Concentration Factors, Reserve and Resources
• Association of common impurity/valuable metals in
major ores
• Major minerals production in India

2
• Crustal abundance
• Sea-nodules
• Minerals
• Ores
• Gangue
• Concentration Factor
• Impurity/Byproduct in ores
• Rank and self-sufficiency

3
 Occurrence of Metals
• Chemically active elements always occur in the combined
state i.e. in the form of stable compounds (minerals)
containing that element.
• Less reactive metal, like platinum, gold occur in free
(native) state.
• Metals that occur in the combined form exist as their
oxides, sulphides, carbonates, phosphates and silicates
etc.
• Deposits in Earth’s crust is the most important source of
metal bearing minerals.
• Sea water (and deep sea-nodule) is a vast source of a
large number of elements.
• Scrap metals (reclaimed and recycled) can also be
another source of metals.

4
Relative Abundance of Elements on Earth’s Crust
Abundacy Element (wt%)
1-10% Al(8.3), Fe(5.6), Ca(4.1), Na(2.4), Mg(2.3), K(2.1) Metals in Sea Nodules
Element Wt% Reserve (Nodule/Land)
0.1-1% C, H, Ti (0.44), Mn (0.1), P (109 ton) Reserve
0.01-0.1% Ba, Cl, Cr, F, Rb, S, Sr, V, Zr Mn 23.9 358 4000
0.001- .01% Cu (.01), Ce, Co, Ga, La, Li, Nb, Ni, Pb, Sn, Th, Zn, Yt Fe 13.8 207 4
1-10 ppm As, B, Br, Cs, Ge, Hf, Mo, Sb, Ta, U, W, Rare earths* Ni 0.98 14.7 1500
0.1-1 ppm Bi, Cd, I, In, Tl Co 0.35 5.2 5000
.01-0.1 ppm Ag, Pd, Se Cu 0.52 7.9 150
.001-.01ppm Au, Ir, Os, Pt, Re, Rh, Ru Zn 0.46 0.7 10
Mo 0.05 0.77 60
Average Content in Sea Water
Element Concentration
(kg/ton)
Na 10.5
Mg 1.27
Ca 0.4
K 0.38
5
*Rare Earths Metals: Sc, Y, Lanthanides
 Minerals and Ores
• Minerals: Naturally occurring inorganic solid (having distinctive
physical properties and crystal structure crystalline) compound of
definite composition consisting of one or more metals in association
with nonmetals.
• Ores: Aggregate of minerals from which one or more metals or
minerals may be extracted economically (with profit or hope of
profit). An ore may have wide variation in composition and in physical
and chemical properties.
• All ores are minerals but all minerals may not be
considered as ores (on economic criteria).
• Gangue: Some minerals (nonmetallic materials, pyrites,
usually worthless) associated with a deposit in ore are
not useful from the point of view of metal extraction;
these are known as gangue.
6
 Common metallic ores/sources
Metal Mineral (Formula)
Iron (Fe) Magnetite (Fe3O4), Hematite (Fe2O3), Siderite (FeCO3),
Limonite (2Fe2O3-3H2O)
Copper (Cu) Native Copper (Cu), Chalcopyrite (CuFeS2),
Chalcocite(Cu2S), Covellite(CuS), Cuprite(Cu2O)
Aluminum Diaspore (Al2O3-H2O), Gibbsite (Al2O3-3H2O), Kaolinite
(Al) (Al2O3-2SiO2-2H2O)
Lead (Pb) Galena (PbS), Cerussite (PbCO3), Anglesite (PbSO4)
Zinc (Zn) Sphalerite(ZnS-zinc blende), Zincite(ZnO),
Franklinite([Fe, Zn, Mn]O)
Magnesium Magnesite(MgO), Dolomite(MgCO3-CaCO3)
Tin (Sn) Cassiterite(SnO2), Stannite(Cu2S-FeS-SnS2)
Chromium (Cr) Chromite (FeCr2O4)
Cobalt (Co) Cobaltite (CoAsS)
Cadmium (Cd) Greenockite (CdS) 7
 Common metallic ores/sources
Nickel (Ni) Millerite (NiS), Garnierite (Hydsrosilicate of Ni and Mg),
Pentlandite ([Fe,Ni]S)
Manganese (Mn) Pyrolusite (MnO2), Rhodochrosite (MnCO3), Rhodonite (MnSiO2)
Titanium (Ti) Ilmenite (FeO-TiO2), Rutile (TiO2)
Zirconium (Zr) Baddeleyite (ZrO2), Zircon (ZrSiO4)
Vanadium (V) Patronite(V2S5+S), Carnotite(K2O-2UO2-V2O5-3H2O), Vanadinite
(3Pb3[VO4]2PbCl2
Molybdenum Molybdenite (MoS2), Molybdite (MoO3)
Tungsten (W) Wolframite (FeWO4), Scheelite (CaWO4)
Silver (Ag) Native Ag, Argentite (Ag2S), Cerargyrite (AgCl)
Gold (Au) Au, calaverite (AuTe2), Sylvanite (AuAg)Te2
Beryllium (Be) Beryl (3BeO-Al2O3-6SiO2)
Mercury (Hg) Cinnabar (HgS)
Uranium (U) Pitchblende (complex oxide)
Antimony (Sb) Stibnite (Sb2S3) 8
Common Types of Ores

chalcopyrite

Pentlandite

9
Hematite Bauxites Cassiterite
 Abundant compound forms of metal

No metal can be economically extracted from a source in which its

concentration is the same as its crustal abundance.
Fortunately, geochemical processes have resulted in significant selective
concentration of the elements in certain portions of the Earth’s crust.
10
Factors Affecting Commercial Production of Metals
• Accessibility of the deposits
• Richness and type of ore deposits
• Nature of extraction and refining processes of the metals
• Physical and Chemical Properties of the metals
• Demands and future developments of the metals
• Production cost and economy
In metallic ores, %metal is often quoted as grade.

11
 Concentration Factors of Common Metals

Deposit having average minimum exploitable grade so that

economic processing is possible with profit are called reserves.
Deposit having less than average minimum exploitable grade
but expected to be profitable for metal extraction in near
future are called resources.

12
 Common Metals Association with Major Ores

Most ores contain more than one recoverable metal (present as

different minerals, or metal solid solution within the ore mineral
of another).
Silver is frequently found dissolved in lead and copper minerals
(principal source of Ag is as a by-product from refining lead).
13
 Linkages of metals as found in natural resources

Ref: M.A. Reuter et.al., XXII International Mineral Processing Congress, 2003, p128. 14
 Contribution, Rank, Demand, Self Sufficiency of India in World
Production (MT) of Principal Minerals 2020
Minerals World India % India’s Domestic % Self
Production Production Contribution Rank Demand Sufficiency
Bauxite 368.6 20.37 5.6 6th 23.16 88
Chromite 31 2.87 9.3 4th 3.02 95
Ironore 3016 204 6.8 4th 148 100
Manganese ore 49.6 2.69 5.4 5th 6.66 40
Magnesite 28.3 0.08 0.3 17th 0.4 20
Phosphates 221 1.46 0.7 15th 9.24 16

Share of States in Values of

Mineral Production 2021-22
15
1. Chemical Metallurgy: Principles and Practice. Chiranjib Kumar Gupta, 2003,
WILEY-VCH
2. Handbook of Extractive Metallurgy, Volume 1, Edited by Fathi Habashi, 1997,
WILEY-VCH
3. Extraction of Nonferrous Metals, 2018, H.S. Ray, R. Sridhar, K. P. Abraham, EWP
Pvt. Ltd., Delhi.
4. https://mines.gov.in/ (Web portal of Ministry of Mines, GoI)

16
1. Major Sources of metals are discussed
2. Crystal abundance of metals reported
3. Metal concentration and reserve in sea-nodules are
tabulated
4. Major Ores of main metals are given
5. Gangue and valuable metal content in ore are discussed
6. Terms like Concentration factor, Reserve and Resources
are introduced
7. Mineral production in India, Rank and self-sufficiency
are tabulated

17
18
Lecture 04 – Metal Extraction Process Overview

1
• Extractive Metallurgy: Pyrometallurgy, Hydrometallurgy, Electrometallurgy
• Steps for Metal Extraction
• Chemical Concept on Metal Extraction
• Thermodynamics Concepts on Metal Extraction
• Metal Extraction Flowchart

2
• Pyrometallurgy
• Hydrometallurgy
• Electrometallurgy
• Pretreatment
• Metal Separation
• Refining
• Metal Activity Series
• Standard Affinity

3
 Extractive Metallurgy: Overview
l Primary extractive/chemical metallurgy is the science and
engineering of extracting and refining of metals from ores.
l Closely related to this technology is mineral beneficiation
whereby ores are treated by mechanical, physical, and physico-
chemical means to remove gangue and prepare concentrates
either for metal production or to be used for the chemical and
other industries as industrial minerals.

Mineral
Chemistry
Mineral Extractive Minerology Chemistry
Ore Beneficiation Metallurgy Metal Pyro
(Physical) (Chemical)

tro
Hy

Elec
dro
Mineral Chemical
Engineering Engineering
Industrial Minerals
Engineering

4
Extractive Metallurgy can be divided into 3 sectors:
• Pyrometallurgy: The use of high temperature for recovering
metals (most suitable for treating high grade ores).
• Hydrometallurgy: The use of aqueous solutions to dissolve
and recover value metal (suitable for low grade ores).
• Electrometallurgy: The use of electric current to effect a
chemical reaction like electrowinning, fused salt electrolysis,
electrorefining and electric heating (suitable for extracting
reactive metal from their pure compounds,)

In Greek ‘pyr’ means ‘more at fire’ and ‘hydor’ means ‘more at water’.
5
 Metal Extraction Processes
• The actual process of extraction of a metal from its ore depends
upon the nature of the ore and the metal.
• There is no universally operational method for the extraction of
metals. Certain common steps however, are involved in all
metallurgical processes.
Main steps are:
1. Mineral Beneficiation {Ore à Concentrate; Removal of gangue
particles from value mineral particles}
2. Ore/Concentrate Pretreatment {Modification of chemical
nature for convenient reduction to recover metal}
3. Metal Separation {Reduction smelting/conversion
/Electrochemical: Removal of nonmetallic part from the
metal bearing compound}
4. Refining {Bulk - Refined metal; Physical and Chemical}
6
 Chemical aspects of metal production
• Main Three Steps:
1. Preliminary treatment
• Thermal (ores of Li, Bi, Be, Sb, Mg); Roasting (ores of Pb, Zn, Cu)
• Halide Formation (ores of Ti, Zr, Hf, U)
• Leaching (ores of Al, Ti)
• Matte Smelting (ores of Cu, Ni)
2. Metal separation
• Reduction [chemical, electrolytic] (Fe, Zn, Pb, U, Th, Nb, Al)
• Conversion (Cu, Ni)
• Thermal decomposition (Pt, Pd)
3. Refining
• Chemical [selective oxidation of impurities] (Fe, Cu, Pb, Ni)
• Chemical transport [carbonyl, iodide process] (Ni, Zr, Ti)
• Physio-chemical [precipitation of impurities] (Pb)
• Physical [distillation, vacuum melting, zone refining] (Cd, Zn, Hg, Fe) 7
Principles of Extraction: Metal Activity Series

8
9
 Ellingham Diagram
Stability of Metal Bearing Compound
at Standard Condition (∆G0 vs. T)
AFFINITY OF ELEMENTS FOR OXYGEN (Shown
here)
AFFINITY OF ELEMENTS FOR OTHER NON-METAL
(S, C, N, Cl, F)

10
 The affinities of Cu & Fe for S
have similar values, but the
affinity of Fe for O is much
greater than the affinity of Cu
for O2.
C can be used only for the
reduction of oxides because
its affinity for S, Cl & F is
lower than that of the metals.

Standard potentials of metals

Standard affinity for

compound formation
between metals and the
principal nonmetals at
11
1000-1200 K
Schematic of Metal Separation
Halide
Red
Halogenation

ucti
on

Reduction
Oxide Metal
Oxidation

rsio n
o n v e
C
Sulfides
12
General flowsheet outline for extraction of metal
Ore resource
Comminution

Beneficiation

Preparatory treatment
(roasting/smelting)

Hydrometallurgy Pyrometallurgy

13
 Hydrometallurgy Pyrometallurgy

Leaching
General flowsheet
S/L separation Preparatory outline for extraction
operation
of metal cont…
Leach Liquor

Adsorption Solvent Ion

on charcoal extraction exchange

Purified Solution
Precipitation Compound intermediate

Electrolytic reduction Chemical Reduction 14

 Electrolytic reduction Chemical Reduction

Fused salt Aqueous Metallothermic Nonmetal

processes processes reduction Reduction

Classical furnace
processes

Vacuum metallurgy
Reduction under (reduction)
open conditions

Virgin metal

Electrlytic processes Vacuum metallurgy Chemical processes

Refined metal 15
 Cu ore (1-2% Cu) Cu matte (30-70% Cu)
Fluxes
Crushing, grinding Slag Air
Blowing in
Bessemer converter
Tailing (0.1-0.2% Cu) Flotation
Blister copper (98+% Cu)
Cu concentrate
Slag Fire refining
(20-30% Cu)
Air
Partial roast Waste electrolyte Anodes (99.5% Cu)
SO2 to H2SO4 plant
(Ni Recovery etc.)
Fluxes Electrolytic refining
Slag to waste Matte smelting Cu cathodes Anode mud
(0.3-1% Cu) (99.9% Cu) for recovery
Usually remelted of noble metals)

Typical flowsheet for the production of copper from a low-grade sulfide ore

16
1. Chemical Metallurgy: Principles and Practice, Chiranjib Kumar Gupta, 2003,
WILEY-VCH.
2. Handbook of Extractive Metallurgy, Volume 1, Edited by Fathi Habashi, 1997,
WILEY-VCH.
3. Extraction of Nonferrous Metals, 2018, H.S. Ray, R. Sridhar, K. P. Abraham, EWP
Pvt. Ltd., Delhi.

17
1. Major Extraction Scheme is defined
2. Steps of Extraction of Metals is elaborated
3. Principles for Extraction using Metal Activity Series is
discussed
4. Usefulness of Thermodynamics Treatment for Extraction of
Metals from their Minerals is reported
5. General Flowchart for Metal Extraction is given

18
19
Lecture 05 – Mineral Beneficiation: Overview and Mass Balances

1
• Mineral beneficiation as particle size reduction and
Physical separation of particles
• Unit Operations: Comminution for liberation;
• Mineral Concentration: Exploiting difference in
physical properties for removing gangue particles;
• Mass balance for accounting in Mineral Beneficiation:
Grade, Recovery, Separation Efficiency, Sensitivity
analysis of Recovery,

2
• Comminution
• Liberation
• Mineral Separation/Concentration
• Grade
• Recovery
• Separation Efficiency
• Sensitivity Analysis

3
 Mineral Beneficiation: Introduction
• It is a process of physically separating the grains of valuable minerals
from the waste minerals.
• Mineral processing involves the use of physical processes to manipulate
ore particle size, and preferentially remove gangue particle to
concentrate valuable minerals based on difference in properties
(density, appearance, electrostatic, magnetic or surface) of value
minerals and gangue particles.
• This enrichment process considerably reduces the volume of mineral
during metal extraction (in chemical metallurgy).
• After mining the first step in the metallurgical process is mineral
processing/ore dressing.
• Industrial mineral treatment processes usually combine
a number of unit operations:
• Liberation {by crushing and grinding (comminution)},
• Particle Separation/Concentration
• Solid Liquid Separation 4
Schematic Representation of Liberation

coarse grain chromite (C)

in olivine (O) gangue

Galena (G) & sphalerite

Midlings (S) intergrown

Chalcopyrite (C) along

fractures in quartz

Tailings

Concentrate 5
 Classification of Comminution Particles Sizes for
Comminution by
COMMINUTION Crushing and Grinding

MECHANICAL CHEMICAL

External Forces Special Forces Chemical Forces

- Impact Thermal shock • Dissolution/Leaching

- Compression Pressure change • Bioleaching
- Abrasion Microwave • Microwave
- Attrition Impact with • Burning
- Cutting photons and • Impact with photons
- Pealing elemental particles & elemental particles

6
Mineral Separation/Concentration
Separation of liberated value mineral particles from gangue particle by exploiting
difference in their physical properties.

7
 Mineral Separation/Concentration

Exploited features of particles in mineral beneficiation according to their modification ability

8
Separation/Concentration: Useful Accounting Parameters
• The grade, or assay, usually refers to the content of the marketable end
product in the material. In metallic ores, the %metal is often quoted as grade.
• For very low-grade ores, (e.g gold), metal content may be expressed as ppm.
• Some metals are sold in oxide form, and hence the grade may be quoted in
terms of the marketable oxide content (%WO3, %U3O8). In non-metallic
operations, grade usually refers to the mineral content (e.g. %CaF2) in fluorite
ores
• Diamond ores are usually graded in carats per 100 tonnes (t),
(1 carat is 1/24). Coal is graded according to its ash content.
• The recovery (R) for the concentration of metallic ores, is
the percentage of the total metal contained in the ore
that is recovered from the concentrate.

9
Mineral Concentration: Useful Accounting Parameters
• The ratio of concentration is the ratio of the weight of the feed (or heads) to the
weight of the concentrates.
• Solid Split is inverse of ratio of concentration.
• The enrichment ratio is the ratio of the grade of the concentrate to the grade of
the feed.
• If high recovery of metal is aimed for, there will be more gangue in the
concentrate and the grade of concentrate will decrease. To attain a very high-
grade concentrate, the assays and amount of tailings are higher and recovery is
low.

Typical recovery-grade curve 10

Mineral Concentration: Useful Accounting Parameters

• Concentrate grade and recovery, used simultaneously, are the most widely
accepted measures of assessing metallurgical (not economic) performance.
• If both the grade and recovery are greater then the choice of process is
simple, but concentration results in higher grade but a lower recovery than
the other, then the choice is no longer obvious.
• Then we use separation efficiency (SE, proposed Schulz)
Separation efficiency (SE)= Rm – Rg
where Rm = % recovery of valuable metal in concentrate,
Rg = % recovery of the gangue into the concentrate.

11
 Mass balance: two-product formula for separation process
Input or feed stream
Weight = F
Assay = f

Separation

Concentrate Tailings
(valuable mineral product) (waste or gangue material)
Weight = C Weight = T
Assay = c Assay = t

12
 Mass balance: two-product formula for separation process
• Conflicting Recovery and Grades:
Separation efficiency (S.E.)= Rm - Rg
where Rm = % recovery of the valuable metal in concentrate,
Rg = % recovery of the gangue into the concentrate.
• Let the feed material, assaying f% metal, separates into a concentrate assaying c% metal, and a
tailing assaying t% metal, if the metal content in the pure mineral is m then the value mineral
fraction in concentrate is c/m and thus the gangue fraction in the concentrate is gC = 1 - (c/m),
gangue fraction in the feed gF = 1 - (f/m)
• The recovery of gangue

Separation efficiency:

13
Metallurgical Balances:3-Product Formula
M(F) M(T)

M(C1) M(C1)

14
 Metallurgical Balances:3-Product Formula
Eliminating M(T) from the equations the value of M(C1) will be given by

15
Sensitivity of Recovery (R) on Error of Grade analysis
Variation of a function F(xi) is given by:

Taking recovery (R ) as a function of grade of concentrate (c)

feed (f), and tailing (t), the variation of R

16
Example 1: Improvement of ore grade as gangue are removed
In a copper ore 30% is chalcopyrite, 30% pyrite and 40% silica. A) Determine grade (%Cu) in the
ore. B) In the first stage of beneficiation all the silica is removed without any loss of chalcopyrite
and pyrite in tailings. What would be grade of concentrate. C) In the second stage (after silica
removal) all the pyrites are removed. What should the grade of the concentrate now? {chalcopyrite
= CuFeS2, pyrite=FeS2, silica=SiO2; Atomic wt. of Cu=63.55, Fe=55.85, S=32.07, Si=28.08, O=16.00}
Answer: A) Considering 100 gm ore: Amount of CuFeS2 = 30 gm; FeS2 = 30 gm and SiO2 = 40 gm.
Amount of Cu in ore = amount of CuFeS2 x amount of Cu in CuFeS2
= 30 x {63.55/(63.55+55.65 + 2x32.03)}= 10.403 gm
Grade (%Cu) of the ore = (Amount of Cu /amount of Ore) x 100
= (10.403/100) x 100 = 10.403%
B) In the first stage of beneficiation silica is removed as tailing without any
loss of CuFeS2 and FeS2. So the grade of concentrate would be
(Amount of Cu/amount of concentrate) x100 = 10.403x100/(30+30)
= 17.338%. C) In the second stage all the FeS2 is removed, so now the
grade of concentrate = 10.403x100/30 = 34.677% = m = %Cu in CuFeS2
m = maximum possible grade (concentrate contain only pure mineral, no gangue) 17
Example2. The feed to a Zn flotation plant assays 4% Zn. The concentrate produced assays
50% Zn and the tailings 0.5% Zn.
A) Calculate the solid split, ratio of concentration, enrichment ratio, and Zn recovery.
B) Provide the expression of the variance value of recovery as functions of the variances of
Zn assay in all 3 streams.
C) Find the separation efficiency if value mineral is ZnS (at. Wt. of Zn =65.39, S=32.07)
Answer: A)The solid split = C/F = (f – t)/(c –t) = (4 - .5)/(50 - .5) = 0.0707 or 7.07%
Ratio of concentration = F/C = 1/solid split = 1/0.0707 = 14.1442 Feed, f = 4% Zn
Enrichment ratio = c/f = 50/4 = 12.5 Separation
Zn Recovery (in concentrate) = Cc/Ff = c(f – t)/f(c – t) Concentrate Tailing
= 50 (4 – 0.5)/4(50 - 0.5) = 0.8838 or 88.38% Alternatively c = 50% Zn t = 0.5% Zn
Zn Recovery=Solid split x Enrichment ratio=0.0707 x 12.5=.8838=88.38%
B)

VR = 0.255076[39.0625Vf+0.00125Vc +2500Vt]=9.9639Vf +0.00032Vc+637.69Vt

C) m = 65.39/(65.39+32.07) = 0.6709 = 67.09%.
Separation Efficiency = 7.07x[67.09x(50-4)]/[4x(67.09-4)]
= 86.46%
18
1. Mineral Processing Technology, 8th Ed., Barry A. Wills and James
A. Finch, 2016, Elsevier Ltd.
2. Mineral Processing, Jan Drzymala, 2007, Wroclaw University of
Technology.
3.Chemical Metallurgy: Principles and Practice. Chiranjib Kumar
Gupta, 2003, WILEY-VCH

19
• Mineral beneficiation and its importance is discussed
• Liberation is the unlocking of value mineral from gangue matrix by
comminution, performed by crushing and grinding is illustrated.
• Type of force for breaking the rock is classified.
• Crushing and grinding are done is several steps (primary, secondary,
tertiary) with certain reduction factor.
• Exploitable properties and their possible modification for mineral particles
separation/concentration are discussed.
• Size range for different beneficiation techniques are
tabulated.
• Mass balance for accounting in mineral beneficiation is
illustrated with examples to find recovery, separation
efficiency, sensitivity analysis of recovery.
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