At present, it has been found that there are more than 140 kinds of titanium minerals with TiO2 content greater than 1%, but there are only a few kinds with industrial significance, such as ilmenite, rutile, chalcocite, sphene, titanium mud calcium cerussite, titanium magnetite and anatase, among which the most important ones are ilmenite and rutile.
Primary titanium deposits is the most important titanium resources, primary ores of titanium reserves in the world a one accounted for 70% ~ 80% of the titanium reserves in alluvial ores accounted for only 20% ~ 30% of foreign beneficiation of primary ores are often used in re-election, magnetic separation, flotation, electrowinning and other methods, the following is an introduction to several of the most effective foreign metallurgical process joint flow.
(1) ilmenite - magnetite type of beneficiation
This type of ore ilmenite is often an independent package dipped in magnetite and non-metallic minerals, the principle of dealing with this type of ore is as coarse as possible to throw the tail, and then grinding and magnetic separation, selected ilmenite concentrates, sulphide should be floated out of sulphide concentrates, and then flotation of fine-grained ilmenite.
The common characteristics of selecting this type of ore are:
(1) the treatment of fine-grained embedded ores generally do not use re-election, but the use of magnetic - flotation joint process, for coarse-grained embedded uneven ores, the use of magnetic - heavy - flotation joint process. (2) If the ore contains sulfide to be in the flotation of titanium before floating sulfur; the presence of apatite, the process should also be selected phosphorus operations.
(3) ilmenite flotation generally use the capture agent is a mixture of fatty acids and neutral hydrocarbons.
(2) Hematite - ilmenite type of ore dressing
Usually the hematite and ilmenite in this type of ore are in fine-grained close coexistence, and beneficiation can only select the titanium-iron mixed concentrate from it, and then smelt it by pyrometallurgical method in order to obtain pig iron and high titanium slag. Canada and Egypt have deposits of industrial significance. For example, the typical process of Canada's Lakkio beneficiation plant, with heavy media cyclone treatment, the latter with a spiral concentrator, the resulting concentrates are combined, dewatered and dried and then sent to roasting, in order to remove sulphur from the concentrate.
3) Beneficiation of Calcite-Titanium Magnetite Types
Beneficiation of titanomagnetite is selected by wet magnetic separation, followed by flotation of calcite with fatty acid-based traps, and ilmenite flotation after washing and de-drugging of the products in the tanks.
(4) titanium niobium calcium cerium ore beneficiation
This type of ore is often accompanied by nepheline, feldspar, nepheline, apatite and a small amount of titanium brown silicate, cottonite, and hornblende. Coarse TiNbCaCe can be recovered by re-election, while fine TiNbCaCe in the tailings can be recovered by flotation. The process includes roughing apatite with Tar oil, soda ash and water glass in alkaline medium, separating nepheline, and finally obtaining titanium niobium calcium cerium ore concentrate.
(5) Titanite beneficiation
There are titanite resources in the United States, Canada, Madagascar. Titanite as titanium raw material has attracted attention in the last 40 years. After apatite is selected, titanite is enriched in the froth of the reverse flotation, the froth product of the reverse flotation is deslimed, and the titanite concentrate can be selected by concentrating without trapping agent. Magnetic separation can select the residual nepheline, non-magnetic part is titanite concentrate.
(6) White titanite beneficiation
White titanium stone is ilmenite alteration products, both in the alluvial and primary ores are endowed with white titanium stone. Primary white ilmenite deposits are endowed with quartz, white ilmenite and rhodochrosite. The metallic minerals are closely co-occurring with the quartz. The ore type can be subdivided into albite-type, albite-rutile-type and oil-bearing rutile-type. In order to remove the quartz in the white ilmenite concentrate, various methods have been studied, such as high-pressure leaching, fluidised chlorine roasting, blast furnace smelting and sintering with soda, etc. However, no matter which method is used, the oil in the titanium concentrate must be removed before desiliconisation.
(7) Rutile beneficiation
Rutile primary deposits and alluvial ores compared to the secondary significance. The beneficiation of primary rutile-garnet ores associated with ancient basal metamorphic rocks - amphibolites and garnets has been studied. The beneficiation process is based on flotation and magnetic separation. At the same time, garnet, lanzanite and other associated minerals are recovered.
8)The beneficiation of anatase
Reitanium ore is a new type of titanium raw materials, in Brazil's Araxa, Sali hold and Tapira have large Reitanium ore resources, these deposits are formed under specific weathering conditions, for the iron, phosphate, niobium and rare earths composed of composite deposits. The raw ore is first de-slimed, crushed, magnetised and classified to obtain a titanium crude concentrate product, then ground, magnetised, classified and filtered to obtain a high grade anatase concentrate product. After further magnetisation roasting and magnetic separation, the grade of the concentrate can reach 80% TiO2.
