An experimental study on the quality improvement of iron concentrate by reducing titanium content

The iron concentrate of a processing plant in North China contains 64.44% Fe. However, its high titanium oxide content of 4.18% (measured in TiO₂) seriously affects its sale and economic benefit. Therefore, according to properties and characteristics of the iron concentrate, an experimental study on the quality improvement of the iron concentrate by reducing titanium content has ben carried out. Firstly, the original iron concentrate is finely ground to achieve monomer dissociation as much as possible, with the determined grinding fineness of –0.025 mm for particles accounting for 90%. Then, the combined process test of low intensity magnetic and reverse flotation is adopted to process the finely ground concentrate under optimal conditions (with magnetic field intensity of 1400 Oe, modified starch dosage of 1100 g/t, lime dosage of 1100 g/t, and sodium oleate collector dosage of 50 g/t). Satisfactory technical indicators of the final iron concentrate including the Fe grade of 69.57%, TiO₂ content of 1.48%, and recovery rate of 89.49% have been obtained. The great reduction of TiO₂ content and increase of Fe grade of the final iron concentrate have well met the purpose and requirement for the quality improvement of original iron concentrate by reducing titanium content.