Study on the intergranular fracture of the minerals in iron ores from similar iron deposits

Abstract

Determining the percentage of minerals with an intergranular fracture during grinding is valuable for liberation studies. However, a challenge is created by the variability of the ore texture in similar deposits. In this study, the percentage of intergranular fracture in iron oxide minerals, quartz, and ferrohornblende for the three types of iron ores was calculated by phase-specific surface area (PSSA), phase-specific free surface (PSFS), and phase-specific interfacial area (PSIA) information measured by Mineral Liberation Analyzer (MLA). The calculated results were correlated with the normalized grain size for comparison. MLA test results showed that the finer grain size of iron oxide minerals, quartz, and ferrohornblende resulted in larger PSSA. The PSSA and PSFS of iron oxide minerals, quartz, and ferrohornblende in all three products increased as product particle size decreased, while the PSIA decreased. The fine-grained iron oxide minerals were more likely to remain relatively intact after this grinding, with a larger percentage of intergranular fracture occurring. Transgranular fracture mainly occurred when coarse-grained iron oxide minerals, quartz, and ferrohornblende were fractured. The fundamental investigation of this study is valuable for further optimization of the grinding process.