Chair of Non-ferrous Metals and Gold, National University of Science and Technology “MISiS”, Moscow, Russia:

A. G. Ermilov, Former Collaborator of a Chair

E. V. Bogatyreva, Assistant Professor, e-mail: Helen_Bogatureva@mail.ru

“Solikamsk Magnesium Plant” JSC, Solikamsk, Russia:
А. V. Chub, Deputy Head of a Pilot Shop

This work demonstrates the possibility to predict the reactivity of mechanical activation arizonite and ilmenite concentrates by X-ray data. The contributions of energies, which are spent on the changes of the interplanar spaces in a crystal lattice, stored in the new formed crystallite surfaces, and stored in the form of microstrain, to the energy, which is stored during mechanical activation, were evaluated by X-ray data. This method is unique as it offers the possibility to evaluate the energy stored in the system and accordingly to predict the reactivity of materials with X-ray data, without chemical or physical influence, which is typically leads to disintegration of the sample and requires significant amount of the activated material. The predicting makes it possibly to carry out the express analysis of mechanical activation efficiency in order to achieve the required iron extraction at the stage of hydrochloriс acid leaching of concentrates. There were determined the parameters of mechanical activation and conditions of hydrochloric acid leaching that provide the selective extraction of iron and other impurities with minor losses of titanium. This makes it possible to engineer the processing of ilmenite concentrates with a vicious cycle by hydrochloric acid. More efficient hydrochloric acid leaching of mechanically activated concentrates supports the reducing of energy efficiency of the synthetic rutile production process (the content of TiO₂ is not less than 95%), compared with processes of selective reduction of iron or electro-metallurgical melting of titanium concentrates to titanium slag. The methodology and criteria of evaluation of efficiency of preliminary mechanical activation of the arizonite and rutile concentrates make it possible to produce the synthetic rutile from available mineral raw materials.

1. Reznichenko V. A., Averin V. V., Olyunina T. V. Titanaty: nauchnye osnovy, tekhnologiya, proizvodstvo (Titanates: scientific basis, technology, production). Moscow : Nauka, 2010. 267 p.
2. Obzor rynka titanovogo syrya v SNG (Review of titanium raw materials market in the CIS countries). INFOMINE market research group. 2011. Available at: www.infomine.ru/otchets/ru_TiRaw.pdf.
3. Karelin V. A., Karelin A. I. Ftoridnaya tekhnologiya pererabotki kontsentratov redkikh metallov (Fluoride technology of processing of rare metals' concentrates). Tomsk : Publishing House of Scientific and Technical Literature, 2004. 221 p.
4. Sadykhov G. B., Zelenova I. A., Reznichenko V. A. Novaya tekhnologiya pererabotki neftenosnykh leykoksenovykh peskov Yaregskogo mestorozhdeniya s polucheniem rutila (New technology of processing of oil-bearing leucoxene sands of Yaregskoe deposit with rutile obtaining). Nauka i tekhnika — Science and Technology. 2002. No. 6.
5. Zelikman A. N., Korshunov B. G. Metallurgiya redkikh metallov (Metallurgy of rare metals). Moscow : Metallurgiya, 1991.
6. Skiba G. S., Korovin V. N., Voskoboynikov N. B., Kalinnikov V. T., Zakharov V. I., Nosova L. A., Savelev Yu. A., Kozin N. I. Sposob razlozheniya mineralnogo i tekhnogennogo syrya (Method of decomposition of mineral and anthropogenic raw materials). Patent RF, No. 2149908. Applied: November 03, 1998. Published: May 27, 2000.
7. Sasikumar C. The effect of mechanical activation on energetics and dissolution kinetics of Indian Beach sand ilmenite : thesis submitted for degree of doctor of philosophy in metallurgical engineering. Varanasi : Institute of Technology Banaras Hindu University Varanasi, 2009. 175 p.
8. Ermilov A. G., Safonov V. V., Doroshko L. F. et al. Izvestiya vuzov. Tsvetnaya metallurgiya — Russian Journal of Non-ferrous Metals. 2002. No. 3. pp. 48–53.

9. Shelekhov E. V., Sviridova T. A. Metallovedenie i termicheskaya obrabotka metallov — Metal Science and Heat Treatment. 2000. No. 8. pp. 16–19.
10. Zuev V. V., Aksenova G. A., Mochalov N. A. et al. Obogashchenie Rud — Mineral processing. 1999. No. 1/2. pp. 48–53.
11. Bogatyreva E. V., Ermilov A. G., Sviridova T. A., Savina O. S., Podshibyakina K. V. Neorganicheskie materialy — Inorganic Materials. 2011. Vol. 47, No. 6. pp. 1–7.
12. Bogatyreva E. V., Ermilov A. G. Neorganicheskie materialy — Inorganic Materials. 2011. Vol. 47, No. 9. pp. 1115–1121.
13. E. V. Bogatyreva, A. V. Chub, A. G. Ermilov. Polozhitelnoe reshenie na zayavku 2012112371/02(018643). Sposob pererabotki arizonitovykh i ilmenitovykh kontsentratov (Favorable decision for the application No. 2012112371/02(018643). Method of processing of arizonite and ilmenite concentrates). Accepted: December 12, 2012.
14. Tarasov A. V. Metallurgiya titana (Metallurgy of titanium). Moscow : Akademkniga, 2003. 328 p.