Petrozavodsk State University (Russia):

Kameneva Ye. Ye., Head of Laboratory, Associate Professor, Ph. D. in Engineering Sciences, elena.kameneva@mail.ru

Mining Institute of the Kola Science Centre of RAS (Russia):

Rukhlenko Ye. D., Leading Technologist

Andronov G. P., Researcher

The results of studying forsterite varieties composition and surface morphology, selected from the Kovdor deposit natural ore types, applying the methods of X-ray micro-CT and SEM, are presented. It is shown, that individual grains of forsterite are composed of closely associated mineral phases of forsterite (major phase), fayalite and contain microinclusions of magnetite, calcite and serpentine. It is noted, that serpentinization occurs moderately and nonuniformly. With respect to morphology, isometric and bladed-elongated grains with smooth flat surface are distinguished, as well as altered grains with uneven, mostly microcavernous and micro-stepped structure of surface. The closest to stoichiometric composition are forsterite grains with clean-cut crystal outlines, as well as grains with smooth flat surface. Composition of altered grains frequently does not follow the stoichiometry. Grains that differ in composition and morphology are present in every forsterite sample, selected from natural ore varieties in different quantitative proportions. Isometric and bladed-elongated grains with smooth flat surface predominate in most flotoactive samples of monomineral forsterite. Forsterite samples that are mostly composed of altered grains with uneven surface are characterized by a low flotation activity. A developed specific surface of uneven grains is recognized as a factor that lowers flotation yield.

1. Kameneva Ye. Ye., Andronov G. P., Rukhlenko Ye. D., Pogankina T. P. Obogashchenie Rud, 2004, No. 6, pp. 19–22.
2. Kukharenko A. A., Orlova M. P., Bulakh A. G. et al. Kaledonskiy kompleks ultraosnovnykh, shchelochnykh porod i karbonatitov Kolskogo poluostrova i Severnoy Karelii (Caledonian complex of ultrabasic alkaline rocks and carbonatites of the Kola Peninsula and Northern Karelia). Moscow, Nedra, 1965, 549 p.
3. Betekhtin A. G. Mineralogiya (Mineralogy). Moscow, Gosudarstvennoye izdatelstvo geologicheskoy literatury (State publishing house of geological literature), 1950, 956 p.
4. Bilskaya I. V., Brodskaya R. L. Tipomorfnyye osobennosti kristallov olivina (Typomorphic features of olivine crystals). Ontogeniya mineralov i yeye znacheniye dlya resheniya nauchnykh i prikladnykh zadach. Materialy godichnogo sobraniya VMO (Ontogeny of minerals and its importance for the solution of scientific and applied problems. Proceedings of Annual meeting of the Russian Mineralogical Society), St. Petersburg, April 17–19, 2009. St. Petersburg, 2009, pp. 14–16.
5. Issledovaniye fazovoy i strukturno-teksturnoy mikroneodnorodnosti ob'yektov metodom rentgenovskoy mikrotomografii. Metodicheskiye rekomendatsii NSOMMI № 130 (Study of the phase and structural-textural microinhomogeneity of objects using X-ray microtomography. Guidelines No. 130 of NSOMMI (Research Council for Mineral Analysis Methods)). Moscow, VNIIgeosistem, 1999, p. 53.
6. Khoroshavin A. G. Forsterit (Forsterite). Moscow, Teplotekhnika, 2004, 368 p.