Institute of Ore Geology, Petrography, Mineralogy, and Geochemistry (IGEM) of the RAS (Russia):

Makeev A. B., Doctor of Geology and Mineralogy, Professor, Leading Researcher, abmakeev@mail.ru

Institute of Geology of the Komi Science Center, Urals Branch of the RAS (Russia):

Lyutoev V. P., Ph. D. in Geology and Mineralogy, Senior Researcher, Leading Researcher, vlutoev@geo.komisc.ru

A process flow sheet was tried-out and optimized with a view to produce titanium minerals concentrates from the Pizhemskoye deposit ores, including: crushing, attritioning, desliming, gravity concentration, classification and magnetic separation. It is shown, that leucoxene is almost entirely concentrated into non-magnetic fraction (0.50–0.125 mm size fraction). Leucoxene, rutile and zircon are accumulated in non-magnetic fraction (0.125–0.040 mm size fraction). Ilmenite, Fe-rutile, pseudorutil and siderite are accumulated in magnetic fraction of both product classes. With the help of normative recalculation of the chemical analyses data, and also by means of the spectroscopical methods of infrared spectroscopy, nuclear gamma resonance and electron paramagnetic resonance, phase composition of iron-titanium phases was reliably established for the first time. The ratio of leucoxene and magnetic titanium minerals (approximately 5 : 3) in bulk concentrate was calculated, as well as the ratio of pseudorutil, ilmenite and Fe-rutile — approximately 20 : 4 : 6. In fine magnetic fraction this ratio changes upwards with respect to ilmenite content and downwards with respect to Fe-rutile content in rougher concentrate. Application of an additional operation of concentrates attritioning and crushing to –0.3 mm size fraction was recommended in order to remove intergrowths with quartz. In order to clean samples from siderite, it is necessary to apply concentrate roasting at the temperature of +600 °С.

The authors are indebted to B. A. Makeev and A. Yu. Lysyuk (the Komi Republic Institute of Geology Scientific Center of the Ural branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences), V. O. Yapaskurt (Moscow State University), A. I. Yakushev (Institute of Geology of Ore Deposits, Petrography, Mineralogy, and Geochemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences), O. V. Bobrova (OOO «Koralaina-Engineering») for assistance in the experimental data acquisition.
The work was performed with the financial aid for the Project R&D No. 72-8: «Evolution of placer formation systems in lithogenesis process: from substance mobilization to ablation placers» and for the Project No. 15-11-5-33 of the Ural branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences: «Development of innovation technologies for the purpose of efficient and all-round utilization of mineral raw materials and production of new mineral-based materials».

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