Institute TOMS, Irkutsk, Russia:

A. E. Senchenko, CEO
Yu. V. Kulikov, Production Manager

Lebedinsky GOK, Gubkin, Russia:
A. V. Tokarenko, Chief Management Officer, gok@lebgok.ru

As practice shows, the standard flowsheets in use in processing of strongly magnetic easy ores at large mining-and-processing integrated works, with little modifications, ensure high production performance. At the same time, the present-day call for the eco-friendly and green production and reduced carbon footprint, as well as the tough competition forces seeking and introduction of novel and effective solutions toward satisfaction of ever-increasing needs, wants and demands of the market. The article reviews briefly the evolution of reconcentration of iron ore concentrate at Lebedinsky GOK. One of the key factors in the reconcentration flowsheet improvement is the comprehensive analysis of material constitution of the concentrate. The analysis of occurrence forms of iron minerals and their associations with barren rocks enables a reasoned selection of the optimal processing technology to obtain the highest-quality end product. The investigation of Lebedinsky GOK’s concentrate using the modern process mineralogy techniques and the lab-scale magnetic separation and flotation tests provided important information on mineralogy and processing behavior of the material for improving the processing flowsheet. The data prove the expediency of using flotation processes as they produce a marketable concentrate of high quality at a comparatively low loss of iron in the reconcentration circuit. The irretrievable loss of iron because of specific mineralogy of the concentrate is allowable, particularly in the conditions of price rise on metal markets and in view of increased demand for high quality concentrates.

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