Improving the quality of ferruginous chromite concentrates via physical separation methods

Abstract

The low chromium-to-iron ratio of chromite ores is an important issue in some chromite deposits. The value of the chromite ore is indeed dictated in the market by its iron, as well as its chromium content. In the present study, a chromite concentrate was reprocessed by gravity (spiral concentrator) and magnetic separation to enhance the chromium-to-iron ratio. Also, detailed characterization studies including automated mineralogy were carried out to better understand the nature of the samples. Enhancing the chromium-to-iron ratio was achieved by using advanced spiral separators which will be discussed in this paper.