Heavy Mineral Sands Mining and Downstream Processing: Value of Mineralogical Monitoring Using XRD

Heavy mineral sands are the source of various commodities such as white titanium dioxide pigment and titanium metal. The three case studies in this paper show the value of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and statistical methods such as data clustering for process optimization and quality control during heavy mineral processing. The potential of XRD as an automatable, reliable tool, useful in the characterization of heavy mineral concentrates, product streams and titania slag is demonstrated. The recent development of ultra-high-speed X-ray detectors and automated quantification allows for ‘on the fly’ quantitative X-ray diffraction analysis and truly interactive process control, especially in the sector of heavy mineral concentration and processing. Apart from the information about the composition of a raw ore, heavy mineral concentrate and the various product streams or titania slag, this paper provides useful information by the quantitative determination of the crystalline phases and the amorphous content. The analysis of the phases can help to optimize the concentration of ores and reduction of ilmenite concentrate. Traditionally, quality control of heavy mineral concentrates and titania slag relies mainly on elemental, chemical, gravimetrical, and magnetic analysis. Since the efficiency of concentration of minerals in the different product streams and reduction depends on the content of the different minerals, and for the latter on the titanium and iron phases such as ilmenite FeTiO3, rutile TiO2, anatase TiO2, or the various titanium oxides with different oxidation stages, fast and direct analysis of the phases is required.

Preparation of Synthetic Titania Slag Relevant to the Industrial Smelting Process Using an Induction Furnace

A high titania slag that is used as a feedstock for TiO2 manufacturing is obtained by ilmenite smelting (FeO.TiO2). The composition of the slag obtained by smelting is dependent on the composition of the mineral used for slag preparation, i.e., ilmenite in our study. At the laboratory scale, ilmenite slags are mostly obtained by using ilmenite as the raw material. An easy and simple way would be to prepare the synthetic slag using the individual components and heating them to high temperature in a furnace. The titania slag has a high oxidizing nature and requires an inert atmosphere to prevent oxidation of the slag as well as the molybdenum crucible. This paper describes the preparation of synthetic ilmenite slag using an induction furnace and the study of the composition and the phases formed in the slag. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) were used as analytical techniques for studying the slag. A comparison between obtained synthetic slag and industrial ilmenite slag was performed to test the possibility of preparing slags in the laboratory as per the required composition. The slags show similar phase formation as obtained in industrial ilmenite slags, which means that the synthetic slags are identical to the industrial slags.

Modeling Viscosity of High Titania Slag

TiO2-FeO-Ti2O3 slag system is the dominant system for industrial high-titania slag production. In the present work, viscosities of TiO2-FeO and TiO2-FeO-Ti2O3 systems were experimentally determined using the concentric rotating cylinder method under argon atmosphere. A viscosity model suitable for the TiO2-FeO-Ti2O3 slag system was then established based on the modification of the Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann (VFT) equation. The experimental results indicate that completely melted high-titania slags exhibit very low viscosity of around 0.8 dPa s with negligible dependence on temperature and compositions. However, it increases dramatically with decreasing temperature slightly below the critical temperature. Besides, the increase in FeO content was found to remarkably lower the critical temperature, while the addition of Ti2O3 increases it. The developed model can predict the viscosities of the TiO2-FeO-Ti2O3 and TiO2-FeO systems over wide ranges of compositions and temperatures within experimental uncertainties. The average relative error for the present model calculation is < 18.82 pct, which is better than the previously developed models for silicate slags reported in the literature. An iso-viscosity distribution diagram was made for the TiO2-FeO-Ti2O3 slag system, which can serve as a roadmap for the Ilmenite smelting reduction process as well as the high titania slags tapping process.

Evaluation of Titania-Rich Slag Produced from Titaniferous Magnetite Under Fluxless Smelting Conditions

Titanium-bearing magnetite ore is generically defined as magnetite with > 1% titanium dioxide (TiO2) and is usually vanadium-bearing. The iron and titanium occur as a mixture of magnetite (Fe3O4) and ilmenite (FeTiO3) with vanadium oxide usually occurring within the solid solution of the titanium-bearing magnetite phase. These ores are currently widely processed in blast furnaces via modified ironmaking processes. Typically, vanadium is recovered as a by-product from the ironmaking process, while the diluted titania slag is stockpiled. Fluxless smelting in a direct-current open-arc furnace is proposed as an opportunity to improve iron and vanadium recovery and potentially unlock the titanium as a slag product. Slags produced from a pilot study are compared to industrial slags produced from ilmenite. The findings from the pilot test show that slag produced under fluxless smelting conditions in an open-arc electric furnace is remarkably similar to industrial ilmenite slags. The test conditions were varied to evaluate the slag and metal composition, and furnace operation, under increasing reducing conditions. The study showed that the slag and metal product was remarkably similar to industrial slag produced from ilmenite.