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ArticleName | Application of the technology of rare earth elements gravity separation from the ore of the Kundybay deposit |
DOI | 10.17580/tsm.2025.01.01 |
ArticleAuthor | Morozov Yu. P., Morozov V. V., Valtseva А. I., Akkazina N. Т. |
ArticleAuthorData | Ural State Mining University, Yekaterinburg, Russia Yu. P. Morozov, Professor of Department of Mineral Processing, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, e-mail: tails2002@inbox.ru
National University of Science and Technology (MISIS), Moscow, Russia
Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin, Yekaterinburg, Russia Satbayev University, Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan |
Abstract | Currently, the demand for rare earth elements (REE) has increased significantly due to the expansion of volumes and applications in various industries. The annual increase in consumption of specific elements of rare earths is up to 25% per year. To solve the problem of increasing REE production, it is necessary to involve difficult-to-enrich raw materials in processing, which include the weathering mantle of the Kundybay deposit (Kazakhstan). A special feature of this deposit is the increased proportion (54%) of yttrium oxides, medium and heavy lanthanides. As a result of the conducted research, the granulometric and fractional composition of the ore was determined, which made it possible to determine the distribution of REE by the grain-size class of the ore under study. An analysis of the results showed that 29.35% of REE were contained in the grain-size classes more than 0.02 mm, and 70.65% of REE were in fine class –0.02+0.01 mm, –0.01+0.005 mm and less than 0.005 mm. Large classes were characterized by the presence of grains of minerals of low specific gravity with a reduced REE concentration, which determined the possibility of removing depleted fractions by gravity methods. To assess the possibility of using gravity technology for the enrichment of rare earth ore from the weathering mantle of the Kundybay deposit, a fractional analysis of the machine classes of crushed ore with a size of –2.50+0.315 mm and –0.315+0.10 mm was performed. The results of fractional analysis showed that REE were concentrated in minerals of increased density (more than 2850 kg/m3). Based on the results obtained, the possibility of extracting REE from both its slurry and sand fractions has been determined. For the studied ore of the Kundybay deposit, the use of a combined scheme is proposed, including gravitational enrichment of granular classes and subsequent hydro- and pyrometallurgical processing of enriched granular and slurry classes. Based on the conducted experimental and enlarged technological studies, the use of a bowl centrifugal separator in the process of gravitational enrichment is justified, which allows to intensify the extraction of minerals concentrating rare earth elements from relatively small ore classes. The application of the developed scheme using combined gravity enrichment technology with a combination of screw and bowl centrifugal separators ensures an increase in the content of ΣREE in gravity concentrate from 640 to 1054 g/t with the extraction of ΣREE into concentrate and industrial products of more than 70%. An additional economic effect is achieved by removing final tailings from the enrichment scheme and reducing by 30% the yield of products sent for hydrometallurgical processing. |
keywords | Rare earth elements, weathering mantle, fractional analysis, grainsize classes, gravitational enrichment, separation, concentrate, leaching |
References | 1. Kondratev V. B. Overview of the global rare earth metals market. Gornaya promyshlennost. 2017. No. 4. pp. 48–54. |
Language of full-text | russian |
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