Production of pellet feed from slimes

Abstract

The recovery of iron bearing minerals from the reject products of the beneficiation of iron ores is a challenge concerning the sustainability of the preliminary stage of iron and steel making. This investigation addressed the production of iron ore concentrate within the specifications of Samarco's pellet feed from a representative sample of the concentrator I desliming cyclone's (101.6 mm, 4") overflow. The experiments included stages of microdesliming and flotation. The developed microdesliming method was efficient and the concentrate produced via cationic reverse flotation presented silica content compatible with pellet feed requirements.