FRACTIONATION AND CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF TECHNOLOGICAL SAMPLES OF STAUROLITE AND MUSCOVITE MINERALS

ABSTRACT

A technique is proposed for fractionation and chemical analysis of a technological sample of staurolite and muscovite minerals in order to determine their mineral composition. It has been determined that the initial weight of the selected mineral for a technological sample depends on the maximum size of its constituent fractions and the optimal weight of the reduced samples for each stage of processing, crushed to a specific particle size, provided that the reduction error does not exceed the permissible limits of its fraction. Established that the accumulation of stavrolite occurs in a heavy fraction, where it accumulates with other minerals (this is a grenade, ilmenite, iron sulfide), and the accumulation of muscovit occurs in a thin fraction, where it accumulates together with a sludge.

АННОТАЦИЯ

Предложена методика проведения фракционирования и химического анализа технологической пробы ставролитовых и мусковитовых минералов с целью определения их минерального состава. Определено, что исходный вес отбираемого минерала для технологической пробы зависит от максимального размера составляющих ее фракции и оптимального веса сокращенных проб для каждой стадии обработки, измельченная до конкретного размера частиц, при условии, что погрешность сокращения не выйдет за допустимые пределы ее фракции. Установлено, что накопление ставролита происходит в тяжелой фракции, где он накапливается с другими минералами (это гранат, ильменит, сульфид железа), а накопление мусковита происходит в тонкой фракции, где он накапливается совместно со шламом.

Keywords: fractionation, chemical analysis, process samples, staurolite and muscovite minerals.

Ключевые слова: фракционирование, химический анализ, технологические пробы, ставролитовые и мусковитовые минералы.

INTRODUCTION

The problems of rational use of mineral resources, minerals [1], alloys [2], melt [3] and raw materials [4] are solved through the development of technological solutions for the extraction, analyze and processing of mineral resources, which are also environmentally friendly technologies [1–4].

The purpose of the work is to determine the quantity and quality of the mineral composition by fractionation and chemical analysis of a technological sample of staurolite and muscovite minerals.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Some work was carried out on the fractionation and chemical analysis of a technological sample with a total mass of 1500 kg in the amount of 45 separate samples from different horizons of crystalline shale and gneiss of the Kurgovat deposit in Tajikistan. Samples were crushed on a jaw crusher to a size of 1 mm with three sieving. The main task of sample processing was to determine methods for processing muscovite and staurolite to obtain enriched concentrates from them, from which alumina was then extracted as the final product.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 1 summarizes the oxide contents - SiO₂, Al₂O₃, K₂O and Fe₂O₃ of the initial samples of alumina-containing ores from the Kurgovat deposit and the heavy, light and coarse fractions of the samples after separation.

Six primary samples, each weighing 30-31 kg, were dried and crushed to a particle size of 1 mm.  It was decided to select a single combined sample from six crushed samples using the handguard method, 167 g with each total weight of 1.0 kg. From one kilogram of the original combined sample, a sample weighing 20 g was selected for chemical analysis and physical separation methods. The remainder (980 g) of the sample was subjected to separation on a concentration table, the results of which are reflected in table 2. 

Table 1

Oxide content in the analyzed samples of various fractions after separation

Table 2

Ratio of different fractions in the combined sample

Determined that the main alumina mineral of muscovite ore is the mineral muscovite, the alumina content of which averages 58.6-61.2% or more, the staurolite mineral contains 11.5-12.4% alumina, the remaining impurities in the muscovite-staurolite ores of the Kurgovat deposit are approximately 9.5-10.6% (table 3).

The quality characteristics of this mineral raw material determine the negative impact of this raw material on the natural environment when processing it using various technologies, thus determining the degrees of relative danger of various types of mineral raw materials.

After conducting comprehensive studies, it was concluded that the raw materials of the Kurgovatskoye deposit in Tajikistan need to be examined in more detail, the predicted significant reserves of staurolite and muscovite minerals in mica-quartz shale must be identified, in order to calculate the predicted reserves of alumina in them, and to include them in technological processes material of sludge fields of the aluminum industry.

Table 3

Fractions of minerals after enrichment with alumina contents

The SiO₂, Al₂O₃, K₂O and Fe₂O₃ content was determined in a total of 63 varieties of samples of alumina-containing ores from the Kurgovat deposit, including various fractions after separation. When studying their enrichment, their study was carried out according to various requirements that apply in general to all metamorphic ores and raw materials:

- application in industry of new mineral species previously of no practical interest;

- the application of the integrated use of mineral raw materials and the need to develop a scheme for waste-free technology;

- improvement of technological schemes for the extraction of useful components from mineral raw materials, which is an important factor for the full use of all useful components included in the ores of the Kurgovat deposit;

- development of scientific and methodological provisions regarding geological and environmental diagnosis and assessment of mineral raw materials, analysis and identification of dependencies between various typomorphic mineralogical associations and various modifications of minerals, reflecting a significant correlation of the characteristics of the processed raw materials (natural, environmental and technological);

- development and creation of an ecological and technological model characterizing the distribution of grains and aggregates of minerals and their crystallochemical modifications based on taking into account technological combinations of minerals and their technological typomorphism.

CONCLUSION

Using the method of fractionation and chemical analysis of a technological sample of staurolite and muscovite minerals in order to determine their mineral composition, it was established that the accumulation of staurolite occurs in the heavy fraction, where it accumulates with other minerals (these are garnet, ilmenite, iron sulfide), and the accumulation of muscovite occurs in the fine fraction, where it accumulates together with sludge.  

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