Three methods of mineral processing commonly used in lithium mines

Spodumene, petalite, lepidolite through three types of ore dressing, after concentration can have a variety of uses. The boundary grade and industrial grade of the lithium deposit are further divided into hand-selected ore and machine-selected ore, and the grade indicators are determined separately.

According to the experience of production practice, if the particle size of spodumene in the ore body is larger than 3cm, the grade of ore is above 2%~3%; the particle size of beryl is more than 0.5cm, and the grade of ore is 0.1%. ~0.2%o or more, it is suitable for hand selection, divided into hand-selected ore, and hand-selected mineral reserves calculation. Hand-selected ore tailings are machine-selected and not suitable for hand-selected ore, all of which are machine-selected ores.

Lithium ore beneficiation methods include hand selection, flotation, chemical or chemical _ flotation combined method, thermal cracking method, radioactive method, particle flotation method, etc. The first three methods are more commonly used.

First, the hand selection method

In the 1950s and 1960s, the hand selection method was one of the main methods of mineral processing in the production of lithium and antimony concentrates at home and abroad. In 1959, China's Xinjiang, Hunan and other provinces selected more than 2,800 tons of beryl concentrates. In 1962, the world beryl concentrate production was 7,400 tons, of which hand-selected concentrates accounted for 91%.

This is mainly due to the fact that most of the lithium and gold ore are from the pegmatite deposit, and the major industrial minerals such as spodumene and beryl are selected and the crystals are easy to choose. However, it should be noted that hand-selected labor intensity, low production efficiency, high resource waste, and low selection index are gradually being replaced by mechanical beneficiation methods. However, in developing countries where labor is cheap, hand-selection is still the main method of producing lithium-rhenium concentrate.

Second, the flotation method

The research and application of the flotation method was earlier. In the 1930s, the flotation method was used in the industrial production of spodumene concentrate. Some spodumene flotation uses reverse flotation, and some use positive flotation.

Lithium mica is easy to float and is commonly used for flotation; industrial flotation of beryl is rarely reported. In China, the flotation research of spodumene and beryl was started in the late 1950s, followed by lithium mica flotation, lithium bismuth separation and other lithium plating. The spodumene, beryl and lithium mica were identified. The flotation process is applied in the new lithium plating beneficiation.

Third, chemical or chemical. Flotation combined method

This method is applicable to the salt lake lithium mine from which lithium salts are extracted. The process is to evaporate the brine on the drying field, precipitate the sodium salt and potassium salt , increase the concentration of lithium chloride to about 6%, then enter the factory and convert the lithium chloride into a solid lithium carbonate product by soda method.

Lithium ore is the first method to be used for lithium extraction. It has been developed more maturely, and the main processes include three steps of beneficiation, extraction and processing. At present, the main mature Shangyi has hand-selection-magnetic separation process, flotation magnetic separation process, flotation, re-election, magnetic separation combined process, beneficiation-chemical treatment combined process, selective-smelting combined process. Each process has its own characteristics, which can be selected according to the composition and properties of the lithium deposit and the selection of the main products.

Lithium extraction from lithium ore mainly includes spodumene, lime sintering method, lithium mica, lime sintering method, spodumene, sulfuric acid roasting method, lithium mica-chlorination roasting method, spodumene-soda ash boiling method, and the like. Recently, production of lithium metal is the main metal baking method for molten salt electrolysis, but this method consumes a large amount of direct current, it must be collected and processed at the same time chlorine is discharged on the anode, as a raw material of lithium salt (lithium chloride) is expensive, and High purity requirements.

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