Introduction of Mineral Processing

• The process of mineral processing involves the separation of valuable minerals from gangue materials.
• The use of minerals has been instrumental in raising the standard of living of mankind.
• Non-metalliferous ores can be classified as metallic or non-metallic, according to the use of the mineral in the mine.
• Mineral Analysis involves Qualitative Analysis, in which elements are identified in the sample, and Quantitative Analysis, in which the quality of elements is estimated.
• Metals account for 25% of world production of Al, Cu, Zn for the period 1900-2002.
• Chemical Elements in the Earth’s crust are abundant with Oxygen, Hydrogen, Silicon, Phosphorus, Aluminium, Manganese, Iron, Carbon, Calcium, Sulphur, Sodium, Barium, Potassium, Flourine, Magnesium, Strontium, Titanium, and Others.
• A mineral is a substance having definite chemical composition and internal atomic structure and formed by the inorganic processes of nature.
• Minerals are broadly classified into metallic and non-metallic minerals.
• Ore Minerals or Valuable Minerals are those minerals which contain an economically exploitable quantity of some metal or non-metal.
• Physical properties of minerals include color, specific gravity, transparency, luster, luminescence, hardness, tenacity, cleavage, fracture, magnetic property, electrical property, radioactive property, optical property, surface property, friction, and mineral aggregation.
• Metallurgical efficiency is measured in terms of grade and recovery.
• Unit operations in mineral processing include size reduction, size separation, concentration, dewatering, aqueous dissolution, and others.
• Allotropism is the property of some chemical elements to exist in two or more different forms in the same physical states.
• Ore characterization involves ore microscopy, size distribution, degree of liberation, mesh of grind, and other techniques.
• The mineral industry is very conscious of environmental concerns and spends large amounts of capital on remediating the environment and neutralizing toxic wastes.
• There are 10 types of minerals according to source.
• The generalized flowchart of extraction of metals includes mineral processing.
• Assay Value, High Grade Ore, Rich Ore, Medium Grade Ore, Lean Ore, and Run-of-mine Ore are different terms related to minerals.
• Secondary, Primary, Metallic, and Non-metallic Minerals are different types of minerals.
• Beneficiation is the separation of the wanted part from the aggregation of wanted and unwanted parts by physical methods.
• The objectives of mineral processing are technical and economic.
• Mineral processing is the process of processing ores or other material to yield a concentrated product.
• Mineral processing is also known as ore dressing.
• Minerals can be classified into native elements, sulphides, oxides and hydroxides, carbonates, halides, nitrates, borates, sulphates, chromates, phosphates, arsenates, vanadates, molybdates, tungstates, and silicates.
• Gangue Minerals are usually the non-metallic minerals associated with ore minerals which are worthless as a source for that metal or otherwise.
• Ore Deposits are the natural deposits of ore minerals.
• Ore is an aggregation of valuable and gangue minerals.
• Simple Ore is one from which a single metal can be extracted.
• Complex Ore is one from which two or more metals can be extracted.
• Isomorphic minerals are minerals where substitution of atoms within the crystal structure by similar atoms take place without affecting the atomic structure, i.e., different composition but same atomic structure.
• Polymorphic minerals are minerals with the same chemical composition but markedly different physical properties due to the difference in crystal structure.
• Pseudomorphism is the existence of a mineral that has the appearance of another mineral.
• Mineral processing covers all operations involved in taking an ore from its natural state to a form suitable for market.
• Mineral Processing is a branch of engineering that focuses on the process of extracting valuable minerals from Earth.
• Sampling and Particle Size Analysis are methods used in Mineral Processing to identify methods of sampling and discuss size and sieve analyses.
• Sampling in Mineral Processing is the method or operation of removing the small amount of material from the bulk, more precisely, sampling can be defined as the operation of removing a part, consistent in quantity for analysis, from a whole, which is much greater.
• Sampling in Mineral Processing can be done using various methods such as coning & quartering, which involves using a cone and a quarter to remove a small amount of material from the bulk.
• Sampling ratio in Mineral Processing is the ratio of the weight of the sample taken by the sampling system to the weight of the lot from which that sample is taken.
• Particle Size and Shape are of great importance in determining the quality of grinding and in establishing the degree of liberation of the values from the gangue at various particle sizes.
• Shape of the particles in Mineral Processing is considered because the energy consumed for reducing the size of the particles depends on size.