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BENEFICIATION OF A WOLLASTONITE MINERAL
Abstract
In the paper are reported the results of the first stage of tests performed to verify the possibility of beneficiation of a wollastonite mineral (calcium metasilicate, CaSiO3). The studied ore comes from a mineralized body located in the southern part of Sardinia (Italy), in the area named "Gutturu Is Abis". The mineralized body is composed of wollastonite associated with limestone, garnets and silica. The approach to the problem has consisted of grinding tests followed by flotation tests to separate the wollastonite from the gangue minerals, mainly calcite. The effectiveness of the various steps of testing was verified by comparing the results obtained with the specifications required by the wollastonite market, which impose minimum quantities of contaminants, such as iron, titanium and magnesium, while being less severe regarding SiO2 and CaO contents. In consideration of the rather high content of calcite present in the feed material and of its better floatability compared to wollastonite, we first proceeded to its direct flotation, using as collector an industrial olein in aqueous emulsion. Sodium silicate in aqueous solution was used as a depressant. The best flotation results were obtained at basic pH values. A Denver laboratory flotation cell was utilized to perform the tests. Starting from an alimentation with a wollastonite content of 73.65%, the flotation process employed resulted in a product with 81.31% wollastonite.
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References5
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IARC Monographs, Volume 68, Wollastonite, Lyon, France, 1997, pp. 283-305.
La wollastonite: une substance minerale recherchee (gouv.qc.ca) at URL https://gq.mines.gouv.qc.ca/documents/examine/MB8812/MB8812.pdf. Accessed May 2022.
Bauer, R.R., Copeland, J.R., and Santini, K., (1994), Wollastonite, in Carr, D.D., Ed. Industrial Minerals and Rocks, 6th Edition: Littleton, Colo., Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc., pp. 1119�1128.
Kenneth C. Curry U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2020, pp. 184-185 at URL https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2020/mcs2020.pdf. Accessed May 2022.
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