The Complications Involved in Processing Graphite Ore from Tapaskonda area, East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh

Abstract

Graphite is one of the most versatile non-metallic minerals because of its diverse properties. To make the graphite suitable to any group of industry need special type of treatment or processing of the ore. Efforts are made to study the feasibility of economic processing to get a commercial grade of graphite to suit the specific industrial uses and at the same time recovering the tungsten values from the identified sources are in progress . The various complications and implications are discussed. Burugubanda graphite deposit (SW) zone does not pose any difficulty, but Tapaskonda graphite (NE) zone posses complications during grinding to coarse medium and fine sizes and recovery of tungsten values at various stages by suitable processes like jigging , tabling, hydrocyclones. The gravity recovery is maximum in fine sizes -200 mesh giving a grade more than 90% F C and 88-90% of recovery. During comminution process and size sepe-ration the complications are explained . After crossing all the complications we could achieve a final grade of graphite assaying 90 % F C. with 85% of recovery. After obtaining preconcentrates of WO3 we could finally achieve the 60% WO3 marketable grade is 65% WO,. Further studies are in progress to have a detailed mineralogical, parti- culate and geochemical studies of tungsten and graphite and other associated minerals so that we can suggest a suitable method to have a better grade of tungsten conce- ntrate considering the large promising potentialities of the are in Andhra Pradesh.