Comparative studies of amenability to processing of Graphite from different sources

Abstract

The beneficiation aspects of Graphite samples from two different geographical regions viz. Bishrampur, Gaura, Murma mines belonging to Palamau district of Jharkhand state and Phulbani mines in Sambalpur district of Orissa were studied. Graphite from Palamau district are found to be flaky and of low grade with assay ranging between 9.3-13.0% fixed carbon but that of Orissa are of high grade, with 48.2% fixed carbon. The mineralogical study reveals that texture of Palamau district graphite is different from that of the Phulbani mines. Silica is the main impurity in Bishrampur, Gaura, Murma mines besides iron oxide and little of mica, whereas the Phulbani mines contains high mica and siliceous gangue. A flowsheet was developed to these graphite deposits.