Mineralogy - Its Application in Mineral Benficiation

Abstract

Minerals are the starting units to which the art and science of Mineral Beneficiation are applied and there-fore, a basic study of mineralogy is an essential pre-requisite to fully comprehend the different processes involved in mineral beneficiation. As defined by Dana1 " A Mineral is a body produced by the processes of inorgan nature, having usually a definite chemical composition and if found under favourable conditions, a certain characteristic atomic structure which is expressed in its crystalline form and other physical properties". A study of mineralogy therefore encompasses (1) Crystallography, (2) Physical Mineralogy, (3) Chemical Mineralogy, (4) Occurence of Minerals and (5) Descriptive Mineralogy. Optical Mineralogy, texture and liberation as well as the physical characters are important in mineral beneficiat-ion.