Beneficiation of Low grade ores with particular reference to Ores of Western India

Abstract

Beneficiation of low grade ores plays an important role in the conservation of the mineral wealth of a country. Reserves of high grade ores being limited, no country can afford the luxury of mining indefinitely only its high grade ores require concentration, to be marketable grade by suitable ore dressing methods before they can be put to use. The rapid progress made in the past few decades in the techniques of mineral dressing is the direct outcome of industrial research and development in various branches of science. The studies has been carried out in National Metallurgical Laboratory during the past 12 years on 150 different low grade ore samples from all over the country have shown that it is possible to beneficiate practically all of them to the grades required by the various industries. With the limited pilot plant facilities available till now, some of the ores have been treated on a pilot plant scale to confirm the economic feasibility of the process developed. A new Pilot Plant of the Custom mill design is now under construction at Jamshedpur completely designed by the staff, and it is capable of treating 25-30 Tons of ore per day. It can beneficiate any type of ore by any desired flow-sheet and it is expected to start working by the end of 1962.For proper conservation of the mineral wealth of the country, beneficiation of low-grade ores is a necessity. With the increasing tempo of industrialisation and larger demand for ores and minerals, it is hoped that the mineral industries will take advantages of the testing and pilot plant facilities available in the country and start beneficiating their low grade ores not only for their own benefit but for the benefit of the country as well.