Beneficiation of Coarse Grained Fluorspar Sample from Ambadongar, Baroda

Abstract

A low grade veinous type fluorspar from Ambadongar, Baroda Dt., Gujarat, received from Geological Survey of India for beneficiation studies assayed 70.0% CaF2, 24% SiO2, 1.5% CaCO3, 0.40% Al2O3, 0.20% S and 2.10% Fe2O3. The main gangue in the sample was quartz with minor amounts of feldspar, Barites and Calcite. Biotite and Chlorite were also present in traces. As an appreciable quantity of fluorspar was present as coarse grains free from gangue, gravity methods were first tried for the production of coarse size concentrate, after which flotation was employed for further recovery of fluorspar. Thus the three following methods viz., (i) Heavy media separation and flotation (ii) Jigging and flotation (iii)Direct flotation were investigated for the production of both acid and metallurgical grade fluorspar concentrate . A total fluorspar recovery ranging from 86.3% to 93.7 % depending on the method employed could be obtained.