Beneficiation of low-grade Graphite from Kashmir

An amorphous graphite sample received from the Director of Geology & Mining, Srinagar, and Kashmir assayed 14.68% C, 80.3% Ash, 4.16% volatile matter and 0.86% moisture. Shale constituted the major gangue in the sample followed by quartz, feldspar, kaolinite, calcite and muscovite. The gangue was found to be intimately associated with the gangue minerals even at -200 mesh and therefore, high grade of graphite concentrate could not be produced by flotation methods. A concentrate obtained even after three reflotation assayed only 35.9% C, 59.4% Ash, 4.2% V.M. and 0.55% moisture indicating that it was not possible to produce a good grade of concentrate from the sample.