Physical Separations for Rare-Earth Beneficiation of the Nechalacho Deposit
The rare-earth elements (REEs) are strategic metals which are indispensable to the development of modern defence systems, electronic applications, and green technologies. The growing economic and strategic importance of these sectors, coupled with uncertainty in the global supply, has led to the dev...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Minerals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/13/12/1521 |
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| author | Christopher Marion Justin Paris Tassos Grammatikopoulos Ronghao Li Ozan Kökkılıç Ray Langlois Neil A. Rowson Kristian E. Waters |
| author_facet | Christopher Marion Justin Paris Tassos Grammatikopoulos Ronghao Li Ozan Kökkılıç Ray Langlois Neil A. Rowson Kristian E. Waters |
| author_sort | Christopher Marion |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The rare-earth elements (REEs) are strategic metals which are indispensable to the development of modern defence systems, electronic applications, and green technologies. The growing economic and strategic importance of these sectors, coupled with uncertainty in the global supply, has led to the development of many new deposits around the world. Many of these deposits, such as the Nechalacho deposit, are complex and contain multiple rare-earth element-bearing minerals (REMs) for which there is limited processing knowledge. This study explores a physical-separations-based flowsheet to beneficiate the Nechalacho deposit, which employs a spiral concentrator to preconcentrate the ore at a relatively coarse particle size (d<sub>80</sub> = 120 μm), before further size reduction (d<sub>100</sub> = 53 μm) and separation using a Mozley laboratory shaking table and two stages (low- and high-intensity) of magnetic separation. QEMSCAN was used to understand the effectiveness of each stage of separation and provide recommendations to improve the process. Although optimisation would be required, the results demonstrate that the physical-separations-based flowsheet could be an effective method of beneficiation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:31:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d1e336535e5943a8902f5f34a484d3cc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-163X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:31:19Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Minerals |
| spelling | doaj.art-d1e336535e5943a8902f5f34a484d3cc2023-12-22T14:26:39ZengMDPI AGMinerals2075-163X2023-12-011312152110.3390/min13121521Physical Separations for Rare-Earth Beneficiation of the Nechalacho DepositChristopher Marion0Justin Paris1Tassos Grammatikopoulos2Ronghao Li3Ozan Kökkılıç4Ray Langlois5Neil A. Rowson6Kristian E. Waters7Department of Mining and Materials Engineering, McGill University, 3610 University Street, Montreal, QC H3A 0C5, CanadaDepartment of Mining and Materials Engineering, McGill University, 3610 University Street, Montreal, QC H3A 0C5, CanadaSGS Canada Inc., 185 Concession Street, Lakefield, ON K0L 2H0, CanadaDepartment of Mining and Materials Engineering, McGill University, 3610 University Street, Montreal, QC H3A 0C5, CanadaDepartment of Mining and Materials Engineering, McGill University, 3610 University Street, Montreal, QC H3A 0C5, CanadaDepartment of Mining and Materials Engineering, McGill University, 3610 University Street, Montreal, QC H3A 0C5, CanadaSchool of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UKDepartment of Mining and Materials Engineering, McGill University, 3610 University Street, Montreal, QC H3A 0C5, CanadaThe rare-earth elements (REEs) are strategic metals which are indispensable to the development of modern defence systems, electronic applications, and green technologies. The growing economic and strategic importance of these sectors, coupled with uncertainty in the global supply, has led to the development of many new deposits around the world. Many of these deposits, such as the Nechalacho deposit, are complex and contain multiple rare-earth element-bearing minerals (REMs) for which there is limited processing knowledge. This study explores a physical-separations-based flowsheet to beneficiate the Nechalacho deposit, which employs a spiral concentrator to preconcentrate the ore at a relatively coarse particle size (d<sub>80</sub> = 120 μm), before further size reduction (d<sub>100</sub> = 53 μm) and separation using a Mozley laboratory shaking table and two stages (low- and high-intensity) of magnetic separation. QEMSCAN was used to understand the effectiveness of each stage of separation and provide recommendations to improve the process. Although optimisation would be required, the results demonstrate that the physical-separations-based flowsheet could be an effective method of beneficiation.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/13/12/1521rare-earth elementsgravity separationmagnetic separationQEMSCAN |
| spellingShingle | Christopher Marion Justin Paris Tassos Grammatikopoulos Ronghao Li Ozan Kökkılıç Ray Langlois Neil A. Rowson Kristian E. Waters Physical Separations for Rare-Earth Beneficiation of the Nechalacho Deposit Minerals rare-earth elements gravity separation magnetic separation QEMSCAN |
| title | Physical Separations for Rare-Earth Beneficiation of the Nechalacho Deposit |
| title_full | Physical Separations for Rare-Earth Beneficiation of the Nechalacho Deposit |
| title_fullStr | Physical Separations for Rare-Earth Beneficiation of the Nechalacho Deposit |
| title_full_unstemmed | Physical Separations for Rare-Earth Beneficiation of the Nechalacho Deposit |
| title_short | Physical Separations for Rare-Earth Beneficiation of the Nechalacho Deposit |
| title_sort | physical separations for rare earth beneficiation of the nechalacho deposit |
| topic | rare-earth elements gravity separation magnetic separation QEMSCAN |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/13/12/1521 |
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