No abstract

No abstract

Primary concentrations of Azara barite deposit in Nassarawa state, Nigeria were conducted; employing simplified gravity concentration techniques. Particle size distribution, specific gravity, physicochemical and morphological analyses of the sample was conducted. These analyses were done in order to establish process efficacy and effectiveness of gravity concentration processes for recovery of barium from the ore deposit, as well as its suitability in various industrial applications, such as the oil and gas sectors. Thus, microstructural, chemical composition and certain physicochemical characteristics/properties of the mineral sample of Azara-Nassarawa barite were determined. XRD, XRF, SEM and EDS analyses were utilized in determining morphology as well as quantitative and qualitative chemical analyses of the sample. Barite sample with average particle size of -355+150µm was subjected to concentration, adopting jigging and tabling gravity separation as the concentration methods. Hitherto, based on quantitative and qualitative chemical analyses conducted, the sample was composed of about 36.2% BaO and 40.5% Ba, respectively; and also possessed an average specific gravity (SG) of about 3.85. Further, the qualitative analysis of the mineral products of jiggling and tabling indicated that jigging had a concentrate recovery of 130.98% Ba with SG increase of 11.2% while tabling had 89.81% Ba recovery with 8.6% SG increase. Assay and SG results confirm gravity concentration efficiency and thus, establish the barite from Azara-Nassarawa ore deposits suitable for certain industrial applications. This will serve as a tool and a step further towards mitigating existing problems or challenges in mineral concentration and processing of such deposits for industrial purposes.

The pyrometallurgical methods of the recovery of various critical metals have been established. Certain pyrometallurgical approaches for niobium (Nb) and tantalum (Ta) extraction have been studied and investigated by several researchers. For instance, the conventional reduction of Nb mineral or Nb2O5 to Nb metal has been conducted over the decades. Albeit, the success level of this process, it however involves the consumption of lots of energy, high cost of equipment/equipment maintenance, somewhat low Nb and Ta recovery and limited effectiveness on low grade minerals; and thus, considered cost intensive and inefficient. In addition, the inadequacies of pyrometallurgical extraction of these metals from their complex, low grade mineral ores due to its difficulty and large energy requirement in melting the elemental impurities and gangue minerals have been a major concern. On this premise therefore, the study will provide insights into recent pyrometallurgical techniques of Nb and Ta extraction as well as associated factors and challenges.

No abstract