Evaluation of mining and mineral processing methods’ impact on tantalite concentrate in Kenticha open pit mine, southern Ethiopia

Abstract

Tantalite mineralization is located at Kenticha, southern Ethiopia and hosted by granitic pegmatite. The pegmatite has intruded the low-grade Neoproterozoic basement that forms part of the southern end of Arabian Nubian Shield. Ethiopian Mineral Development ShareCompany is conducting open pit mining and producing about 150 tons of tantalite concentrate annually. About 500 kg concentrate with ∼50% tantalite is produced a day from 1200 tons of feed using different mineral processing techniques. Impact of dilution and ore loss on the recovery of concentrate was studied by collecting five samples, 30 kg each from the mine site and tailings. The results suggest that the effect of dilution is about 5% and ore loss in tailings is 13%. Impact of ore loss is significant compared to dilution. Ore loss can be improved by (i) adjusting the shaking tables, (ii) adjusting ore-water ratio irrespective of grain size; and (iii) dry magnetic separation.

Optimum Open Pit Design for Kenticha Tantalite Mine, Southern Ethiopia

“…From the mining point of view, it is necessary to review the existing designs and visualize an open pit mine taking into account all localities. The expected optimal open pit mine design should also have properly developed haul roads (ramp) that suit the future downward advancement to exploit the primary ore (EMDSC, 2010).The average ore loss due to improper mining practices, and beneficiation is estimated to be around 5-10% (USGS, 2014; Weldegebrial et al, 2020). Thus, an effort was made to develop an optimum mine design to meet the future needs and minimize the ore losses.…”