Research Status of Spodumene Flotation: A Review

Xie, Ruiqi; Zhu, Yimin; Liu, Jie; Li, Yanjun; Wang, Xun; Zhang, Shumin

doi:10.1080/08827508.2020.1776278

Cited by 39 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 77 publications

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“…At S.G. 2.90, global lithium recovery to the sink product was 56.2% in 11.9% of the global mass (i.e., considers that 23.5% of the mass reported to the −840 µm fraction and was not subject to heavy liquid testing). While these results are positive in terms of concentrate grade, the lithium recovery was low compared to typical expected values for hard-rock processing by other separation techniques, such as flotation [27]. During HLS testing, the S.G. cut point that produces a high-grade, high-recovery sink product is a good indicator of the degree of spodumene liberation; i.e., the lower the S.G. cut point at which a high-grade, high-recovery concentrate can be produced, the better the spodumene liberation.…”

Section: Heavy Liquid Separationmentioning

confidence: 62%

“…While numerous studies have been conducted on aspects of spodumene flotation systems [23][24][25][26][27][28], there are limited studies detailing spodumene concentration by DMS. DMS is a process that separates materials of different densities using a media with a known specific gravity (S.G.), greater than that of water (hence the name "heavy" or "dense" media), to produce a float and sink product; the process is effective for a feed size ranging from 500 to 850 µm [13,29].…”

Section: The Beneficiation Of Hard-rock Deposits Using Dense Media Se...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Recovery and Concentration of Spodumene Using Dense Media Separation

Gibson

Aghamirian²,

Grammatikopoulos³

et al. 2021

Minerals

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In coming years, global lithium production is expected to increase as the result of widespread electric vehicle adoption. To meet the expected increase in demand, lithium must be sourced from both brine and hard-rock deposits. Heavy liquid separation (HLS) and dense media separation (DMS) tests were conducted on the pegmatites from Hidden Lake, NWT, Canada to demonstrate the potential role of this technology in the concentration of spodumene (LiAlSi2O6) from hard-rock sources. A continuously operated DMS circuit test, conducted on +840 µm material, produced a concentrate grading 6.11% Li2O with ~50% lithium recovery. The circuit rejected 50% of the original mass to tailings, with only 8% lithium losses. Sensitivity analysis showed that minor changes (+/−0.05) in the DMS-specific gravity cut point resulted in significant changes to the mass rejected and to the concentrate grade produced; this may limit the feasibility and operability of the downstream grinding and flotation circuits. The results demonstrate the potential for DMS in the concentration of spodumene from the Hidden Lake pegmatites, and by extension, the potential for DMS in the concentration of spodumene from other hard-rock occurrences.

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Section: Heavy Liquid Separationmentioning

confidence: 62%

Section: The Beneficiation Of Hard-rock Deposits Using Dense Media Se...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Recovery and Concentration of Spodumene Using Dense Media Separation

Gibson

Aghamirian²,

Grammatikopoulos³

et al. 2021

Minerals

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“…The key to the success of the flotation technology of the pegmatite lithium ore lies in (1) slime treatment before flotation to prevent the slimes from being adsorbed on the surface of the target minerals; (2) a significant difference in the surface properties between the target minerals and the gangue minerals; and (3) the use of selective collectors, activators and depressants [9]. The following is a detailed explanation [53].…”

Section: Flotation Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review on the Beneficiation of Li, Be, Ta, Nb-Bearing Polymetallic Pegmatite Ores in China

Liu

Han

et al. 2023

Minerals

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Lithium-bearing polymetallic pegmatite ores are an important raw material for lithium extraction. They contain not only lithium but also other associated elements such as beryllium, tantalum, and niobium, with great recovery values. It is therefore often called lithium-bearing polymetallic pegmatite ore (LPPO). The recovery and utilization of Be-bearing minerals in LPPOs have yet to be further studied. This paper briefly expounds the geological aspects of LPPO deposits in China and Chinese experiences on the beneficiation of LPPOs, with special emphasis on the flotation separation of lithium-beryllium minerals. In LPPO, spodumene is the main target mineral for lithium, while beryl is the main Be-bearing mineral in a fine-grained embedded state. If the BeO grade of LPPO is greater than the industrial grade (BeO ≥ 0.04%), it will be processed for recovery. Tantalum and niobium minerals are mainly in the form of tantalite, columbite, or ferrotapiolite, which may be recovered by gravity separation or magnetic separation. Gangue minerals are mainly composed of albite and quartz. Currently, the most commonly used methods for separating the target minerals from gangue are dense medium separation and flotation. The manual sorting method has become obsolete and is expected to be replaced by machine sorting methods such as color sorters and X-ray transmission sorters. Flotation is the main method for the separation of fine-grained beryl and spodumene. The success of flotation depends on the selection of suitable pretreatment methods and appropriate flotation reagents for altering the surface properties of spodumene and beryl and for expanding the floatability differences between spodumene and beryl and between spodumene and gangue.

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“…[6][7] The spodumene in nature is usually α-spodumene and is associated with quartz and feldspar. [8] Extracting lithium directly from α-spodumene is very complicated due to the high stability of α-spodumene. So, it always needs to be transformed into β-spodumene before lithium extraction, which consumes a lot of energy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Spodumene is the most common and widely studied lithium ore with a theoretical Li 2 O content of 8.01 wt % [6–7] . The spodumene in nature is usually α ‐spodumene and is associated with quartz and feldspar [8] . Extracting lithium directly from α ‐spodumene is very complicated due to the high stability of α ‐spodumene.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extraction of Lithium and Synthesis of Kaolinite from α‐Spodumene via Alkali Calcination

Xiong,

Hu,

Liu

et al. 2024

ChemistrySelect

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Extracting lithium from spodumene by sulfuric acid roasting is the largest commercialized way at present, which not only consumes a large amount of energy but also produces massive waste residue that will cause environmental problems. In this work, a new process for extracting lithium by directly decomposing α‐spodumene through alkali calcination is designed. The reaction of α‐spodumene with Na2CO3 at 750 °C for 2 h can decompose it and form nepheline and lithium silicate/sodium silicate. The nepheline and soluble lithium silicate/sodium silicate are separated by water leaching, and 93.9 % of lithium can be leached under optimal conditions. In addition, the synthesis of nano‐kaolinite is investigated with nitric acid solutions. Conversions of 98.7 % were obtained with 0.4 M nitric acid at 250 °C and an L/S ratio of 17.5 L/kg. The water leachate can precipitate Li2CO3 with a purity of 99.0 % by CO2 after desilicated by CaO. The final yields of Li2CO3 and kaolinite relative to the Li and Si content of the starting minerals are 91.4 % and 48.5 %, respectively. This new method achieves the full utilization of spodumene with lower energy consumption and demonstrates great potential for industrial applications.

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Research Status of Spodumene Flotation: A Review

Cited by 39 publications

References 77 publications

The Recovery and Concentration of Spodumene Using Dense Media Separation

The Recovery and Concentration of Spodumene Using Dense Media Separation

Review on the Beneficiation of Li, Be, Ta, Nb-Bearing Polymetallic Pegmatite Ores in China

Extraction of Lithium and Synthesis of Kaolinite from α‐Spodumene via Alkali Calcination

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