Magnetic separation in beneficiation

Magnetic separation is a widely used mineral processing method for sorting magnetic minerals. It relies on the difference in magnetic properties between the ore minerals and non-magnetic gangue or impurities. The magnetic separation process involves the use of magnetic separation equipment, such as magnetic separators, magnetic drum separators, magnetic pulleys, and eddy current separators.

The basic principle of magnetic separation is that when a magnetic field is applied to a mixture of magnetic and non-magnetic minerals, the magnetic minerals will be attracted to the magnetic field and separated from the non-magnetic minerals. The magnetic separation process can be divided into dry magnetic separation and wet magnetic separation, depending on whether water is added to the suspension.

Dry magnetic separation is suitable for the separation of fine-grained and weakly magnetic minerals, while wet magnetic separation is suitable for the separation of strong magnetic minerals and can also effectively remove impurities.

Magnetic separation is widely used in the beneficiation of magnetite, hematite, limonite, siderite, ilmenite, wolframite, and manganese ore, as well as in the purification of quartz, feldspar, and kaolin. It is also used in the recovery of ferromagnetic materials from industrial wastes such as slag, incineration ash, and coal fly ash.