Characterization and gravity concentration studies on spodumene bearing pegmatites of India

ABSTRACT

The exclusive properties of lithium make it indispensable for its diversified applications, resulting in a steep increase in the present-day demand. In the present investigation, characterization and laboratory beneficiation studies were carried out on the spodumene-bearing lithium pegmatites of India. The major minerals associated with the sample are spodumene, quartz, albite, orthoclase, and muscovite. The chemical analysis results of the collected samples show a variation of Li₂O content between 0.02 to 1.85%. The gravity concentration studies were carried out on the feed material with a Li₂O content of 1.10%. Gravity concentration studies following heavy liquid separation (HLS), mineral jig, shaking table, and Falcon concentrator were used to enrich the spodumene content. The sink and float analysis on feed material showed that the spodumene mineral is fairly liberated. A better separation of spodumene from the associated silicate gangue was achieved in HLS and mineral jig. Even though fine particles liberated well, separation in the shaking table and Falcon concentrators were inferior due to lower concentration criteria (CC-1.33). Further, the separation efficiency (SE) has been computed for all gravity concentrators. HLS has higher SE than the mineral jig, shaking table, and Falcon concentrator for separating spodumene from the silicate gangue.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Lithium
• spodumene
• separation efficiency
• Heavy liquid separation
• gravity concentration

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Director, CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, Bhubaneswar, India, to publish this work.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.