Quantitative mineralogical characterization of chrome ore beneficiation plant tailing and its beneficiated products

Mineralogical characterization and liberation of valuable minerals are primary concerns in mineral processing industries. The present investigation focuses on quantitative mineralogy, elemental deportment, and locking-liberation characteristics of the beneficiation of tailings from a chrome ore beneficiation plant in the Sukinda region, Odisha; methods used for the study of the beneficiated tailings are QEMSCAN®, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and mineral chemistry by a scanning electron microscope equipped with an energy-dispersive spectrometer (SEM-EDS). The tailing sample was fine grained (69.48wt% below 45 μm size), containing 20.25wt% Cr₂O₃ and 39.19wt% Fe₂O₃, with a Cr:Fe mass ratio of 0.51. Mineralogical investigations using QEMSCAN studies revealed that chromite, goethite, and gibbsite are the dominant mineral phases with minor amounts of hematite, kaolinite, and quartz. The sample contained 34.22wt% chromite, and chromite liberation is more than 80% for grains smaller than 250 μm in size. Based on these results, it was predicted that liberated chromite and high-grade middling chromite particles could be separated from the gangue by various concentration techniques. The tailing sample was beneficiated by hydrocyclone, tabling, wet high-intensity magnetic separation (WHIMS), and flotation in order to recover the chromite. A chromite concentrate with 45.29wt% Cr₂O₃ and a Cr:Fe mass ratio of 1.85 can be produced from these low-grade chromite ore beneficiation plant rejects.