Feldspar Processing Plant

Feldspar is an aluminosilicate mineral containing calcium, sodium, and potassium. It exists in various types, such as orthoclase (potassium feldspar), albite, anorthite, and micro plagioclase. It mainly contains iron minerals, with impurities including clay, quartz, mica, garnet, beryl, etc. Feldspar processing plants typically use magnetic separation, gravity separation, flotation, and combined processes.

Feldspar Benefication Process

Iron minerals can affect the color of feldspar concentrate and reduce its quality. Therefore, iron removal from feldspar is a key beneficiation step. The methods of feldspar ore beneficiation vary according to ore characteristics and requirements:

1. For weakly magnetic minerals like iron oxide, mica, and garnet in potassium feldspar ore, a strong magnetic separation process should be adopted.

2. When iron-containing impurities in potassium feldspar are pyrite, mica, iron-containing alkali metal silicate minerals (such as garnet and tourmaline), or when the potassium feldspar contains non-magnetic impurities, flotation is often used for purification.

3. Potassium feldspar with fine-grained or iron-stained impurities that are difficult to separate should be processed using combined processes such as flotation-magnetic separation, scrubbing-magnetic separation-flotation, etc.

Feldspar Ore Process

• High-quality feldspar from pegmatite: hand selection – crushing – wet grinding – classifying.

• Feldspar in weathered granite: washing – crushing – grinding – classification – flotation (to remove iron and mica or separate feldspar and quartz).

• Feldspar in fine crystal rock: crushing – grinding – screening – magnetic separation.

• Feldspathic placer: washing mud – screening or flotation to separate quartz.

Feldspar Processing Plant

1. Feldspar Flotation + Magnetic Separation Process

Raw feldspar ore information: Contains iron, calcium, mica, and other impurities. Thus, the feldspar ore dressing process includes magnetic separation, flotation, or gravity separation to remove iron, mica, and other impurities, obtaining high-grade feldspar.

1. Crushing section: A closed crushing circuit is formed using a coarse jaw crusher, fine jaw crusher, and vibrating screen, reducing 200mm rock ore to 20mm.

2. Grinding section: A closed grinding circuit is formed using a ball mill and spiral classifier, achieving over 90% of the discharge with a size of 200 mesh (0.074mm).

3. Magnetic separation: A low-intensity plate magnetic separator can remove magnetite (Fe₃O₄), while high-intensity magnetic separation can remove hematite, limonite, and ilmenite (Fe₂O₃).

4. Flotation separation: A flotation machine is used to further remove impurities from the feldspar ore, obtaining high-grade feldspar concentrate.

5. Concentrate dewatering process: A slurry pump sends the concentrate to a thickener. The overflow of the thickener goes to a clear water pond, and the underflow goes to a disc filter machine for dehydration. After dehydration by the disc filter, the moisture content is less than 10%.

6. Tailing dry discharging process: All tailings are first pumped to a cone thickener to adjust to a suitable concentration. The overflow of the cone thickener goes to a recycled clear water pond, and the underflow goes to a plate filter press for dehydration. Finally, the tailing moisture content is less than 10%, which is the dry stacking tailings process.

2. Feldspar Grinding + Magnetic Separation Plant

Details of equipment and process for the feldspar separation plant:

Equipment: Jaw crusher, Ball mill, Spiral classifier, High-intensity magnetic separator, Trommel scrubber

1. Crushing stage: The raw ore is roughly crushed by a jaw crusher, then sent to a fine jaw crusher via a belt conveyor for secondary crushing, ensuring the particle size of the material entering the grinding section is qualified.

2. Grinding stage: The crushed material enters a powder silo, then is sent to a ball mill and classifier to form closed-circuit grinding. Coarse particles are returned to the ball mill for secondary grinding.

3. Magnetic separation: The material enters a high-intensity magnetic separator for separation. The trommel scrubber then washes the soil to obtain qualified feldspar powder, which is transported to the finished product warehouse via a belt conveyor.