What Is Coltan And How Is It Beneficiated?

1. Washing: When dealing with fine ore or ore with high primary mud content, washing is essential to reduce the mudification of tantalum-niobium minerals.

2. Crushing: The mined ore is initially crushed to break large aggregates into easy-to-handle sizes. This is not only convenient for transportation but also reduces the material to a smaller particle size for further processing. Crushing also increases the surface area of ​​the ore, making its interaction in the beneficiation process more effective. Special equipment such as jaw crushers or cone crushers is usually used to ensure finer particle sizes without excessive wear on the machine.

3. Grinding & Classification: Further reduce the ore’s particle size to prepare for the feed particle size of the next gravity separation equipment.

4. Gravity separation: Due to the low grade of tantalum-niobium and the relatively high density of useful minerals, a relatively low-cost gravity separation method is most suitable for rough separation.

5. Magnetic separation: A three-disc magnetic separator is often used. It can separate three minerals at once and boasts a high concentrate recovery rate, ensuring the audience of the process’s efficiency.