A method for efficiently enriching lithium from spodumene ore

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of spodumene ore dressing, and provides a method for efficiently enriching lithium from spodumene ore, including: crushing the spodumene ore and performing a first particle size classification to obtain a first coarse-grained mineral and a first fine-grained mineral; performing a first stage of heavy medium sorting on the first coarse-grained mineral to obtain a heavy medium sorted spodumene concentrate and a first heavy medium sorted tailings; performing a second stage of heavy medium sorting on the first heavy medium sorted tailings to obtain a heavy medium sorted spodumene middlings; grinding the heavy medium sorted spodumene middlings and merging them with the first fine-grained mineral, performing a second particle size classification to obtain a second coarse-grained mineral and a second fine-grained mineral; performing spiral chute sorting and shaking table sorting on the second coarse-grained mineral and the second fine-grained mineral, respectively, to obtain a spiral chute sorted spodumene concentrate and a shaking table sorted spodumene concentrate. The present invention discloses a method for dressing that efficiently obtains spodumene concentrate using a full gravity separation process, wherein the grade and recovery rate of Li2O are high.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of spodumene ore dressing, for example, to a method for efficiently enriching lithium from spodumene ore. Background Art

[0002] Lithium (Li) is the lightest metal in nature and is widely used in many fields such as metallurgy, batteries, aviation and aerospace. It has become an important material for long-term energy supply to mankind. Lithium is known as "energy metal" and "metal that drives the world forward" and enjoys the reputation of "industrial MSG". At present, with the rapid development of low-carbon industries and new energy industries, the demand for lithium in various industries around the world is increasing, and the enrichment and purification of lithium in lithium-containing minerals has also received widespread attention in the industry. Research on the efficient recovery of lithium resources in spodumene mines, reducing the grade of lithium in tailings, and improving the utilization rate of lithium resources are important research directions for the enrichment and purification of spodumene mines.

[0003] At present, in the beneficiation process of spodumene ore, the enrichment and purification of lithium is mainly based on flotation process research, supplemented by gravity separation process research. For the existing flotation process of spodumene ore, there are mainly the following technical problems: ① For collectors: amine collectors have poor selectivity; fatty acid and soap collectors are sensitive to temperature and are used in large quantities, so the cost of reagents is high; new high-efficiency collectors are mostly in the experimental stage, and the application process of industrialization and industrialization is slow; ② For adjusters: the commonly used adjusters are mainly "three alkalis, two soaps and one oil", among which "three alkalis" are sodium carbonate, sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide, "two soaps" are oxidized paraffin soap and cyclohexane acid soap, and "one oil" is diesel. The selectivity of this type of adjuster is poor; ③ The cost of return water treatment is high: because ions and flotation reagents will be enriched and accumulated in the flotation system, returning the flotation return water directly to the beneficiation process will lead to a decrease in beneficiation indicators, so the flotation return water needs to be treated before it can be used again.

[0004] The global lithium resources are of various mineralization types, mainly salt lake brine type, pegmatite type and sedimentary rock type. With the continuous exploration, the identified lithium resources have increased significantly worldwide. According to the USGS2022 report, the total global lithium resource reserves are about 89 million tons; among them, China's lithium resource reserves are about 5.1 million tons, accounting for 5.73% of the world. 6.1% of the world's lithium mines are distributed in plateau areas, mainly in granite pegmatites, mainly spodumene and lithium mica. China's spodumene mines are mainly concentrated in Sichuan, accounting for 79.37% of the country's hard rock lithium mines, mainly methylka lithium mines and kerin lithium mines, located in high-altitude and high-cold ecological fragile areas; however, when developing spodumene mines in this area, affected by high-altitude airflow, the temperature difference between day and night in the mining area is large, which makes the activity difference of conventional flotation reagents large, and the difficulty of stable production is high; on this basis, the ecologically fragile areas located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River or the Yellow River have higher requirements for green mine development.

[0005] In order to overcome some problems existing in the flotation process of spodumene ore, Chinese patent application CN115999762A discloses a combined re-floatation beneficiation method for low-grade spodumene ore, wherein the raw ore is crushed-screened, wet screened, heavy medium separated, flotated, etc., and the grade of Li2O in the obtained comprehensive concentrate is 5.57%, and the recovery rate of Li2O is 84.46%. However, the grade of Li2O in the tailings obtained by the beneficiation method of the above patent application is relatively high, that is, the lithium resources in the tailings still have a relatively high comprehensive recycling value; and the flotation operation makes the treatment cost of the return water still relatively high.

[0006] In summary, there is an urgent need for a green and efficient spodumene beneficiation method, which is not only suitable for spodumene mines located in ecologically fragile areas at high altitudes and altitudes and mining areas lacking water resources, but also can recycle lithium resources to the greatest extent, so as to achieve the effect of improving the comprehensive utilization rate of resources and energy conservation and emission reduction. Summary of the invention

[0007] The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art in the beneficiation of spodumene ore, such as unsatisfactory lithium resource recovery efficiency, large amount of flotation reagents used, and high beneficiation cost, and to provide a beneficiation method for efficiently enriching lithium from spodumene ore, so as to at least achieve spodumene ore suitable for ecologically fragile areas located in high-cold and high-altitude areas and mining areas lacking water resources, which can not only efficiently enrich lithium resources, but also reduce energy consumption and beneficiation costs, and has an environmentally friendly effect.

[0008] The purpose of this disclosure is achieved through the following technical solutions:

[0009] On the one hand, a beneficiation method for efficiently enriching lithium from spodumene ore is provided. The beneficiation method comprises: crushing spodumene ore to obtain crushed minerals; performing a first particle size classification on the crushed minerals to obtain a first coarse-grained mineral and a first fine-grained mineral; performing a first stage of heavy medium separation on the first coarse-grained mineral to obtain a heavy medium separation spodumene concentrate and a first heavy medium separation tailing; performing a second stage of heavy medium separation on the first heavy medium separation tailing to obtain a heavy medium separation spodumene middling and a second heavy medium separation tailing; grinding the heavy medium separation spodumene middling to obtain a grinding product; combining the grinding product with the first fine-grained mineral, A second particle size classification is performed to obtain a second coarse-grained mineral and a second fine-grained mineral; the second coarse-grained mineral is subjected to spiral chute sorting to obtain a spiral chute sorted spodumene concentrate and a spiral chute sorted tailings; and the second fine-grained mineral is subjected to shaking table sorting to obtain a shaking table sorted spodumene concentrate and a shaking table sorted tailings; wherein the heavy medium sorted spodumene concentrate, the spiral chute sorted spodumene concentrate and the shaking table sorted spodumene concentrate are combined into a spodumene concentrate; and the second heavy medium sorted tailings, the spiral chute sorted tailings and the shaking table sorted tailings are combined into a total tailings.

[0010] In some embodiments, the spiral chute sorting of the second coarse-grained mineral to obtain spiral chute sorted spodumene concentrate and spiral chute sorting tailings includes: performing a first stage of spiral chute sorting on the second coarse-grained mineral to obtain a first spiral chute sorted spodumene concentrate, a spiral chute sorted spodumene middlings and a first spiral chute sorting tailings; and performing a second stage of spiral chute sorting on the spiral chute sorted spodumene middlings to obtain a second spiral chute sorted spodumene concentrate and a second spiral chute sorting tailings; wherein the first spiral chute sorted spodumene concentrate and the second spiral chute sorted spodumene concentrate are combined into the spiral chute sorted spodumene concentrate; the first spiral chute sorting tailings are the spiral chute sorting tailings; and the second spiral chute sorting tailings are returned to the first stage of spiral chute sorting.

[0011] In some embodiments, the second fine-grained mineral is subjected to shaking table sorting to obtain shaking table sorted spodumene concentrate and shaking table sorted tailings, including: performing a first stage of shaking table sorting on the second fine-grained mineral to obtain a first shaking table sorted spodumene concentrate, a shaking table sorted spodumene middlings, and a first shaking table sorted tailings; and performing a second stage of shaking table sorting on the shaking table sorted spodumene middlings to obtain a second shaking table sorted spodumene concentrate and a second shaking table sorted tailings. The first shaking table sorted spodumene concentrate and the second shaking table sorted spodumene concentrate are combined into the shaking table sorted spodumene concentrate; the first shaking table sorting tailings are the shaking table sorting tailings; and the second shaking table sorting tailings are returned to the first stage of shaking table sorting.

[0012] In some embodiments, the first stage of heavy medium separation is high-density heavy medium separation; wherein the heavy medium used in the high-density heavy medium separation includes at least one of ferrosilicon, magnetite, galena and pyrite, and the density of the heavy medium is 2.0-3.0 g / cm 3 .

[0013] In some embodiments, the second stage of heavy medium separation is low-density heavy medium separation; wherein the heavy medium used in the low-density heavy medium separation includes at least one of ferrosilicon, magnetite, galena and pyrite, and the density of the heavy medium is 1.5-2.0 g / cm 3 .

[0014] In some embodiments, the particle size of the crushed mineral is -10 mm; the particle size of the first fine-grained mineral is -0.5 mm.

[0015] It should be noted that the particle size of the first coarse-grained mineral can be obtained according to the particle size of the crushed mineral and the particle size of the first fine-grained mineral.

[0016] For example, when the particle size of the crushed mineral is -10 mm and the particle size of the first fine-grained mineral is -0.5 mm, the particle size of the first coarse-grained mineral is +0.5 mm to -10 mm.

[0017] For another example, when the particle size of the crushed mineral is -6 mm and the particle size of the first fine-grained mineral is -0.5 mm, the particle size of the first coarse-grained mineral is +0.5 mm to -6 mm.

[0018] For another example, when the particle size of the crushed mineral is -3 mm and the particle size of the first fine-grained mineral is -0.5 mm, the particle size of the first coarse-grained mineral is +0.5 mm to -3 mm.

[0019] In some embodiments, the particle size of the grinding product is -0.5 mm.

[0020] In some embodiments, the particle size of the second coarse-grained mineral is +0.074 to -0.5 mm; the particle size of the second fine-grained mineral is -0.074 mm.

[0021] In some embodiments, the crushing is performed using at least one of a jaw crusher, a cone crusher and a high pressure roller mill.

[0022] In some embodiments, the first stage of heavy medium separation uses a heavy medium cyclone.

[0023] In some embodiments, the second stage of heavy medium separation uses a heavy medium cyclone.

[0024] In some embodiments, the first particle size classification uses at least one of a dry vibrating screen, a circular vibrating screen, a hydrocyclone, a wet vibrating screen, and a high-frequency vibrating screen.

[0025] In some embodiments, the second particle size classification uses at least one of a dry vibrating screen, a circular vibrating screen, a hydrocyclone, a wet vibrating screen, and a high-frequency vibrating screen.

[0026] In some embodiments, the grinding is performed using a mill.

[0027] In some embodiments, the particle size of the spodumene ore is greater than 10 mm, and the grade of Li2O in the spodumene ore is ≥0.8%.

[0028] It is worth noting that the mineral processing method provided by the present disclosure can efficiently enrich lithium resources to obtain the spodumene concentrate. Not only is the grade and recovery rate of Li2O in the spodumene concentrate high, but the grade of Li2O in the total tailings is extremely low. On this basis, the mineral processing method provided by the present disclosure adopts a full gravity separation process including heavy medium separation (i.e., the first stage of heavy medium separation and the second stage of heavy medium separation), the spiral chute separation and the shaking table separation, which solves the problems of fine grinding particle size, difficulty in recycling flotation return water and high mineral processing cost in the existing mineral processing process. The principle of the mineral processing method provided by the present disclosure is as follows:

[0029] Spodumene, weakly magnetic, framework silicate, hardness 6.5-7, density 3.03-3.22g / cm 3 ; Petalite, weakly magnetic, chain silicate, hardness 6.5-7, density 2.9-3.2g / cm 3 ; Quartz, non-magnetic, framework silicate, hardness 7, density 2.65g / cm 3 ; Albite, non-magnetic, chain silicate, hardness 6-6.5, density 2.55g / cm 3 ; Saniol, non-magnetic, chain silicate, hardness 6-6.5, density 2.6-2.8g / cm 3 ; Microcline, non-magnetic, chain silicate, hardness 6-6.5, density 2.5-2.7g / cm 3 ; Muscovite, non-magnetic, layered silicate, hardness 2-2.5, density 2.8-3.0g / cm 3 ; Calcite, non-magnetic, carbonate mineral, hardness 3, density 2.7g / cm 3 .

[0030] The above-mentioned heavy medium separation utilizes the different sedimentation rates of the target mineral (i.e., spodumene) and the gangue mineral under the action of gravity to achieve the separation of ores with different particle sizes, densities and specific gravities. The basic principle is to adjust the density of the heavy medium used so that the balance between the buoyancy and gravity of the ore particles in the heavy medium changes, thereby achieving the separation of spodumene and gangue minerals; wherein, the first coarse-grained mineral is a coarse-grained ore, in which spodumene has the characteristic of high specific gravity and has greater gravity than gangue minerals of the same particle size. Therefore, in a suitable heavy medium environment, spodumene settles, while gangue minerals with lighter specific gravity float; on this basis, the above-mentioned heavy medium separation is performed on the first coarse-grained mineral, so that the coarse-grained separation of spodumene and gangue minerals can be achieved, and the heavy medium separated spodumene concentrate can be obtained.

[0031] The spiral chute sorting and the shaking table sorting are processes that achieve separation between minerals of different densities or different particle sizes by creating suitable loose spreading and separation conditions based on the different densities and particle sizes of various minerals with the help of fluid dynamics and various mechanical forces; wherein the second coarse-grained mineral is a medium-grained ore, and the spiral chute sorting is used to achieve medium-grained separation of spodumene and gangue minerals to obtain the spiral chute sorted spodumene concentrate; the second fine-grained mineral is a fine-grained ore, and the shaking table sorting is used to achieve fine-grained separation of spodumene and gangue minerals to obtain the shaking table sorted spodumene concentrate.

[0032] In summary, the mineral processing method provided by the present invention realizes efficient separation of segments and particle sizes after the crushing, so that the spodumene ore can be collected and discarded as early as possible, which can not only reduce the processing scale of the grinding to reduce energy consumption and production costs, but also realize accurate and efficient separation of the spodumene ore; in addition, the mineral processing method provided by the present invention adopts a full gravity separation process, does not require the use of flotation agents, and the mineral processing return water can be directly recycled, which is clean, efficient, economical and reasonable, and is easy to realize large-scale technical transformation and industrialization, and has very significant economic and social benefits.

[0033] The beneficial effects of the present disclosure are:

[0034] 1. The present invention discloses a method for efficiently enriching lithium from spodumene ore, which can efficiently enrich lithium resources. Not only is the grade and recovery rate of Li2O in the spodumene concentrate high, but the grade of Li2O in the total tailings is extremely low.

[0035] 2. The present invention discloses a method for efficiently enriching lithium from spodumene ore, which realizes efficient separation of segments and particle sizes after crushing, so that the spodumene ore can be collected and discarded earlier, which can not only reduce the processing scale of grinding to reduce energy consumption and production costs, but also realize accurate and efficient separation of spodumene ore.

[0036] 3. The present invention discloses a method for efficiently enriching lithium from spodumene ore, which adopts a safe and environmentally friendly full gravity separation process. It is not only suitable for spodumene mines located in ecologically fragile areas at high altitudes and cold weather and in mining areas lacking water resources, but also does not require the use of flotation agents. The mineral processing return water can be directly recycled, and has the advantages of simple mineral processing method, low mineral processing cost and environmental friendliness.

[0037] 4. The disclosed method for efficiently enriching lithium from spodumene ore is clean, efficient, economical and reasonable, easy to implement large-scale technological transformation and industrialization, and has very significant economic and social benefits. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the present disclosure, the following briefly introduces the drawings required to be used in some embodiments of the present disclosure. Obviously, the drawings described below are only drawings of some embodiments of the present disclosure. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings. In addition, the drawings described below can be regarded as schematic diagrams, and are not limitations on the actual process of the method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0039] Figure 1 A principle flow chart of a mineral processing method for efficiently enriching lithium from spodumene ore provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] The technical solutions in some embodiments of the present disclosure are described clearly and completely below. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments provided by the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field belong to the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0041] In the following, the terms "first", "second", etc. are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first", "second", etc. may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features.

[0042] When describing some embodiments, the expression "A and / or B" may be used. It is easy to understand that "A and / or B" includes the following three combinations: only A, only B, and a combination of A and B.

[0043] When describing some embodiments, the expressions "at least one of A, B and C" and "at least one of A, B or C" may be used, both of which have the same meaning and include the following combinations of A, B and C: A only, B only, C only, the combination of A and B, the combination of A and C, the combination of B and C, and the combination of A, B and C.

[0044] Example 1

[0045] A method for efficiently enriching lithium from spodumene ore, wherein the spodumene ore to be selected is from Nigerian spodumene ore, with a particle size greater than 10 mm and a Li2O grade of 1.43%. Figure 1 As shown, the mineral processing method comprises:

[0046] S1. The spodumene ore is crushed by a high pressure roller mill to obtain a crushed mineral with a particle size of -6 mm;

[0047] S2. A wet vibrating screen is used to perform a first particle size classification on the crushed mineral to obtain a first coarse particle size of +0.5 to -6 mm and a first fine particle size of -0.5 mm;

[0048] S3. Use a heavy medium cyclone to perform high-density heavy medium separation on the first coarse-grained mineral to obtain heavy medium separation spodumene concentrate and first heavy medium separation tailings; wherein, the heavy medium used in the high-density heavy medium separation is ferrosilicon, and the density of the heavy medium is 2.20g / cm 3 ;

[0049] S4. Use a heavy medium cyclone to perform low-density heavy medium separation on the first heavy medium separation tailings to obtain heavy medium separation spodumene middlings and second heavy medium separation tailings; wherein, the heavy medium used in the low-density heavy medium separation is ferrosilicon, and the density of the heavy medium is 1.73g / cm 3 ;

[0050] S5. Grinding the heavy medium sorted spodumene ore by a mill to obtain a grinding product with a particle size of -0.5 mm;

[0051] S6. The grinding product is combined with the first fine-grained mineral, and a second particle size classification is performed using a wet vibrating screen to obtain a second coarse-grained mineral with a particle size of +0.074 to -0.5 mm and a second fine-grained mineral with a particle size of -0.074 mm;

[0052] S7. The second coarse-grained mineral is subjected to the first spiral chute sorting to obtain the first spiral chute sorting spodumene concentrate, the spiral chute sorting spodumene middlings and the first spiral chute sorting tailings;

[0053] S8. The spiral chute is used to sort the spodumene ore in the second spiral chute to obtain a second spiral chute to sort the spodumene concentrate and a second spiral chute to sort the tailings; wherein the second spiral chute sorting tailings are returned to the first spiral chute sorting in S7;

[0054] S9. The second fine-grained mineral is subjected to a first stage of shaking table sorting to obtain a first shaking table sorted spodumene concentrate, a shaking table sorted spodumene middlings, and a first shaking table sorted tailings;

[0055] S10. The spodumene ore from the shaking table is subjected to a second stage of shaking table sorting to obtain a second shaking table sorted spodumene concentrate and a second shaking table sorted tailings; wherein the second shaking table sorted tailings are returned to the first stage of shaking table sorting in S9;

[0056] Among them, in S7~S8, the spodumene concentrate sorted by the first spiral chute and the spodumene concentrate sorted by the second spiral chute are combined into the spiral chute sorted spodumene concentrate; in S9~S10, the spodumene concentrate sorted by the first shaking table and the second shaking table sorted spodumene concentrate are combined into the shaking table sorted spodumene concentrate; in S1~S10, the heavy medium sorted spodumene concentrate, the spiral chute sorted spodumene concentrate and the shaking table sorted spodumene concentrate are combined into the spodumene concentrate, and the second heavy medium sorted tailings, the first spiral chute sorted tailings and the first shaking table sorted tailings are combined into the total tailings.

[0057] It should be noted that the embodiment of the present disclosure does not limit the execution order of S7-S8 and S9-S10. S7-S8 can be performed before S9-S10 or after S9-S10. This embodiment takes S7-S8 being performed before S9-S10 as an example.

[0058] The results show that in the above-mentioned beneficiation method, the yield of spodumene concentrate separated by heavy medium is 9.45%, the grade of Li2O is 5.54%, and the recovery rate of Li2O is 36.53%; the yield of spodumene concentrate separated by spiral chute is 19.90%, the grade of Li2O is 2.91%, and the recovery rate of Li2O is 40.09%; the yield of spodumene concentrate separated by shaking table is 7.99%, the grade of Li2O is 2.96%, and the recovery rate of Li2O is 16.43%; the yield of spodumene concentrate is 37.33%, the grade of Li2O is 3.57%, and the recovery rate of Li2O is 93.05%; the yield of total tailings is 62.67%, the grade of Li2O is 0.16%, and the recovery rate of Li2O is 6.95%.

[0059] Example 2

[0060] A method for efficiently enriching lithium from spodumene ore. The spodumene ore to be selected comes from spodumene ore in Aba, Sichuan, with a particle size greater than 10 mm and a Li2O grade of 1.2%. Figure 1 As shown, the mineral processing method comprises:

[0061] S1. The spodumene ore is crushed by a high pressure roller mill to obtain a crushed mineral with a particle size of -10 mm;

[0062] S2. A high-frequency vibrating screen is used to perform a first particle size classification on the crushed mineral to obtain a first coarse-grained mineral with a particle size of +0.5 to -10 mm and a first fine-grained mineral with a particle size of -0.5 mm;

[0063] S3. Use a heavy medium cyclone to perform high-density heavy medium separation on the first coarse-grained mineral to obtain heavy medium separation spodumene concentrate and first heavy medium separation tailings; wherein, the heavy medium used in the high-density heavy medium separation is ferrosilicon, and the density of the heavy medium is 2.10g / cm 3 ;

[0064] S4. Use a heavy medium cyclone to perform low-density heavy medium separation on the first heavy medium separation tailings to obtain heavy medium separation spodumene middlings and second heavy medium separation tailings; wherein, the heavy medium used in the low-density heavy medium separation is ferrosilicon, and the density of the heavy medium is 1.75g / cm 3 ;

[0065] S5. Grinding the heavy medium sorted spodumene ore by a mill to obtain a grinding product with a particle size of -0.5 mm;

[0066] S6. The grinding product is combined with the first fine-grained mineral, and a second particle size classification is performed using a high-frequency vibrating screen to obtain a second coarse-grained mineral with a particle size of +0.074 to -0.5 mm and a second fine-grained mineral with a particle size of -0.074 mm;

[0067] S7. The second coarse-grained mineral is subjected to the first spiral chute sorting to obtain the first spiral chute sorting spodumene concentrate, the spiral chute sorting spodumene middlings and the first spiral chute sorting tailings;

[0068] S8. The spiral chute is used to sort the spodumene ore in the second spiral chute to obtain a second spiral chute to sort the spodumene concentrate and a second spiral chute to sort the tailings; wherein the second spiral chute sorting tailings are returned to the first spiral chute sorting in S7;

[0069] S9. The second fine-grained mineral is subjected to a first stage of shaking table sorting to obtain a first shaking table sorted spodumene concentrate, a shaking table sorted spodumene middlings, and a first shaking table sorted tailings;

[0070] S10. The spodumene ore from the shaking table is subjected to a second stage of shaking table sorting to obtain a second shaking table sorted spodumene concentrate and a second shaking table sorted tailings; wherein the second shaking table sorted tailings are returned to the first stage of shaking table sorting in S9;

[0071] Among them, in S7~S8, the spodumene concentrate sorted by the first spiral chute and the spodumene concentrate sorted by the second spiral chute are combined into the spiral chute sorted spodumene concentrate; in S9~S10, the spodumene concentrate sorted by the first shaking table and the second shaking table sorted spodumene concentrate are combined into the shaking table sorted spodumene concentrate; in S1~S10, the heavy medium sorted spodumene concentrate, the spiral chute sorted spodumene concentrate and the shaking table sorted spodumene concentrate are combined into the spodumene concentrate, and the second heavy medium sorted tailings, the first spiral chute sorted tailings and the first shaking table sorted tailings are combined into the total tailings.

[0072] It should be noted that the embodiment of the present disclosure does not limit the execution order of S7-S8 and S9-S10. S7-S8 can be performed before S9-S10 or after S9-S10. This embodiment takes S7-S8 being performed before S9-S10 as an example.

[0073] The results show that in the above-mentioned beneficiation method, the yield of spodumene concentrate separated by heavy medium is 10.00%, the grade of Li2O is 4.38%, and the recovery rate of Li2O is 36.21%; the yield of spodumene concentrate separated by spiral chute is 19.21%, the grade of Li2O is 2.63%, and the recovery rate of Li2O is 39.70%; the yield of spodumene concentrate separated by shaking table is 6.15%, the grade of Li2O is 2.90%, and the recovery rate of Li2O is 14.70%; the yield of spodumene concentrate is 35.36%, the grade of Li2O is 3.09%, and the recovery rate of Li2O is 90.62%; the yield of total tailings is 64.64%, the grade of Li2O is 0.18%, and the recovery rate of Li2O is 9.38%.

[0074] Example 3

[0075] A method for efficiently enriching lithium from spodumene ore. The spodumene ore to be selected comes from spodumene ore in Ganzi, Sichuan, with a particle size greater than 10 mm and a Li2O grade of 0.97%. Figure 1 As shown, the mineral processing method comprises:

[0076] S1. The spodumene ore is crushed by a high pressure roller mill to obtain a crushed mineral with a particle size of -3 mm;

[0077] S2. A wet vibrating screen is used to perform a first particle size classification on the crushed mineral to obtain a first coarse particle size of +0.5 to -3 mm and a first fine particle size of -0.5 mm;

[0078] S3. Use a heavy medium cyclone to perform high-density heavy medium separation on the first coarse-grained mineral to obtain heavy medium separation spodumene concentrate and first heavy medium separation tailings; wherein, the heavy medium used in the high-density heavy medium separation is ferrosilicon, and the density of the heavy medium is 2.12g / cm 3 ;

[0079] S4. Use a heavy medium cyclone to perform low-density heavy medium separation on the first heavy medium separation tailings to obtain heavy medium separation spodumene middlings and second heavy medium separation tailings; wherein, the heavy medium used in the low-density heavy medium separation is ferrosilicon, and the density of the heavy medium is 1.74g / cm 3 ;

[0080] S5. Grinding the heavy medium sorted spodumene ore by a mill to obtain a grinding product with a particle size of -0.5 mm;

[0081] S6. The grinding product is combined with the first fine-grained mineral, and a second particle size classification is performed using a high-frequency vibrating screen to obtain a second coarse-grained mineral with a particle size of +0.074 to -0.5 mm and a second fine-grained mineral with a particle size of -0.074 mm;

[0082] S7. The second coarse-grained mineral is subjected to the first spiral chute sorting to obtain the first spiral chute sorting spodumene concentrate, the spiral chute sorting spodumene middlings and the first spiral chute sorting tailings;

[0083] S8. The spiral chute is used to sort the spodumene ore in the second spiral chute to obtain a second spiral chute to sort the spodumene concentrate and a second spiral chute to sort the tailings; wherein the second spiral chute sorting tailings are returned to the first spiral chute sorting in S7;

[0084] S9. The second fine-grained mineral is subjected to a first stage of shaking table sorting to obtain a first shaking table sorted spodumene concentrate, a shaking table sorted spodumene middlings, and a first shaking table sorted tailings;

[0085] S10. The spodumene ore from the shaking table is subjected to a second stage of shaking table sorting to obtain a second shaking table sorted spodumene concentrate and a second shaking table sorted tailings; wherein the second shaking table sorted tailings are returned to the first stage of shaking table sorting in S9;

[0086] Among them, in S7~S8, the spodumene concentrate sorted by the first spiral chute and the spodumene concentrate sorted by the second spiral chute are combined into the spiral chute sorted spodumene concentrate; in S9~S10, the spodumene concentrate sorted by the first shaking table and the second shaking table sorted spodumene concentrate are combined into the shaking table sorted spodumene concentrate; in S1~S10, the heavy medium sorted spodumene concentrate, the spiral chute sorted spodumene concentrate and the shaking table sorted spodumene concentrate are combined into the spodumene concentrate, and the second heavy medium sorted tailings, the first spiral chute sorted tailings and the first shaking table sorted tailings are combined into the total tailings.

[0087] It should be noted that the embodiment of the present disclosure does not limit the execution order of S7-S8 and S9-S10. S7-S8 can be performed before S9-S10 or after S9-S10. This embodiment takes S7-S8 being performed before S9-S10 as an example.

[0088] The results show that in the above-mentioned beneficiation method, the yield of spodumene concentrate separated by heavy medium is 5.28%, the grade of Li2O is 5.95%, and the recovery rate of Li2O is 32.33%; the yield of spodumene concentrate separated by spiral chute is 12.98%, the grade of Li2O is 2.75%, and the recovery rate of Li2O is 37.22%; the yield of spodumene concentrate separated by shaking table is 6.82%, the grade of Li2O is 2.65%, and the recovery rate of Li2O is 18.91%; the yield of spodumene concentrate is 25.08%, the grade of Li2O is 3.41%, and the recovery rate of Li2O is 88.46%; the yield of total tailings is 74.92%, the grade of Li2O is 0.15%, and the recovery rate of Li2O is 11.54%.

[0089] Comparative Example 1

[0090] Comparison was made between Control Example 1 and Example 3. The difference between Control Example 1 and Example 3 is that: ① the second coarse-grained mineral in S7 is replaced by the second fine-grained mineral; ② the second fine-grained mineral in S9 is replaced by the second coarse-grained mineral; other conditions such as the remaining process flow and condition parameters are the same as those in Example 3 (compared with Example 3, this Control Example replaces the spiral chute sorting and shaking table sorting of the second coarse-grained mineral and the second fine-grained mineral with shaking table sorting and spiral chute sorting of the second coarse-grained mineral and the second fine-grained mineral, respectively, to prove that the mineral processing method disclosed in the present invention is more effective).

[0091] The results show that in the above-mentioned beneficiation method, the yield of spodumene concentrate separated by heavy medium is 5.26%, the grade of Li2O is 5.94%, and the recovery rate of Li2O is 32.29%; the yield of spodumene concentrate separated by spiral chute is 5.06%, the grade of Li2O is 2.43%, and the recovery rate of Li2O is 26.90%; the yield of spodumene concentrate separated by shaking table is 14.04%, the grade of Li2O is 2.35%, and the recovery rate of Li2O is 16.77%; the yield of spodumene concentrate is 24.36%, the grade of Li2O is 3.02%, and the recovery rate of Li2O is 75.95%; the yield of total tailings is 75.64%, the grade of Li2O is 0.26%, and the recovery rate of Li2O is 24.05%.

[0092] According to the above results, it can be seen that compared with Example 3, in Reference Example 1: the yield of spodumene concentrate sorted by spiral chute, the grade and recovery rate of Li2O are significantly reduced; although the yield of spodumene concentrate sorted by shaking table has increased, the grade and recovery rate of Li2O are significantly reduced; the yield of spodumene concentrate, the grade and recovery rate of Li2O are significantly reduced; the yield of total tailings, the grade and recovery rate of Li2O are significantly increased. Therefore, compared with the mineral processing method of Reference Example 1, the mineral processing method of Example 3 can better enrich the lithium resources in the spodumene ore.

[0093] Comparative Example 2

[0094] Comparison was made between Example 2 and Example 3. The difference between Example 2 and Example 3 is as follows: ① The high-density heavy medium separation in S3 was replaced by low-density heavy medium separation. The heavy medium used in the low-density heavy medium separation was ferrosilicon, and the density of the heavy medium was 1.74 g / cm 3 ②Replace the low-density heavy medium separation in S4 with high-density heavy medium separation. The heavy medium used in high-density heavy medium separation is ferrosilicon, and the density of the heavy medium is 2.12g / cm 3 ; Other conditions such as the remaining process flow and condition parameters are the same as those in Example 3 (compared with Example 3, this control example swaps the execution order of high-density heavy medium separation and low-density heavy medium separation to prove that the mineral processing method disclosed in the present invention is more effective).

[0095] The results show that in the above-mentioned beneficiation method, the yield of spodumene concentrate separated by heavy medium is 11.25%, the grade of Li2O is 2.35%, and the recovery rate of Li2O is 26.80%; the yield of spodumene concentrate separated by spiral chute is 9.94%, the grade of Li2O is 2.41%, and the recovery rate of Li2O is 29.49%; the yield of spodumene concentrate separated by shaking table is 6.37%, the grade of Li2O is 2.44%, and the recovery rate of Li2O is 19.26%; the yield of spodumene concentrate is 27.56%, the grade of Li2O is 2.65%, and the recovery rate of Li2O is 75.55%; the yield of total tailings is 72.44%, the grade of Li2O is 0.29%, and the recovery rate of Li2O is 24.45%.

[0096] According to the above results, it can be seen that compared with Example 3, in Reference Example 2: although the yield of heavy medium sorting spodumene concentrate has increased, the grade and recovery rate of Li2O have decreased significantly; the yield, grade and recovery rate of Li2O of spiral chute sorting spodumene concentrate have decreased significantly; although the recovery rate of Li2O of shaking table sorting spodumene concentrate has increased, the yield and grade of Li2O have decreased significantly; although the yield of spodumene concentrate has increased, the grade and recovery rate of Li2O have decreased significantly; although the yield of total tailings has decreased, the grade and recovery rate of Li2O have increased significantly. Therefore, compared with the ore dressing method of Reference Example 2, the ore dressing method of Example 3 can better enrich the lithium resources in spodumene ore.

[0097] Therefore, the disclosed method for efficiently enriching lithium from spodumene ore is at least suitable for spodumene ore located in ecologically fragile areas at high altitudes and cold regions and mining areas lacking water resources. It can not only efficiently enrich lithium resources, but also reduce energy consumption and ore dressing costs, and is environmentally friendly.

[0098] The above is only a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the form disclosed herein, and should not be regarded as excluding other embodiments, but can be used in various other combinations, modifications and environments, and can be modified within the scope of the concept described herein through the above teachings or the technology or knowledge of the relevant field. The changes and modifications made by those skilled in the art do not deviate from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, and should be within the scope of protection of the claims attached to the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A method for efficiently enriching lithium from spodumene ore, characterized in that: include: Crushing the spodumene ore to obtain crushed minerals; Performing a first particle size classification on the crushed minerals to obtain first coarse-grained minerals and first fine-grained minerals; Performing a first stage of heavy medium separation on the first coarse-grained mineral to obtain a heavy medium separated spodumene concentrate and a first heavy medium separated tailings; Performing a second stage of heavy medium sorting on the first heavy medium sorting tailings to obtain heavy medium sorted spodumene middlings and second heavy medium sorting tailings; Grinding the heavy medium sorted spodumene middlings to obtain a grinding product; The grinding product is combined with the first fine-grained mineral, and subjected to a second particle size classification to obtain a second coarse-grained mineral and a second fine-grained mineral; Performing spiral chute separation on the second coarse-grained mineral to obtain spiral chute separated spodumene concentrate and spiral chute separated tailings; as well as Performing shaking table sorting on the second fine-grained mineral to obtain shaking table sorted spodumene concentrate and shaking table sorted tailings; The heavy medium sorting spodumene concentrate, the spiral chute sorting spodumene concentrate and the shaking table sorting spodumene concentrate are combined into a spodumene concentrate; the second heavy medium sorting tailings, the spiral chute sorting tailings and the shaking table sorting tailings are combined into a total tailings; The first stage of heavy medium separation is high-density heavy medium separation; wherein the heavy medium used in the high-density heavy medium separation includes at least one of ferrosilicon, magnetite, galena and pyrite, and the density of the heavy medium is 2.0-3.0 g / cm 3 ; The second stage of heavy medium separation is low-density heavy medium separation; wherein the heavy medium used in the low-density heavy medium separation includes at least one of ferrosilicon, magnetite, galena and pyrite, and the density of the heavy medium is 1.5-2.0 g / cm 3 ; The particle size of the crushed mineral is -10 mm; the particle size of the first fine-grained mineral is -0.5 mm; The particle size of the second coarse-grained mineral is +0.074 to -0.5 mm; the particle size of the second fine-grained mineral is -0.074 mm; The particle size of the spodumene ore is greater than 10 mm, and the grade of Li2O in the spodumene ore is ≥0.8%.

2. The ore dressing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The step of performing spiral chute separation on the second coarse-grained mineral to obtain spiral chute separated spodumene concentrate and spiral chute separated tailings comprises: Performing a first stage spiral chute sorting on the second coarse-grained mineral to obtain a first spiral chute sorted spodumene concentrate, a spiral chute sorted spodumene middlings, and a first spiral chute sorted tailings; and The spiral chute-sorted spodumene middlings are subjected to a second spiral chute sorting to obtain a second spiral chute-sorted spodumene concentrate and a second spiral chute-sorted tailings; Among them, the spodumene concentrate sorted by the first spiral chute and the spodumene concentrate sorted by the second spiral chute are combined into the spodumene concentrate sorted by the spiral chute; the tailings sorted by the first spiral chute are the spiral chute sorting tailings; and the tailings sorted by the second spiral chute are returned to the first spiral chute for sorting.

3. The ore dressing method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The step of performing shaking table separation on the second fine-grained mineral to obtain shaking table separation spodumene concentrate and shaking table separation tailings comprises: Performing a first stage shaking table sorting on the second fine-grained mineral to obtain a first shaking table sorted spodumene concentrate, a shaking table sorted spodumene middlings, and a first shaking table sorted tailings; and The shaking table sorted spodumene middling is subjected to a second stage of shaking table sorting to obtain a second shaking table sorted spodumene concentrate and a second shaking table sorted tailings; Among them, the first shaking table sorting spodumene concentrate and the second shaking table sorting spodumene concentrate are combined into the shaking table sorting spodumene concentrate; the first shaking table sorting tailings are the shaking table sorting tailings; and the second shaking table sorting tailings are returned to the first stage shaking table sorting.

4. The ore dressing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The particle size of the grinding product is -0.5 mm.

5. The ore dressing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The crushing adopts at least one of a jaw crusher, a cone crusher and a high pressure roller mill; And / or, the first stage of heavy medium separation uses a heavy medium cyclone; And / or, the second stage of heavy medium separation uses a heavy medium cyclone; And / or, the first particle size classification adopts at least one of a dry vibrating screen, a circular vibrating screen, a hydrocyclone, a wet vibrating screen and a high-frequency vibrating screen; And / or, the second particle size classification adopts at least one of a dry vibrating screen, a circular vibrating screen, a hydrocyclone, a wet vibrating screen and a high-frequency vibrating screen; And / or, the grinding is performed using a mill.

Images