Recovery of PGMs and Chromite from Mixed PGM/CR Ores

• Main Authors: FILMER, Anthony Owen, ALEXANDER, Daniel John
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 26.05.2022
• Subjects: CHEMISTRY; DIFFERENTIAL SEDIMENTATION; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; FLOTATION; MAGNETIC OR ELECTROSTATIC SEPARATION OF SOLID MATERIALS FROM SOLIDMATERIALS OR FLUIDS; METALLURGY; OTHER SEPARATING BY DRY METHODS APPLICABLE TO BULK MATERIAL,e.g. LOOSE ARTICLES FIT TO BE HANDLED LIKE BULK MATERIAL; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PRETREATMENT OF RAW MATERIALS; PRODUCTION AND REFINING OF METALS; SEPARATING SOLIDS FROM SOLIDS; SEPARATION BY HIGH-VOLTAGE ELECTRIC FIELDS; SEPARATION OF SOLID MATERIALS USING LIQUIDS OR USING PNEUMATICTABLES OR JIGS; SEPERATING SOLIDS FROM SOLIDS BY SIEVING, SCREENING, ORSIFTING OR BY USING GAS CURRENTS; SORTING; TRANSPORTING; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS

THIS invention relates to a process for the enhanced recovery of chromite and platinum group metals (PGMs) from a mixed chromite/PGM ore. Ore is ground 12, classified 14, to produce a coarse fraction and a fine fraction 36. The coarse fraction is subjected to gravity separation 16 and coarse particle flotation 20 to obtain a chrome concentrate and a PGM concentrate. The fine fraction 36 and PGM concentrate are ground 28, and subjected to conventional flotation 30 to obtain a PGM concentrate product 32. The benefits of this novel configuration of gravity concentration and coarse flotation technologies, as applied to both chromite and PGM recovery, are higher recoveries of chromite in a saleable concentrate, higher recoveries of PGMs and base metals, and lower chromite content in the PGM concentrate.