Abstract:
The occurrence state of lithium in fluorite tailings in Zhejiang was studied while the availability of lithium recovery was evaluated. The process mineralogy research revealed that lithium mainly existed in zinnwaldite, muscovite, and phlogopite, and the average lithium contents in the three types of mica minerals were 4.16%, 0.47% and 0.51%, respectively, and 62.47% of lithium was distributed in zinnwaldite which should be strengthened. However, due to the similar flotation performance of zinnwaldite, muscovite, and phlogopite, the flotation process results in the co-enrichment of these minerals, making it difficult to obtain a high-quality lithium concentrate. Nonetheless, qualified iron lithium mica concentrate can be separated from mica concentrate by high intensity magnetic separation. In addition, the technique can also be used to treat the ore by separating zinnwaldite, limonite and pyrolusite into magnetic products, followed by cationic flotation to obtain an iron-limonite concentrate. Overall, the technical index for either flotation-magnetic separation or magnetic separation-flotation requires further testing to determine its efficacy.