Checking flotation concentrates at the Cocoto Sea Concentrator in Xinjiang with a polarizing microscope

Recently, Xinjiang colleagues told me that a few decades ago in Keketuohai beneficiation plant, I work with a polarizing microscope church flotation method flotation concentrate observed fast, and now is still valid. But now who can't say the ins and outs of the matter, I suggest that I write a copy of the material. So, I obeyed the following words.

This method was used by me at the 8859 Concentrator in 1974 in the Cocoto Sea Concentrator in Xinjiang. In 1976, I was officially used in the dressing factory production practice after training the workers at the 8766 Concentrator. The principle is very simple, which is the practical application of the "oil immersion method". The proposed method is based on the following background.

1. The Cocoa Sea Concentrator needs this test method.

In the 1960s, when I was studying undergraduate majoring in the Northeastern Institute of Technology, I only learned in the "Mineology of Minerals" course that I used the optical microscope to see the transparent light. I have not studied Crystal Optics and Photo Minerals. ", will not look at transparent minerals with a polarizing microscope. In the flotation concentrate of the granitic pegmatite ore in the Cocoto Sea Concentrator, whether it is a target mineral (such as spodumene , beryl) or a non-target mineral (such as gangue), it is almost a transparent mineral. Thus, the microscope can not see the mine reflective phase, it is very difficult work flotation flotation concentrate observed with the naked eye, unlike heavy non-ferrous metal processing plant, such as lead zinc concentrator, a flotation station access point with a white ceramic bowl float selected from the foam concentrate with wash, shake and then along the same direction laps a stop watch, galena, pyrite and sphalerite were distributed three concentric rings, can be roughly estimated concentrate quality. However, it is difficult to see the spodumene and beryl concentrates, unless the experienced master can only estimate one.

In 1976, the Cocoto Sea 8766 Concentrator, which was completed in 10 years, was officially put into operation. More than a dozen flotation workers who are newly recruited into the factory are newly graduated middle school students or demobilized soldiers who have just transferred from the army. They have never seen a mineral processing plant, and have not operated flotation, allowing them to operate three systems of flotation operations. It is really difficult for them, so it is urgent to find a simple flotation concentrate inspection method to guide the flotation operation.

Second, master the principles and operational skills of the method

During my work at the 8859 Concentrator, in July and August of 1974, three teachers from the Chengdu Institute of Geology came to the Cocotohai Mine to open a school for two months. This is a teaching reform measure. Teacher Yan Shiwei, graduated from the Ural Institute of Technology in the Soviet Union, and taught "Rare Metal Deposits"; Teacher Yao Suzhu, also graduated from the Ural Institute of Technology, teaching "Crystal Optics" and "Photonic Minerals"; Teacher Zhang Rubai, 1957 Zhongnan Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Graduated from the Department of Geology, teaching "Rare Elements Geochemistry", the three teachers gave excellent lectures. Almost all of the more than 50 students in the class are studying geology, and several of us who study minerals also participate in the study. At that time, Teacher Yao had asked me: "Do you do these courses in mineral processing?" I replied: "It is too useful for us!" The concept of light rate is more abstract, but we are easy to understand because we have studied in college. Projection geometry and mechanical drawing.

I studied very hard, and I was surprised by the teacher. I have made great efforts in the two courses "Crystal Optics" and "Photonic Minerals". In addition to classroom lectures and internships, I also used a Soviet-made Mi-5 polarizer at the 8859 Concentrator Laboratory. The general view of flakes and oil immersion can be used with a single polarization and orthogonal polarization, and the use of quartz wedges and gypsum board to observe ore flakes and oil-impregnated mineral powder. Including mineral protrusions, color, pleochroism, Becker movement, interference color, determination of mineral axon or biaxial, positive or negative, positive or negative ductility. Once I went to the zero shift in the middle of the night, the mineralizer stopped for some reason, and everyone went to the lounge to sleep, but I leaned over the polarizing microscope and watched it all night until 8 o'clock in the morning.

In the late 1990s, my son was a major in mineral science at Kunming University of Science and Technology. During the summer vacation, I asked him: "What class is going to be given next semester?" He replied: "Crystal optics." I said; "This class does not I am eager to learn, I will tell you first." So, without any textbooks, I took a few white papers and talked about paintings with memory. It took two hours to talk about the contents of Crystal Optics. Again. When I came back from the winter vacation, I asked him: "How did you learn this course?" He replied: "It's about the same as you said." I can see the hard work of my time!

Third, I train new workers

Keketuohai 8766 concentrator is China's largest lithium, beryllium, tantalum and niobium ore dressing plant. Grinding plant floating main plant is divided into three systems, the amount of daily processing system 400T No. 1, designed to handle a quartz vein 1,2,4 band 3 - white mica tape ores, recycling beryl, spodumene and tantalum and niobium ore; No. 2 The daily processing capacity of the system is 200t, and the quartz-spodumene ore with the 5th and 6th veins of the 3rd vein is treated, and the spodumene, beryl and coltan are recovered. The daily processing capacity of the 3rd system is 100t, and the leaves of the 3rd vein 7 are processed. albite - spodumene with ores, uranium recovery microlite (radioactive minerals containing tantalum and niobium), tantalum and niobium ore, spodumene and beryl. Before the three systems are flotation, the crude concentrate is recovered by re-election method, and then pumped to the selected workshop for re-election, weak magnetic separation, strong magnetic separation and electro-election to obtain high-grade glutinous concentrate. mine. The entire plant process is complex and includes almost all methods of beneficiation.

I was the deputy director of the 8766 Mineral Processing Plant. Before the concentrator officially started driving, all the flotation workers who entered the factory were all concentrated in the training class. Taking into account the cultural level of the workers, I will briefly introduce the concept of the lighter body that is more abstract in the "Crystal Optics", focusing on the main minerals of the No. 3 vein, including spodumene, beryl, hornblende, mica, quartz, feldspar, garnet, apatite and the like, with a polarization microscope in a crossed polarized light and single polarization, optical characteristics of different mineral crystals observed by oil immersion method with a refractive index of 1.540 of an oil. The immersion oil with a refractive index of 1.540 is similar to the refractive index of the Canadian gum used to make the flakes, in order to be compared with the mineral crystal optical parameters on the book of Photo Minerals. I by mixing different volumes of liquid paraffin and brominated naphthyl 〆- two liquids, at the monitoring Abbe refractometer, the refractive index of 1.540 formulated immersion oil. In addition, I also formulated a immersion oil with a refractive index of less than 1.500 to more than 1.600 for teaching or measuring mineral refractive index.

Whether it is a spodumene concentrate or a beryl concentrate, the gangues that affect the quality of the concentrate are mainly quartz, feldspar and amphibole. I told the trainees that if the minerals are almost invisible under single polarized light, and the cone polarized light is observed after the orthogonal polarizing of the upper polarizer, some gray minerals appear. This is the interference color of the quartz first-grade gray, indicating that a large amount of flocculation concentrate is mixed. quartz. Under single polarized light, if the Becker line of the mineral is moved outward when the lens is taken, it indicates that it is a feldspar mineral, because in the ore processed by the concentrator, only the refractive index of the feldspar is less than 1.540 of the immersion oil, and the Beck line is only taken when the lens is taken. shift. According to the color of the mineral under single polarized light, the columnar crystal form, the high protrusion and the pleochroism, it can be judged as hornblende. In addition, I also tell you how to identify apatite, garnet and mica. Different gangues use different inhibitors to improve concentrate grade. Looking at the flotation concentrate by oil immersion method, as long as the crystal optical properties of spodumene, beryl and main gangue minerals under single polarization and orthogonal polarization are well mastered, it is not necessary to measure the refractive index, axiality and light of the mineral. Sex, ductility, etc. In this way, the complicated problem becomes very simple, and after a short training, the flotation worker can master it.

Specific operation method: take a small amount of flotation concentrate foam, put it in an enamel pan and dry it on a small electric furnace, and then take a small amount of representative dry ore sample on the glass slide to make the minerals do not overlap, put a small piece The cover glass covers the ore sample, and a drop of immersion oil is dropped on the gap between the cover glass and the glass carrier, so that the immersion oil uniformly immerses the ore sample, and then the prepared glass slide with the sample is placed on the polarizer. Rotating observations on the stage, identifying mineral species, visually and estimating the mineral content of the field of view. In normal times, the flotation worker is too troublesome. The dry sample is placed on the glass and the oil is spread on the glass. The glass is placed on the polarizing microscope stage without any cover glass. The observations are the same, but not standardized, and it is easy to damage the objective lens.

Fourth, existing problems and suggestions

I left the Cocoto Sea in 1978. In 2002, I returned to the 8766 Concentrator at Cocoto Sea. I was very happy to see the long-lost polarized microscope on the flotation workbench. The flotation workers have changed a few batches. At the beginning, no one knows who put the polarizing microscope here. At this time, a new polarizing microscope has been replaced, but no one has prepared a immersion oil with a refractive index of 1.540 for the flotation worker. The flotation worker must have dripped water to see the "oil immersion", so that the observation under the microscope is unrecognizable. In 2016, I returned to the 8766 Concentrator again. I saw oil immersion on the flotation workbench, but it is not known whether the refractive index is 1.540. In addition, the sample is not dried, the wet mineral sample is placed directly on the glass and then immersed in oil, and the observations under the microscope are also unrecognizable. Suggestions for this:

1. It must be sampled, sampled and observed with standard 1.540 oil immersion according to the standard operation method.

2. Courses in "Crystal Optics", "Photonic Minerals" and "Petrology" in the mineral processing specialty of colleges and universities, and strengthen the training of students' basic experimental skills.

3. Conditional beneficiation laboratories and concentrating plants should be equipped with polarized microscopes for rapid testing to improve work efficiency. When I was doing the ore dressing test in the laboratory of the Beijing Research Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, I often used a polarized microscope to view the flotation concentrate or tailings, which is very beneficial for the ore dressing test.

From 1974 to 1976, the method of checking the flotation concentrate by the polarized microscope oil immersion method at the Cocoto Sea Concentrator was still the earliest and only one concentrator in China. It is hard to say whether there are such cases abroad. This method can be applied to any concentrator looking at transparent minerals.

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