To tackle the shortage of iron ore, we must utilize low grade iron ore/ tailing. Steel production in India, which consumes only 59 kilograms of steel per person compared with a world average of 200 kilograms, rose just 2.5 percent to 78 million tonnes. Indian steelmakers are making a big push to use locally mined low-grade iron ore fines that are usually exported.
Indian Iron Ore Scenario : Low Grade Iron Ore Beneficiation
By Anand Kumar and Omendra Singh
Abstract
Wide reserves of iron ore is found in India which is the basic raw material for iron and steel industry. Draft National Steel Policy 2012 of India envisages the ambitious goal of the nation to reach a production capacity of 300 Mt/yr of crude quality steel by 2025 - 26. So the corresponding demand of iron ore containing 62 - 64 % Fe would be around 490 Mt (excluding our export requirement). To cope up with increasing global and domestic market demand and to achieve the goals of National Steel Policy, our steel industry is in need of large quantity of iron ore. Due to the high quality of iron ore available in India, large deposits of Banded Haematite Jasper (BHJ) are left unused because of the presence of silica in unwanted quantity. ROM is put through washing to remove the clayey matter due to the presence of alumina and silica in iron ore leading to slime generation which are disposed off in tailing ponds. Slime in these tailing ponds contains iron values in the range of 45 - 60 %. Appropriate beneficiation process has to be explored to reduce the waste generation in mines and for the sustainable growth of the iron ore industry. In addition to this, depletion of high grade iron ore, stringent environmental regulations involved in opening of new mines, problems involved in handling, disposal of tailings (slimes), and utilizing of iron ore at 45% Fe as a cut-off fixed by Indian Bureau of Mines, it is the need of hour to effectively beneficiate low grade iron ore. Apart from the reserves of low grade iron ore, the previous washing methodology adopted in mining industries which had discarded the slimes as well as fines containing Fe value between 45%-55% have added 10-15 Mt every year and have been dumped somewhere as a big heap or in tailing pond. It is required to utilize these lost minerals in main stream by making sinter/ pellet using advance techniques of beneficiation involving gravity, magnetic and floatation process, etc. This paper briefly outlines the necessity and the relevance of beneficiation processes in low grade iron ores to make them suitable for Pelletization in a techno economical and environmental friendly manner.
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http://www.meconlimited.co.in/writereaddata/MIST_2016/sesn/tech_1/5.pdf
Renewable energy solutions are becoming more viable for mining operations and have the potential to reduce costs
https://www.ausimmbulletin.com/feature/can-renewable-energy-lower-your-cost-of-production/
Please refer to this important paper.
https://www.saimm.co.za/Journal/v099n02p111.pdf
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