Pakistani mining experts emphasized that chromite ore beneficiation plants should be established to upgrade chromite concentrates, making them more suitable for sale and increasing added value.
Why set up a chromite ore processing plant and how to improve its production efficiency of it will be the focus of this paper.
Global chromite ore production will increase
Chromite ore, the mineral source of chromium, is predominantly used in the production of ferrochrome-an alloy of chrome and iron.
According to MMR, The Global Chromium Mining Market was valued at US$ 17.74 Bn in 2020 and is expected to reach US$ 25.35 Bn by the end of 2027, growing at a CAGR of 5.23% during the forecast period.
To meet the demand, chromite ore production will be increased in the leading mining areas of South Africa, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, and Oman.
Chromite Ore in Pakistan
Pakistan is rich with overwhelming deposits of high-quality chromite ore in areas of Muslim bagh Baluchistan Province and Besham, Bajaur, Shangla, and Malakand areas of KPK Province.
Pakistan’s chromite quality is considered to be amongst the best in the world due to ore size and its Cr:Fe ratio.
Chromite mining and processing in Pakistan have always been active. Research shows an increase in chromite production from 100516 million tons to 121, 435 million tons in the country (Pakistan Economic Survey, 2021).
Problems of chromite production in Pakistan
Chromite mining is random and completely unorganized. Chromite miners are unable to accurately identify potential locations for chromite deposits. Most of the export products are raw ore with low added value. These problems seriously reduce the chromite ore production capacity and the added value of products.
These issues should be resolved gradually, given the rising price of chromite in the world metal market. To increase the added value of concentrates, experts emphasized the establishment of chromite ore processing plants to improve the grade of chromite concentrates, making them suitable for sale and enhancing competitiveness.
Efficient Chromite Concentrator: Processes and Equipment
The processing of chrome lump ore requires grinding and beneficiation.
Chromite ore grinding
Chromite lump ore has to be crushed and ground into powder due to its medium and fine dispersion. Ball mills are popular for the following advantages.
1. Large production capacity. Taking Ftmmachinery’s ball mill as an example, the production capacity can reach 615T/H.
2. Low power consumption. Although the total installed capacity of the ball mill is large, its production capacity is large, the start-up time is short, so the unit power consumption is reduced.
3. The equipment is sturdy and durable, reducing maintenance work.
4. The chromite concentrates are of high quality. Not only the fineness of the ore powder can meet the production needs, but the water content is also low and stable. That benefits accurate measurement, uniform mixing, and oxidation and calcination of chromite.
5. Ball mills have looser requirements on the water content of chromite ore. The hot blast furnace for the ball mill reduces the influence of ore moisture on the output of the mill and the quality of ore powder.
Chromite ore gravity separation
Chromite ore is mostly in the block, strip, and spot-like coarse-grained dissemination state, and the density is high, so gravity separation is one of the effective methods for its selection. At present, in production practice, selection equipment such as shaking tables, spiral chutes, and jigs are used to recover chromite ore.
The shaking table is suitable for the separation of fine-grained chromite ore, and the processing size range is generally 0.019-2mm. The separation is realized by the combined action of the longitudinal and transverse water flow on the bed surface, the separation accuracy is higher, and a higher enrichment ratio can be obtained, but its processing capacity is low and the floor space is large.
In order to reduce the burden on the shaker, equipment with large capacity and low cost is often installed in front of the shaker to remove qualified tailings. This not only reduces the ore feeding into the shaker, but also saves nearly half of the shaking tables and floor space.
The jig machine is suitable for processing coarse and medium-sized chromite ore, and the feeding size range is generally 0.052-6mm. A jig can get the final product in one sorting.
In view of the slightly different properties of chromite around the world, in addition to gravity separation methods, magnetic separation, flotation, chemical beneficiation, and combined beneficiation methods can also be used flexibly.
Knowing the general processing flow and required equipment is not enough if you want to build an efficient chromite ore processing plant. You also need to reasonablly configure the equipment according to the ore properties and desired output. This is where you need Ftmmachinery engineers.
Ftmmachinery, a professional mining equipment manufacturer, can not only customize scientific and reasonable chromite beneficiation plants according to customer needs but also provide sturdy and durable equipment at factory prices.