Study on Process Mineralogy of a Low-grade Refractory Phosphate Ore in Sichuan

The process mineralogy of a low-grade refractory phosphate ore in Sichuan Province was studied by means of chemical analysis, microscopic identification, X-ray diffraction and infrared spectrometry analysis. The ore minerals are mainly composed of colloidal apatite, fine-grained dolomite and quartz, and contain a small amount of pyrite, limonite, hydromica, carbon and so on. The contents of P₂O₅, MgO and SiO₂ in the samples are 17.54%, 6.83% and 18.36%. The results of the study show that the phosphate concentrate cannot be obtained by single reverse flotation process, and high-quality phosphate concentrate can be obtained by either forward-reverse flotation or x-ray separation.