IRON ORE BENEFICIATION WITH PACKED COLUMN JIG

This paper presents several iron ore applications of the Packed Column Jig, a revolutionary and economical gravity separator of fine particulate materials, which can also be used for classification or desliming. The paper also describes the influence of important operational variables as well as a new control system to automatically monitor the process. Circular flow develops in any virtual cell bordered by the packing plates. Repeated separation takes place in a series of parallel vertical countercurrent circuits composed of a myriad of jigging cells that allows formation of a desired density bed without channeling problems. This leads to highly efficient separation with high throughput capacity and also permits linear scale-up by jig volume. Since no chemicals are used, the process is environmentally friendly. Due to the simplicity of the equipment and the circuit, per ton costs are substantially lower than conventional treatments. A typical product is a superconcentrate of 71.4 % Fe and 1.5 % SiO2 at over 93 % iron recovery from a preconcentrate of 67.7 % Fe and 5.6 % SiO2