BENEFICIATION STUDIES OF MALAKAND LOW GRADE GRAPHITE ORE FOR INDUSTRIAL USE

Graphite due to its wide variety of industrial applications has been used since old ages. In Malakand area graphite occurs in association with impurities such as quartz, calcite, mica, apatite, pyrite etc. In order to obtain high grade marketable graphite removal of these impurities is necessary, The present study has been undertaken to upgrade the Malakand low grade and make it suitable for industrial use. Flotation technique was applied for beneficiation studies using locally available reagents. Detailed flotation tests were carried out to investigate the effects of flotation parameters on grade and recovery of graphite, these included particle size, type of collector, conditioning time, impeller speed, pulp density and flotation time. Carbon content of 14% in the graphite feed has been enhanced to 80% in the final concentrate product