Natural Resources Research Institute Technical Report

For the Minnesota Taconite Industry to compete in today’s global economy, pellet quality must meet or exceed the standards being set by its competitors. Green ball quality is accepted by the industry as one of the key parameters influencing fired pellet quality and bentonite binders have been established as the industry standard for North American mines. Previous studies have shown that the opportunity exists to use high intensive mixing of binder and concentrate to reduce additive rates and enhance quality. Historically these units were cost prohibitive for retrofit in the taconite operations, however the economic models have changed. The type of mixing intensity required and the parameters influenced must be identified to complete cost benefit models and properly size apparatuses for further economic consideration. The objective of this project is to compare the benefits of intensive mixing with typical standard mixing procedures using the physical and metallurgical quality of both green balls and fired pellets as guidelines.University of Minnesota Duluth, Natural Resources Research Institute, 5013 Miller Trunk Highway, Duluth, MN 55811-1442; Coleraine Minerals Research Laboratory, One Gayley Avenue, Box 188, Coleraine, MN 5572