Assessment of lithium pegmatite ore bodies to determine their amenability to processing for the extraction of lithium
Various processes have been developed using a combination of elevated temperature and chemical treatment processing to recover Li from silicate minerals. To facilitate further process development, a comprehensive understanding of the deportment of Li and associated minerals in ore bodies is esse...
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| Format: | Conference Paper |
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Springer
2018
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/76090 |
| Summary: | Various processes have been developed using a combination of elevated
temperature and chemical treatment processing to recover Li from silicate
minerals. To facilitate further process development, a comprehensive
understanding of the deportment of Li and associated minerals in ore bodies
is essential to allow the industry to predict the response of ore reserves
to metallurgical treatment options. This paper describes results from the
integrated use of the John de Laeter Centre’s state of the art analytical and mass
spectrometry techniques to characterise a selection of Li bearing ore bodies and
determine their amenability to potential processing options for the extraction of
Li. The mineralogy, mineral associations and liberation characteristics of orebearing and gangue minerals where characterised using by a combination of the
TIMA and XRPD studies. The Li content and distribution within minerals were
defined using LAM-ICPMS and field emission scanning electron microscopy
techniques (ESBD, ToF-SIMS) and atomic probe microscopy |
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