Minerals Beneficiation - Solid State Bonding in Iron Ore Pellets

For a study of the bonding that occurs in magnetite pellets during oxidation, cubes of magnetite, hematite, and quartz were prepared, each with one surface polished and nearly optically plane. These faces were fired together under pressure and at various temperatures to determine whether bonding would occur. Sections of surfaces that bonded were examined microscopically. An attempt was made to measure the strength effected by this treatment. EARLIER work1,2 has shown that the strength developed by fired magnetite pellets containing silica or silicates is due to three separate effects. Two of these are associated with the formation of slag in the interior of each pellet at temperatures above 1000°C, where the atmosphere is substantially though temporarily neutral. The third is independent of the silica content and is responsible for the development of a hard shell around the pellet during the initial stages of firing, a condition which permits the pellet to assume the increasing load of the overlying burden and prevents extrusion of the slagged and semi-liquid interior. Pellets made from hematite concentrates do not show these effects unless specific additives are incorporated, and it is these differences in behavior which in large part account for the difficulty in producing satisfactory pellets from such concentrates. Elsewhere it has been stated that "the most important factor responsible for the development of strength in fired magnetite pellets containing no additive is the oxidation of magnetite to hematite and the subsequent recrystallization and grain growth of this constituent."' The object of the investigation reported in the present paper was to study in detail the mechanism described above and to evaluate its contribution to the strength of the fired pellet compared with other possible mechanisms, excluding slag bonding. This was effected by placing together polished faces of two cubes prepared from specific minerals and then heating them under constant pressure at different temperatures both in air and in nitrogen. The materials used were magnetite, hematite, and quartz. The magnetite was coarsely crystalline material from western Montana, the hematite was Itabira ore from Brazil, and the quartz was of optical grade but of unknown origin. A high-grade Lebanon (Pennsylvania) magnetite concentrate was used to prepare briquets for the investigation of bonding strength. Analyses of the iron oxide materials are given in Table I. The specimens for furnace treatment were prepared with a carborundum cut-off wheel, which cut the minerals into cubes approximating % in. along each edge. Care was taken to make the sides as parallel as possible. The edges of the faces to be polished were beveled, and the cubes were mounted in brass rings with sealing wax, this being essential to prevent the specimens from rocking during polishing. To prevent excessive friction, the wax was recessed so that only the brass ring and the face of each specimen would be in contact with the polishing lap. Each specimen was then ground with No. 600 carborundum to produce a level surface before polishing. The Graton-Vanderwilt process was not used for polishing because of the long time required by this method, but several other methods were tried. Cloth laps using levigated alumina or chromium oxide did not produce the desired polish. Satisfactory results were obtained by means of a pitch lap: which was used for all the mineral cubes, with levigated alumina as the polishing medium. The lap was operated in a machine similar to those used in the preparation of single optical surfaces. It was run at low speeds and moderate pressures, and polishing was stopped occasionally to prevent overheating of the lap. A good polish with flat surfaces could be obtained in about 5 min. After polishing the sealing wax was removed either in hot water or in a solvent such as turpentine.