Trans Indian Inst Met (2016) 69(1):143150

DOI 10.1007/s12666-015-0809-0

TECHNICAL PAPER

Recovery of Iron Values from Iron Ore Slimes of Donimalai

Tailing Dam
G. V. Rao1 R. Markandeya2 S. K. Sharma1

Received: 30 December 2014 / Accepted: 7 December 2015 / Published online: 21 December 2015
The Indian Institute of Metals - IIM 2015

Abstract During production of calibrated (sized) ore,

more than 50 % of the generated fines and rejects (Slimes)
cannot be directly utilised in iron making due to its unfavourable granulometry, low iron content, high alumina and
silica content. Approximately 1020 % of the process plant
input is discarded as slimes into slime ponds/tailing dams.
Tailing dams are now considered as a threat due to hazardous nature and acute shortage of land for storing. More
over these slimes also pose threat to the environment.
Recovery of iron values from slimes results in economic
benefit by utilisation of waste as a resource and minimizes
the land requirement, surface degradation, ground water
pollution, destruction of forests. These slimes after beneficiation are agglomerated (Pelletisation) and can be used
as burden for the blast furnace. This research work presents
the route for beneficiation of slimes by removing gangue in
the slimes to an acceptable level to produce hot metal
through blast furnace route. Research has been carried out
effectively and efficiently to utilise the iron ore slimes from
the slime ponds of Donimalai iron ore mine. The slime
sample from tailing pond of Donimalai iron ore mine was
collected and transported to R&D Centre, NMDC Limited,
Hyderabad. The as received slime sample assayed
49.40 % Fe, 13.51 % SiO2, 8.44 % Al2O3, 5.16 % loss on
ignition and all other trace elements were within the critical
limits. The as received sample contains around 7 %
moisture. It has a bulk density of 1.74 t/m3 and specific

& G. V. Rao
vrgottumukkala@gmail.com; gvrao@nmdc.co.in
1

R&D Centre, NMDC Limited, Hyderabad, India

JNTUCEH, Hyderabad, India

gravity of 3.7. Screen assay analysis was carried out with

the as received sample. Optimisation studies were carried
out for desliming by using hydro-cyclone. Hydro-cyclone
underflow was subjected to magnetic separation. It is
possible to produce a concentrate which assayed 65.93 %
Fe, 1.45 % SiO2, 1.94 % Al2O3 and 1.56 % loss on ignition
with a yield of 45.18 % with a recovery of 60 % iron
values.
Keywords Donimalai  Iron ore  Slimes 
Hydro-cyclone  Desliming  WHIMS

1 Introduction
Reserves of high-grade iron ores are diminishing all over
the world at an alarming rate. As a result, alternative ways
of augmenting and conserving precious and non-renewable
natural resources are being seriously considered. One such
attractive option is the recovery of metal values from
slimes/tailings. Iron ore tailings containing around
4860 % Fe are generated from the iron ore washing plants
and are disposed into tailing ponds without any further
utility. These tailings in the form of slimes are not suitable for iron making due unfavorable granulometry, presence of higher amount of gangue constituents. Several
beneficiation techniques have been tried from time to time
to reduce the gangue so that the beneficiated products could
be effectively used.
Most of the iron ore mines in India produce hematite
ores and have washing plants to produce lumps as well as
fines. In this process, a part of fine gangue material is
removed from the product. Around 810 million tonnes of
slimes containing around 4860 % of Fe are discarded
every year [1]. These slimes cannot be used in iron

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making as they contain higher amount of gangue (Sengupta and Prasad [2]). Several beneficiation techniques
have been tried from time to time to reduce the gangue so
that the beneficiated products could be effectively used
for iron making [1, 3, 4]. Several researchers [57]
worked on the reduction of alumina from iron ores,
focusing flocculation techniques that resulted in success
of varying degrees. Beneficiation studies with Bellary
Hospet region was studied by a group of researchers [8].
The beneficiation of iron ore slimes produced from
washing plants and tailing ponds of Kiruburu mines was
studied [9] using wet high-intensity magnetic separators
(WHIMS) followed by classification in hydro-cyclone
whereby a concentrate assaying 63 % Fe and 3.3 % alumina was produced with an overall iron recovery of
56 %. Though multi-gravity separation is a useful technique for treating iron ore slimes in general and for
reducing alumina in particular, it is not very successful
commercially due to its low capacity. Separation of
Barsua, Bolani, and Kiriburu iron ore slimes was studied
[3] using classification by hydro-cyclone followed by
high-intensity magnetic separation. Their results show that
it is possible to obtain a concentrate assaying 6065 % Fe
with 6080 % recovery. Srivastava et al. (2001) [15] used
classification in a hydro-cyclone followed by spiral concentration for iron ore slimes obtained from washing
plants and tailing ponds of Kiriburu mines. The experimental results show that it is possible to raise the iron
content up to 64.17 % at a yield of 37.3 % with simultaneous decrease in the alumina content, down to 1.17 %.
Roy and Das [10] also tried separating the gangue (viz.
quartz and kaolinite from iron-bearing minerals, mostly
hematite and goethite), to produce a suitable concentrate
for downstream processing. Earlier studies (Vijaya Kumar
et al. [11, 13]) indicated that silica and alumina could be
reduced by reverse cationic column flotation of a preconcentrate as a value addition step and also from screw
classifier overflow obtained from two different operating
beneficiation plants. In another study [12] involving
flotation column and reverse flotation process, high
depressant dosage was suggested to achieve high grade
concentrates with low impurity content. They could
achieve approximately 60 % mass recovery and 80 %
iron values recovery in the flotation stage. A team from
SAIL has studied recovery of valuable iron ore concentrate from projects of iron ore processing plant of Dalli
Mines [14].

2 The Materials and Methods

2.1 The Sample
The iron ore slimes from Donimalai Iron ore Mine Tailing
dam were collected and transported to R&D Centre of
NMDC Limited, Hyderabad. The sample was designated as
as received slimes for all practical purposes. The slime
sample was thoroughly mixed and representative sub
samples were drawn by coning and quartering for head
assay, specific gravity, bulk density, evaluation of physical
properties, mineralogy and screen assay analysis.
2.2 Characterisation
The as received sample was subjected to characterization
studies to investigate its amenability for beneficiation to
develop beneficiation strategies. The characterization of as
received slime samples consist of various steps: size wise
chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD) study and
microscopic studies. These steps were described in detail in
the following sections and corresponding observations
were discussed.
2.2.1 Chemistry and Physical Properties of the As
Received Slime Sample
A representative sub sample of slimes was obtained by
standard sampling methods and ground to 200 mesh (75 lm)
for chemical analysis. The as received sample contains
49.40 % Fe, 13.51 % SiO2, 8.44 % Al2O3, loss on ignition
(LOI) 5.16 % and all other elements were found to be within
their critical limits. The moisture content in the as received
sample was found to be 7.00 %. The specific gravity, bulk
density and angle of repose were 3.7, 1.74 t/m3 and 33.5
respectively. Chemistry of the sample has been presented in
Table 1. The chemical analysis was carried out by standard
wet chemical analytical procedures and Induction coupled
plasma (ICP) (Model JY2000-2, Make JOBINYVON).
2.2.2 Size Analysis and Size Wise Chemical Analysis
A representative sub sample was subjected for size analysis
(wet), the size fractions obtained were dried, weighed and
subjected for chemical analysis individually. The size
analysis was carried out using laboratory rotap sieve shaker
up to 325 mesh (44 lm) using Tyler series sieves and

Table 1 Chemistry of the as received slime sample

Constituent

Fe

FeO

SiO2

Al2O3

LOI

Na2O

K2O

MgO

TiO2

Assay %

49.40

0.28

13.51

8.44

5.16

0.050

0.010

0.066

0.066

0.030

0.016

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145
14

Table 2 Screen-Assay-Analysis of as received slimes sample

Wt%

% Fe

% SiO2

% Al2O3

12

% LOI
Percentage

Size (Microns)

10
8

?211

1.23

55.80

10.20

5.62

2.82

-212?152

1.71

55.80

10.20

5.62

2.82

-152?104

2.41

58.20

8.06

4.82

3.34

-104?75

1.79

60.00

6.56

4.21

2.94

-75?66

1.87

60.00

6.56

4.21

2.94

-66?44

4.02

62.40

4.66

3.34

2.20

-44?35

4.18

58.80

6.58

5.29

3.24

-35?26

29.80

54.50

8.20

9.10

4.10

-26?18

16.97

50.10

10.90

10.50

5.99

-18?12

15.70

43.10

18.10

11.80

8.10

-12?9
-9

9.12
11.20

39.80
34.50

21.90
29.00

12.60
13.50

8.50
8.00

Head (Cal)

100.00

Cumulave weight % passing

Head (Act)

49.21

13.58

9.80

5.68

49.40

13.51

9.80

5.16

Size analysis of 'as received' Doni Slimes

120
100
80

10

100

1000

Size (Microns)
Alumina

LOI

Fig. 3 Size wise distribution of Alumina and LOI

(50.134.50 %) is observed below 18 lm, which indicates

that the segregation of alumina and silica in this size
fraction is possible. The size distribution of as received
sample was shown in Fig. 1. The distribution of iron,
alumina and silica at each size fraction is shown in Fig. 2.
It is observed from the Fig. 2, the iron was distributed at
coarser size fractions but silica and alumina at finer size
fractions. Figure 3 shows that the distribution of alumina
and LOI is mainly concentrated below 40 lm size.
2.2.3 X-ray Diffraction

60
40
20
0

10

100

1000

Parcle size (Microns)

Fig. 1 Size distribution of as received slime sample

Percent

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

10

100

1000

Size in microns
%Fe

%SiO2

% Al2O3

Fig. 2 Size wise distribution of Iron, Silica and Alumina in as

received sample

X-ray diffraction technique (XRD) was extensively used

for identification of various mineral phases especially the
clay minerals and gibbsite for assessing the abundance of
each phase in an ore sample. The XRD was carried out
using PANANLYTICAL, Xpert MRD model having
automatic divergence slit, receiving slit and graphite monochrometor assembly. A diffraction pattern recording the
angle 2h against the intensity was obtained over a range
between 10 and 120 with scanning rate as 2 per minute
with copper (Cu) anode. Each mineral phase exhibits a
characteristic reflection peak of its d-values. The mineral
phases were identified by using the software supplied with
the equipment. The XRD difractogram of as received
sample was shown in Fig. 4. The XRD studies reveals that
the alumina is in the Kaolinite form (Al2Si2O5 (OH)4).
2.2.4 Microscopic Studies

below by using a Warman cyclosizer. The chemical analysis of various size fractions are presented in Table 2. It
was found that 80 % feed was passing through 35 lm. It
was observed from the table that size fraction \18 lm
were having lower iron content (\50 % Fe). The ?150 lm
and -18 lm fractions were relatively rich in alumina and
silica. The iron content varies from 34.50 to 62.40 %, silica
content varies from 4.66 to 29.00 % whereas alumina
content varies from 4.21 to 13.50 % in various size fractions. However, a sharp decrease in iron content

The as received sample is a powder sample, reddish

brown in colour with average specific gravity of 3.7. To
carryout detailed mineralogical studies, required number of
petrological thin sections and polished sections were prepared and studied thoroughly under Leica petrological
microscope(Model: DMLP) and the quantity of various
phases were identified by using a software (Leica QWin
V3).
The as received sample shows characteristics of
moderate grade ore which comprises Hematite and

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Counts
Fe2 O3

Fig. 4 X-Ray Diffraction

pattern of as received Slime
sample from Donimalai Tailing
Dam

Trans Indian Inst Met (2016) 69(1):143150

Donimalai-Sample-Slimes

Fe2 O3

Fe2 O3

Fe2 O3

Fe2 O3
Fe2 O3

Fe2 O3

Fe2 O3; Al2 Si2 O5 ( O H )4

Fe2 O3; Al2 Si2 O5 ( O H )4

Fe2 O3

Fe2 O3
Al2 Si2 O5 ( O H )4

Al2 Si2 O5 ( O H )4

500

Fe2 O3

1000

0
10

20

30

40

50

60

Position [2Theta] (Copper (Cu))

Fig. 5 Photomicrograph
displays distribution of medium
to fine grains of Hematite (H),
few Pseudo Ore (PSO), irregular
shaped Quartz (Q) and
Ferruginous Clay (FCL) at
ground mass (Under
Transmitted Light25X)

Fig. 6 Photomicrograph
exhibits distribution of medium
to fine grain, irregular-shaped
Hematite (H), few Goethite
(G) and Quartz (Q) and
Ferruginous Clay (FCL) at
groundmass (Under Transmitted
light100X)

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70

80

Trans Indian Inst Met (2016) 69(1):143150

147

Fig. 7 Photomicrograph
displays medium to fine size
Hematite (H), irregular shaped
Quartz (Q) and few Pseudo ore
(PSO) (Under Transmitted
Light100X)

Fig. 8 Photomicrograph
displays distribution of coarse to
fine grain of Hematite (H) and
few Goethite (G). Ferruginous
Clay (FCL) at ground mass
(Under Reflected Light100X)

Goethite as ore minerals and Quartz, Pseudo Ore and

Ferruginous Clay as gangue minerals. Ore minerals distribution was around 47 % as a whole and gangue minerals
distribution around 53 % area as a whole. Main ore mineral
was Hematite with 42 % area out of which around 27 %
grains are in free-state and remaining 15 % grains are in
un-liberated state. Around 7 % un-liberated grains could be
liberated at around 55 lm size. Remaining un-liberated
grains are \20 lm size. Goethite covers around 5 % area,
out of which around 2 % grains are in free-state and
remaining 3 % grains are in un-liberated state. Among the
un-liberated grains, around 2 % grains liberation could be

possible at around 45 lm size where as remaining half of

the grains liberation would be possible at \20 lm.
Quartz grain which is the main source of silica in the as
received sample and covers around 20 % area as a whole;
shows around 14 % free Quartz grains whereas remaining
6 % grains are in un-liberated state. Out of these 6 % unliberated grains, around 4 % grains could be liberated at
around 45 lm size and remaining grains would be possible at
\20 lm size. None of the Pseudo Ore and Ferruginous Clay
are in free-state. Liberation of these grains would be possible
at\10 lm size. Photomicrographs displaying distribution of
ore and gangue minerals were shown in (Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8).

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Trans Indian Inst Met (2016) 69(1):143150

2.3.2 Recovery of Iron Values by Wet High Intensity

Magnetic Separator (WHIMS)

2.3 Test Scheme

After characterisation and identification of mineral phases
present, test scheme was developed to produce a concentrate
suitable for pellet grade from the as received Doni slimes.
The test scheme along with metallurgical balance was shown
in Fig. 9. The test scheme involves desliming by using hydrocyclone and subjecting the hydro-cyclone underflow to wet
high intensity magnetic separator (WHIMS). WHIMS concentrate is the final concentrate whereas the combined product
of hydrocyclone overflow, WHIMS reject are the final tailings. The test scheme involves optimisation of parameters of
hydro-cyclone for desliming and WHIMS operation.
2.3.1 Desliming by Using Hydrocyclone
A hydrocyclone is a device that uses centrifugal force to
classify solid particles in a liquid stream, by size and/or
density. It has no moving parts, and uses the energy from
the pumped fluid stream to generate the centrifugal forces.
A 200 hydrocyclone test rig supplied by M/s Richard
Mozley, UK was used for desliming the sample. The main
operational parameters are percent solids, operating pressure, feed rate, vortex finder, spigot (apex) etc. This 200
cyclone test rig has a 40 litres capacity sump and can pump
4 m3/h slurry. The hydrocyclone can be operated within the
pressure range of 5-50PSI. The 200 hydrocyclone consists of
spigots 9.4, 6.4, 4.5, 3.5 mm. It has vortex finder of 14.3,
11.1 and 8.0 mm. Optimisation studies were carried out by
varying spigot diameter (mm), vortex diameter (mm),
solids consistency (%) and operating pressure.

Wet high intensity magnetic separator (WHIMS) supplied

by Humboldt Wedag, Germany with a capacity 500 kg/h
(Jones-P40model) with grooved plates as matrix was used.

3 Results and Discussion

3.1 Desliming Using Hydrocyclone
The main objective of the desliming is to remove the fine
particles of alumina and silica. The alumina and silica are
present in the kaolinite and quartz form respectively.
Desliming of the as received sample was done by using a
200 hydrocyclone test rig supplied by M/s Richard Mozley
Limited, UK. Number of hydrocyclone tests were conducted by varying parameters viz. feed percent solids,
operating pressure and spigot (apex) by using the hydrocyclone test rig to optimise the parameters to deslime. It
was observed that optimum desliming was at 20 % solids,
14.3 mm vortex, 9.4 mm apex and 10PSI operating pressure. The products obtained during test work were dried,
weighed and prepared for chemical analysis. The results of
the desliming were given in Table 3.
3.2 WHIMS Test
The main objective of WHIMS test is to produce a concentrate suitable for pellet feed. The process parameters

Table 3 Results of desliming at optimised conditions

Product

Wt%

% Fe

% SiO2

% Al2O3

% LOI

Underflow

65.09

57.00

8.70

5.69

3.59

Overflow

34.91

36.60

21.32

17.19

8.22

Head (Cal)
Head (Act)

100.00

49.88

13.11

9.71

5.21

49.40

13.51

9.80

5.16

Table 4 Optimisation of magnetic field intensity in WHIMS test

Magnetic field Intensity

Wt%

% Fe

Fe recovery

4000

32.60

67.60

44.61

8000

36.40

67.60

49.81

10,000
12,000

38.90
42.60

67.40
67.50

53.07
58.21

13,000

45.40

65.50

60.20

15,000

45.00

65.00

59.21

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149

Table 5 Results of WHIMS at 12,000 gauss

Product

Wt%

% Fe

% SiO2

% Al2O3

% LOI

Fe units recovery
57.69

WHIMS Mag (Conc)

42.69

67.40

1.12

1.30

1.22

Tailings

22.40

36.60

21.32

17.19

8.22

Head (Calculated)

65.09

56.80

8.07

6.77

3.63

% Fe

% SiO2

Table 6 Results of WHIMS at 13,000 gauss

Product

Wt%

% Al2O3

% LOI

Fe units recovery
60.30

WHIMS Mag (Conc)

45.18

65.93

1.45

1.94

1.56

Tails

20.91

36.67

21.77

15.99

8.06

Head (Calculated)

65.09

56.98

7.67

6.24

3.55

Fig. 9 Test scheme for

beneficiation of Donimalai
Slimes with metallurgical
balance

i.e. Feed rate (m3/h and kg/h), feed percent solids, wash
water rate (LPM) and magnetic field intensity (Gauss/
Tesla) were varied during the experiments in WHIMS.
The WHIMS tests were conducted by using WHIMS,
Jones P40 model supplied by M/s Humboldt Wedag,
Germany.
A number of tests were conducted to beneficiate the
intermediate product obtained (hydro-cyclone underflow)
and to optimise the concentrate grade and yield to produce
a concentrate suitable for pelletisation. The optimisation

studies with WHIMS at different magnetic field intensities

were conducted. The variation of yield (wt%), grade (% Fe)
and Fe recovery in concentrate are given in Table 4. The
tests indicate that at a magnetic field intensity of 12,000
gauss and 13,000 gauss maximum iron values were
recovered with a concentrate suitable for pelletisation. The
WHIMS test at 12,000 gauss and 13,000 gauss were
repeated and the test results were presented in Tables 5 and
6. The optimised parameters for WHIMS test were found to
be 250 kg/h feed rate, 20 % solids concentration, 10LPM

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Trans Indian Inst Met (2016) 69(1):143150

wash water, with 12R matrix, 1.25 mm insertion rod. The

test results of WHIMS are given in Tables 5 and 6. The test
scheme of as received Donimalai slime sample along
with metallurgical balance is given in Fig 9.

4 Conclusions
Following conclusions were drawn:
1.
2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Around 83 % of as received sample was \37 lm in

size.
The as received sample assayed 49.40 % Fe,
13.51 % SiO2, 9.80 % Al2O3 and 5.16 % LOI. All
other trace elements were found to be within the
critical limits.
The cyclone underflow assayed 57.00 % Fe, 8.70 %
SiO2, 5.69 % Al2O3 and 3.59 % LOI with a yield of
65.00 % at optimised parameters.
It was possible to obtain a product assaying 67.40 %
Fe, 1.12 % SiO2, 1.30 % Al2O3 and 1.22 % LOI with
an yield of 42.69 % by weight with a recovery of
58.2 % iron recovery.
It was possible to obtain a product assaying 65.93 %
Fe, 1.45 % SiO2, 1.94 % Al2O3 and 1.56 % LOI with
an yield of 45.18 % and iron recovery of 60.3 %.
It was possible to produce pellet grade concentrate
from the as received sample.

Acknowledgments The authors sincerely thank Shri Narendra

Kothari, Chairman cum Managing Director, NMDC Limited and Shri
N. K. Nanda, Director (Technical), NMDC Limited for approving to
conduct studies and permitting to publish this paper. The authors also
wish to acknowledge the following group of individuals for their
assistance in executing the test work: Shri Basant Rath Deputy
Manager (Geology), for mineralogical characterization and microscopic study of as received sample and various test products at each
stage, which helped greatly in the process selection and optimization;
Shri B. C. Hazela AGM (Chem) and his team who contributed to the
chemical characterization.

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