Metode Pemanfaatan Mineral Tanah Jarang

Rare earth ore beneficiation employs various techniques based on the physical and chemical properties of rare earth minerals and associated gangue. Common methods include radiation beneficiation (using γ-rays to separate thorium-rich minerals), pemisahan gravitasi (exploiting density differences via shakers or spirals for pre-enrichment), and pemisahan magnetik (leveraging weak/strong magnetism to isolate minerals like monazite). Flotasi is widely used in vein-type deposits to exploit surface property differences, while electric separation targets conductivity variations in placer deposits. For ion-adsorbed clays or carbonate ores, chemical beneficiation (leaching, roasting, or solvent extraction) is applied. The choice of method depends on ore type (e.g., coastal placers vs. hydrothermal veins) and mineral composition. Below, we will introduce the most common methods for processing rare earth ores.

 

1. Metode Manfaat Radiasi

It mainly uses the difference in thorium content between rare earth minerals and gangue minerals in the ore. It uses a γ-ray radiation concentrator to separate rare earth minerals from gangue minerals. The radiation beneficiation method is mostly used for the pre-selection of rare earth ore. At present, this method is not widely adopted in the industry.

 

2. Metode Manfaat Gravitasi

The density difference between rare earth minerals and gangue minerals is used for sorting. Commonly used peralatan pemisahan gravitasi termasuk cone concentrators, spiral concentrators, and shakers. Gravity separation is mainly used to separate rare earth minerals from low-density quartz, calcite, and other gangue minerals to achieve the purpose of pre-enrichment or to obtain rare earth concentrates. Gravity separation is widely used in the production of seashore placers; it is sometimes used as a means of pre-enrichment in the beneficiation of rare earth veins.

 

 

Peralatan Manfaat Gravitasi

Pengocok: It is also known as the gold shaking table, the gold separation table. It is a fine gold recovery equipment common in the gold shaker wash plant, alluvial gold mining plant, to separate concentrates, medium concentrates, and tailings according to material density and grain size.
Spiral Chute: It is the best equipment for mining and mineral processing, which combines the characteristics of the spiral concentrator, shaking table, and centrifugal concentrator. It is made of fiberglass lined with wear-resistant polyurethane and a corundum cover, light moisture-proof, and anti-rust.
Konsentrator Jig: It is an effective gravity separation machine based on the ore material density difference. The jigging machine is mainly used for processing placer gold, coltan, tungsten, tin, etc. The higher the density difference, the better the jigging separation effect.
Konsentrator Sentrifugal Emas: It is a brilliant gravity separation equipment widely used in the mining industry, especially for placer gold, fine-grained rock gold, and other precious minerals.

 

3. Metode Pemisahan Magnetik

Some rare earth minerals are weakly magnetic. The difference in specific magnetic susceptibility between them and associated gangue and other minerals can be used to separate rare earth minerals from other minerals by using magnetic separators with different magnetic field strengths. In the beneficiation of seaside placers, weak magnetic separation is often used to separate ilmenite from monazite; strong magnetic separation can also be used to separate monazite from zircon, quartz, and other minerals. In the beneficiation of rare earth veins, in order to simplify the flotation process and save flotation reagents, sometimes strong magnetic separation is used to pre-enrich rare earth minerals. With the continuous development of strong magnetic technology, strong magnetic separation will be more and more widely used in the beneficiation process of rare earth ore.

 

Peralatan Pemisahan Magnetik

The pemisah magnetik drum basah is a commonly used iron ore processing equipment (iron ore magnetic separator) and manganese ore equipment (manganese ore magnetic separator), and is a mainstream strong magnetic separator ore dressing equipment.
Pemisah Magnetik Kering Tiga Cakram berlaku untuk pemisahan kering titanium, bijih tanah jarang, bijih tungsten-timah, kromit, bijih niobium-tantalum, Limonit, Zirkon, emas merah, soliter, feldspar, kuarsa, dan perbedaan magnetik lainnya dalam berbagai mineral logam atau bahan non-logam penghilang besi, tetapi juga pemurnian pemisahan mineral magnetik dan non-magnetik.
Pemisah Magnetik Drum Kering adalah salah satu mesin yang paling banyak digunakan dan serbaguna dalam pemrosesan mineral. Pemisah elektrostatik berteknologi mineral yang cocok untuk bijih mangan, magnetit, pirhotit, bijih pemanggangan, ilmenit, hematit, dan bahan lain di bawah granularitas 50mm, pemisah magnetik kering, dan pemisah magnetik drum basah.
Pemisah magnetik intensitas tinggi are the upgraded products of dry separators developed on the basis of the original dry separators by improving the magnetic field strength and magnetic block arrangement. Its magnetic system is all made of high-performance rare-earth Nd-Fe-B material and high-quality ferrite material with high magnetic field strength (up to 12000 GAUSS). The high-intensity magnetic separator is suitable for wet magnetic separation of magnetite, pyrrhotite, roasted ore, and ilmenite with particle size less than 3mm, and also for removing iron from coal, non-metallic ore, building material, etc.

 

4. Metode Flotasi

Taking advantage of the difference in surface physical and chemical properties of rare earth minerals and associated minerals, flotation is used to separate them from associated gangue and other minerals to obtain concentrates, which is currently the main beneficiation method widely used in the production of rare earth veins. The rare earth mine of Mountain Pass in the United States uses flotation to produce rare earth concentrates. In the production of seashore placers, after the heavy sand is obtained by gravity separation, the flotation method is often used to obtain rare earth concentrates from the heavy sand.

 

Peralatan Flotasi

Mesin flotasi (planktonic concentrator) in the mineral processing plant, mainly used for separating copper, zinc, lead, nickel, gold, and other non-ferrous metals.
Tangki Pencampuran for flotation pulp operation before mixing, so that the pulp with a pharmaceutical is fully mixed as to create conditions for the flotation processing, and also suitable for blending various kinds of non-metal ores.

 

5. Electric Separation

Rare earth minerals are poor conductors, and their electrical conductivity can be used to be different from associated minerals, and they can be separated from minerals with good electrical conductivity by electric separation. Electric separation is often used in the selection of seashore placer heavy sand.

 

Peralatan Pemisahan Listrik

The Pemisahan Mineral Elektrostatik is used for recycling various minerals, waste metals, and non-metal materials with conductivity differences, such as selected white tungsten, tinstone, zirconite, andalusite, rutile, and gold placer.

The Pemisah Elektrostatik tipe ARC is mainly used for separating a small number of metallic conductor minerals from non-metallic materials, especially for separating and purifying placer ores.

 

6. Metode Manfaat Kimia

For rare earth deposits, adsorbed on kaolin or clay in the form of ions. It can make full use of the feature that rare-earth ions are easily soluble in sodium chloride or ammonium sulfate solution, and adopt a chemical beneficiation method of leaching first and then precipitation for recovery. For fluorocarbonate rare earth minerals that are easily soluble in acid or undergo phase change at high temperatures, they can be pre-enriched by flotation, and then purified by chemical beneficiation methods (acid leaching or high-temperature roasting).

 

Kesimpulan

The beneficiation of rare earth ores requires tailored approaches based on mineralogical composition and deposit type. Below is a comparative summary of the six primary methods:

Table: Comparison of Rare Earth Ore Beneficiation Methods

Metode	Prinsip	Applicable Ore Types	Keuntungan	Keterbatasan
Radiation Beneficiation	Thorium content differences (γ-ray detection)	Thorium-rich ores	Non-contact; pre-concentration	Limited adoption; low throughput
Pemisahan Gravitasi	Density differences (shakers/spirals)	Placers (e.g., coastal sands)	Low cost; pre-enrichment	Limited to coarse/heavy minerals
Pemisahan Magnetik	Magnetic susceptibility (weak/strong fields)	Monazite, ilmenite, hydrothermal veins	High efficiency for magnetic minerals	Requires precise field strength control
Flotasi	Surface property differences (chemical reagents)	Vein-type deposits (e.g., bastnäsite)	High-purity concentrates	Complex reagent management
Pemisahan Listrik	Conductivity differences (electrostatic force)	Placers (heavy sands)	Effective for conductor minerals	Sensitive to moisture and particle size
Chemical Beneficiation	Leaching/roasting (acid/solvent extraction)	Ion-adsorbed clays, carbonates	Solves ultra-fine or complex ores	High cost; environmental concerns

 

The optimal method or combination depends on ore characteristics (e.g., composition, grain size) and economic viability. Modern operations often integrate multiple techniques (e.g., gravity→flotation→magnetic) to maximize recovery and purity while minimizing environmental impact. Advances in equipment (e.g., high-intensity magnetic separators) and hybrid technologies continue to enhance rare earth beneficiation efficiency.