TITLE:
Separation of Kaolinite from Ion-Adsorption Rare Earth Tailings in Southern China and Iron Removal Treatment
AUTHORS:
Yongqing Wang, Huayin Liang, Qibing Chang, Xiaozhen Zhang, Jian’er Zhou
KEYWORDS:
Rare Earth Tailing, Kaolinite, Separation, Reutilize, Iron Removal
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Minerals and Materials Characterization and Engineering,
Vol.4 No.1,
January
21,
2016
ABSTRACT: Several hundred million tons of ion-adsorption rare earth tailings exist in Ganzhou, Southern China,
which is a severe environmental hazard. To reduce and reutilize the tailing, kaolinite has been
separated from the tailings by mechanical separation in laboratory scale and pilot scale. The results
show that the tailing is mainly composed of fine kaolinite and coarse quart. Quartz and kaolinite
can be separated by sieves, shaker, spiral chute or hydrocyclone, which has the similar results
in laboratory scale and pilot scale. 30.2% of the tailings can be re-sourced and applied in ceramic
industries. 41.7% of kaolinite can be obtained after sorting and iron removal by magnetic separator
in pilot scale, which can be applied in ceramic industries according to the Chinese national
standard (TC-3). The results give a progressive solution to re-source the tailings economically.