Assessment Of Beneficiation Routes Of Tantalite Ores From Key Locations In Nigeria

A. R Adetunji, W.O. Siyanbola, I. I Funtua, S. O. O. Olusunle, A.A Afonja, O.O. Adewoye

Centre for Energy Research and Development, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.
Centre for Energy Research and Training, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

DOI: 10.4236/jmmce.2005.42008                

Abstract

The beneficiation methods for some tantalite ores from selected deposits in Nigeria have been assessed through mineralogical and compositional analyses of the ores. Tantalite ores obtained from eight different well-known locations of the mineral in the country were analyzed with 109Cd excitation source Energy Dispersive X-ray spectrometry using the emission-transmission method of quantification. The major minerals detected and quantified include TiO₂, MnO, Fe₂O₃, Ta₂O₅, Nb₂O₅, WO₃, Th and U. Impurity elements such as Hf, Zn, Zr, Co, Pb, Rb, and Y were also observed and evaluated. Our analyses further show that Ta2O5 in the ores ranged from a minimum concentration of about 8% in Otu to about 60% in the Egbe deposits, while the Nb₂O₅ concentrations in the ores ranged from about 20% to 37.5% with the highest coming from the Ofiki deposit. Based on these results and the work of other authors, we deduced that clean-up operations might be adequate for Ta extraction from most of the tantalite deposits in Nigeria. The consideration of simplicity and cost of process favours the direct dissolution of the ores in HF for the clean-up operations.

Keywords

Tantalite ores, Elemental Composition, EDXRF

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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