Mainstream Barite Beneficiation Methods and Their Characteristics

As a vital non-metallic mineral, the selection of barite beneficiation processes directly impacts concentrate grade, recovery rate, and economic efficiency. Tailored to varying ore properties and production requirements, current mainstream beneficiation methods primarily include heavy media separation, jigging, shaking table separation, and flotation. The characteristics of each process are systematically outlined below:

I. Heavy Medium Separation

This process separates minerals based on density differences and is commonly used for coarse-grained barite ores.

Advantages: Simple process flow, relatively low equipment investment and operating costs, suitable for pre-selection or separation of coarse-grained materials.

Disadvantages: Poor separation efficiency for fine-grained (especially ultrafine) ores; heavy medium consumption requires a dedicated recovery system.

II. Jigging

Utilizes pulsating water flow to stratify mineral particles by density, suitable for medium-to-coarse barite separation.

Advantages: Simple operation, strong adaptability, applicable to various-scale processing plants, and effective for ore with a wide particle size range.

Disadvantages: High water consumption, dependent on water resources; low recovery efficiency for fine particles, often requiring subsequent processes.

III. Shaking Table Separation

Combines asymmetric reciprocating motion of the table surface with hydraulic force to separate minerals based on density and particle size differences.

Advantages: High separation precision, yielding high-quality barite concentrate; particularly suitable for fine-grained material concentration.

Disadvantages: Low equipment throughput, large footprint, relatively high energy consumption; typically used in small-to-medium-scale production or concentrate purification stages.

IV. Flotation

By adding specific reagents to alter mineral surface properties, barite is separated from gangue. This method is particularly effective for complex sulfide ores or fine-grained disseminated ores.

Advantages: Strong adaptability to complex ores, significantly improves overall barite recovery rates, and enables utilization of low-grade resources.

Disadvantages: Requires multiple flotation reagents, potentially posing environmental management and wastewater treatment challenges, with high process control demands.

Process Selection Recommendations

In practice, combined processes are often employed to optimize separation outcomes:

Coarse-grained ores: Employ a “heavy medium pre-selection - jigging concentration” flow.

Fine-grained disseminated or complex ores: Typically utilize a “gravity coarse enrichment - flotation concentration” combined process.

High-purity requirements: Introduce shaking tables after flotation or gravity separation for deep purification.

Recommend conducting systematic ore test work, integrating resource conditions, product specifications, and environmental requirements, to perform comprehensive techno-economic comparisons and determine the optimal process flow.