Electrical Processing

ELECTRICAL PROCESSING
“Electrical”, “high tension” or “electro-static” processing takes advantage of certain aspects of mineral conductivity. The conductivity of minerals in a rare earth orebody varies from strongly conducting to strongly insulating. Examples of conductors are usually metal oxides such as magnetite, hematite, cassiterite, ilmenite, rutile, pyrochlore, columbite, tantalite, etc. Non-conductors or insulators are quartz, monazite, xenotime, zircons, etc. This procedure has narrow application for REE processing, is utilized in the mineral sands processing, and often used to isolate monazite from other conducting mineral concentrates. The requirements are that the processed material be dry, well sized, with clean iron-free surfaces. This process can produce unwanted dust.

Electro-static separation