A.

Jankovic,
8 - Developments in iron ore comminution and classification technologies,
Editor(s): Liming Lu,
Iron Ore,
Woodhead Publishing,
2015,
Pages 251-282,
ISBN 9781782421566,
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-1-78242-156-6.00008-3.
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9781782421566000083)
Abstract: Hematite and magnetite, the two predominant iron ores, require different
processing routes. High-grade hematite direct shipping ores (DSOs) generally only
require crushing and screening to meet the size requirements of lump (typically
between 6 and 30mm) and fines (typically less than 6mm) products. Low-grade
hematite ores require additional beneficiation to achieve the desired iron content,
but the comminution of these ores still generally only involves crushing and
screening, which is not particularly energy-intensive. Conversely, fine-grained
magnetite ores require fine grinding, often to below 30μm, to liberate the
magnetite from the silica matrix, incurring greater costs and energy consumption.
The comminution energy consumption could be over 30kWh/t, an order of magnitude
higher than for hematite ores. However, with the depletion of high-grade deposits
and strong demand for steel, a greater number of low-grade deposits are being
developed. To operate viably and sustainably, there is a need to reduce costs and
energy consumption, particularly of the energy-intensive grinding required for low-
grade magnetite deposits. This chapter reviews current iron ore comminution and
classification technologies and presents some examples of flowsheets from existing
operations. New trends and advances in comminution technologies are presented and
discussed, particularly with regard to the impact on energy, operating, and capital
costs.
Keywords: Iron ore; Crushing; Screening; Processing; Mills; Stirred mills;
Efficiency