(

BENEFICIA TION OF BORATE ORES

TERRY L. DOWNING
PRINCIPAL RESEARCH ENGINEER
U.S. BORAX INC.

SME ANNUAL MEETING AND EXHIBIT

DENVER,COLORADO
MARCH 7, 1995
 ABSTRACT
I
Dry mineral beneficiation methods have been developed for separation of borate minerals
from montmorillonite claystone gangue. The methods include the use of newly developed dry
high intensity magnetic separators. The application of these methods has the potential for
economic benefit at U.S. Borax Inc. in three areas:

• Processing surface impoundments (ponds) material.

• Pre concentrating ore to be fed to primary refinery.
• Concentrating borate minerals to produce potential products.

INTRODUCTION

Products

U.S. Borax produces five major refined products from its mine and plant facility near Boron,
California (see location map Figure 1). The products include:

• Borax 10 Mol (N~B407 • lOH2 0) or (N~O • 2B 2 0 3 • lOH20)

• Borax 5 Mol (N~B407 • 5H20) or (N~O • 2B 2 0 3 • 5H2 0)
• Anhydrous Borax (N~B407) or (N~O • 2B 2 0 3)
• Boric Acid (H3B0 3) or Yz(B 2 0 3 • 3H2 0)
• Anhydrous Boric Acid (B 2 0 3)

It is customary to express as'says in terms of boric oxide content or percent B2 0 3 .

"'- '. N
MAP of SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Boker'Sfield .' '

o
• 80ron '"
\.
....... ..... L...
')
.' •••• 'I ,'<::f
/~
~ 0
-
'0 , , '
:N
(
'. (0::'
o 50 ", •• ~ '<:(
scale in mile, : "

-M E. X \ CO

Figure 1. Location Map

 Uses

Refined borate products are major industrial raw materials used in:

e Detergents
e Insulation Fibre Glass

• Textile Fibre Glass

• Frit
• Borosilicate Glass
• Agriculture
• Flame Retardants
• Metallurgical Fluxes
o Others

CHARACTERIZATION OF THE KRAMER BORATE ORES

u.s. Borax operates the Boron open pit mine on the Kramer borate deposit. The Kramer
deposit is a lenticular lake-bed deposit of primarily sodium borate crystals with interbedded and
interstitial claystone. The stratigraphic column of the deposit is divided into a sequence of seven
units that contain variable quantities of montmorillonite claystone. An envelope of claystone
containing primarily calcium borate crystals surrounds the lens. Figure 2 shows the generalized
stratigraphic section of the Kramer beds (Siefke, 1991). The Kramer deposit is commonly
considered the world's second largest borate deposit. The deposit contains minor quantities of
pyrrhotite (FeS), realgar, (AsS), Stibnite (Sb2 S3) and other minerals that contribute to impurities
in the ore processing step.

The stratigraphic units are grouped into three major types: (1) The Upper, Middle, Lower
and Basal units typically contain low quantities of claystone interspersed among and interstitial
in the dominant borate minerals. This high grade ore often contains up to 75% pure borate
minerals. (2) The A-Zone, B-Zone and C-Zone' units typically contain significant quantities of
interbedded claystone that give a marbling appearance. This low grade ore generally contains
less than 60% pure borate minerals. (3) The surrounding envelope typically contains more
distinct thin beds of claystone alternating with calcium borate bed£. The third type is not of
significant importance to the present processing operations as it is sent to stockpile for future use.

Tineal Ore

Tincal ore occurs in all seven of the stratigraphic units and consists of major quantities of
the mineral borax (NazO • 2B 20 3 • lOH 20) and variable quantities of montmorillonite claystone.
Borax minerals occur as euhedral monoclinic crystals (see Figure 3). Borax is readily soluble
in water. Microscopic inspection of the ore indicates that approximately 80% of the claystone
is found between the crystal boundaries with the remainder occurring as inclusions in the crystal
matrix. Full liberation of borax minerals from the claystone can be accomplished by size

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 ... .; Arkosic sand and caliche with cobble
Quaternary alluvium ,.' .....",
'. : .
"

.. '
.. ~

and boulder lenses

unconformity
Angular unconformity
." . "';' Arkosic sandstone, medium grained to
• " 0 '• •
I..
Q) .' •• D pebbly, with interbedded tuffaceous clays
..c -'-,'-"
:-:-. Silty arkosic sandstone and claystone
E
Q)
-,-.-
:~

E • • .. CJ.
: Co .: •
·." .' . . : Arkosic sandstone, pebbly to fine grained,
with interbedded tuffaceous clays
.' .
. - .. ......
. . .:

~'_~~~I
=- '-,-" Silty arkosic sandstone; grades laterally
into claystone and shale, brown to green

200' Barren facies

----+1--- ~~~~~~
..
2.. =-~ Clays tone with calcareous nodules
"
Colemonite fecies S::f~.t~ Claystone with Colemanite
UI . 'tI f ' _ _ _ ...a U'lex';
-",::a_0_-.1 .... foe and tuf::
... ~

~ eXl e aCles a...-rz-.,.-.2. I Claystone with ulexite

IUpper ore borax

f------'
~..::.-:~l A zone
lod '-
Q)
..c Middle ore borax with kernite
E F--~~""";
<U CD

E 0
....
0 zone
<U .Q ""
G
(.)
0
..c E~
Cf) ::s
"0
0
en
.
Lower ore borax with kernite

1
-L
Ulexite fecies
Serren facies
~_-_~,
-=--_-_"1
zone

Shale
borax with kernite
Shale, with ulexite and probertite

SaddlebacK basalt Basalt, very finely c=ystalline,

,member vesicular, dark gray to black

Figure 2. Generalized stratigraphic section of the Kramer beds.

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reduction to 1.65 rnm (10 mesh Tyler). Liberation point was detennined by microscopic
examination, construction of Schuhmann plots on crushed samples, and from mineral separation
results for individual screen fractions. Detachment of borax crystals from claystone and from
other borax crystals is not energy intensive.

Kernite Ore

Kernite ore occurs in the lower units of the stratigraphic column and consists of major
quantities of the mineral kernite (NazO • 2B z0 3 • 4HzO) and lesser quantities of borax and
variable quantities of claystone. Kernite minerals occur as euhedral monoclinic crystals with very
long vertical axis (see Figure 3). The very long vertical axis puts kernite in the acicular crystal
growth group. The acicular crystals cleave very preferentially along the long axis to form thin
needle shapes with aspect ratios as high as 50: 1. Kernite is soluble in water but at slower rates
than borax.

Kernite minerals are formed by partial dehydration of borax under high pressure. When
exposed to water kernite will rehydrate or convert to borax 10 mol. The ore contains variable
quantities of borax and variable quantities of converted kernite. Montmorillonite claystone is
present in similar quantities as tineal ore, however, the termination point of the long axis of the
kernite crystals align with the claystone giving the appearance that the claystone served as the
point of growth of the crystal. Claystone that appears to be interstitial in crystals eventually
becomes the termination point of needles as the cleavage creates thinner needles. Liberation of
kernite crystals from claystone is essentially complete when the needles have been cleaved to
pass a .833 rnm (20 mesh Tyler equivalent) slotted opening. Kernite crystals are essentially
liberated from each other when the needles pass a .417 rnm (35 mesh Tyler equivalent) slotted
opening.

Monoclinic System
a..lbtc
a ;z!: b ;z!: c

Tineal Crystal Kernite Crystal

Figure 3. Tineal and Kernite Crystals

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Montmorillonite Claystone

Montmorillonite claystone has a platelet structure that forms particles that appear amorphous.
Small percentages of pyrrhotite (FeS) are distributed within the claystone structure. Realgar
(AsS) and stibnite (Sb2S3) are also present in the claystone structure in amounts from a few ppm
to several hundred ppm. The claystone as it is exposed in the ore body is very dry and firm.
The claystone resists breaking in the crushing step more than the borax or kernite minerals
creating a natural upgrading of B20 3 content in the fine screen fractions.

Calcium Borates

Calcium borate mineralization occurs in the hanging wall and foot wall of the sodium borate
ore body and consists of major quantities of the mineral ulexite (NaCaB s09 • 8H2 0) and lesser
quantities of colemanite (Ca2B60 l1 • 5H2 0) lying in thin beds alternating with thin beds of
montmorillonite claystone. Kramer calcium borates are not presently mined for economic benefit.

DESCRIPTION OF TECHNOLOGY

Dry mineral beneficiation of borate ores uses dry high intensity magnetic separators (see
Figure 4) as the principle tools for separation of several species of non magnetic borate minerals
from montmorillonite claystone particles. The very weak attractability of montmorillonite to a
magnet is enhanced by the presence of small percentages of pyrrhotite in the matrix of the
claystone. Pyrrhotite is well known for its relatively high magnetic attractability (see Table 1).

rei 1m ~I I

1111111111111111111111111111111 y
f
C) 100mm

4 mm Magnet Discs
1 mm Iron Discs

Tails Conc

Figure 4. High Intensity Magnetic Separator Schematic

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 Table 1. Relative Magnetic Attractability of Minerals
(Taggert, 1945)

Iron 100 Strongly Magnetic

Magnetite 40.18
Franklinite 35.38
Ilmenite 24.7
Pyrrhotite 6.69 Weakly Magnetic
Siderite 1.82
Hematite 1.32
Zircon 1.01
Limonite 0.84
Corundum 0.83
Pyrolusite 0.71
Manganite 0.52
Calamine 0.51

Magnetic separation of minerals has been used for many years using electro-magnets and
permanent ferrite magnets in many configurations. The magnetic field intensity of the early
designs was limited to about 1.2 Tesla. Newly developed permanent magnets made from
Neodymium - Boron - Iron alloy offer magnetic field intensity of 2.0 Tesla. Magnetic roll
designs using rare earth discs sandwiched between thin iron discs provide a very high magnetic
field gradient which allows new applications for separating minerals with low magnetic
attractability.

Laboratory and pilot testing programs at U.S. Borax have shown that triple pass units
equipped with 100 mrn (4 inch) diameter rolls are most effective for the intended applications.
The 4 mrn wide magnet disc sandwiched with 1 mrn of iron is used to make up 1 meter (3.3 feet)
width rolls.

Preparation of feed to the magnetic separators includes crushing and specific sizing. Test
work has determined that particles greater than 6.6 mm (1/4 inch) are not sufficiently attracted
to the magnet to effect separation so this is chosen as the top size. Test work has also
determined that particles less than .2 mm (65 mesh Tyler) have too much mechanical and

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electrostatic attraction to each other to allow separation so this is chosen as the bottom size for
separation. Proper preparation of the feed to the magnetic separation step is the key to efficient
beneficiation.

APPLICATION

Present operations at U.S. Borax include open pit mining followed by crushing of the ore,
dissolving of the borax away from the claystone, liquid/solid separation, crystallization of refined
products from strong liquors, drying, storage and shipping. A simplified flow sheet of the Boron
plant facilities is shown as Figure 5. Application of dry mineral beneficiation to Boron
operations for economic benefit occurs in three process areas and is in three stages of process
development.

Borate Recovery From Surface Impoundments

From 1957 to 1985 thickener underflow from the CCD circuit was pumped to bermed surface
impoundments where water evaporated leaving a plastic clay mass. The material was considered
too high grade to discard but too low grade to be processed in the present plant. A low grade
stockpile accumulated in five ponds with 14,000,000 tons of pond material containing 1.5 million
tons of B20 3 •

Several methods of processing pond material were tested with various degrees of success.
None of the methods would provide recovery of the borax with economics approaching present
borax production unit cost. It was interesting to find that dried pond clay material had retained
its attractability to a strong magnet even after undergoing processing in the refinery. The
discovery of this quality led to the test work that developed a process flow sheet to use dry
mineral beneficiation methods for recovering borax from pond material.

The flow sheet as shown in Figure 6 includes solar drying of the plastic mud, crushing the
hard dry clay lumps in two stages, sizing the particles into three screen brackets, and magnetically
separating 4.7 mm x 1.4 mm (4 mesh x 10 mesh Tyler) and 1.4 mm x .2 mm (10 mesh x 65
mesh Tyler) particle sizes. The minus .2 mm (65 mesh Tyler) fines upgrade by natural
preferential breaking to become save material. This flow sheet upgrades the pond material from
its 12% B20 3 starting grade to over 26% B20 3 which is acceptable ~ feed to the existing refinery.
Recovery is variable for each pond and averages over 52%. Net unit cost of recovery of a ton
of borax by this method nearly equals the cost of recovering a ton of borax from the open pit
mine. Dry mineral beneficiation produces a dry granular concentrated product with desirable
material handling characteristics and a dry granular reject product with very desirable material
handling characteristics for deposition on present gangue dumps.

A project to construct a plant to process pond material is in the final stages of company
approval. The processing rate will be 77 dry tons per hour.

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 Fine Coarse
Gangue Gangue Open Pit Mine

n
(1) Hydration
~ Crusher
~
aq
CCD
(1) Circuit
1----
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
00 Storage I
I
I
---s
Ponds Crystallizatio

Boric
Acid
Drying Plant

Shipping Shipping

Figure 5. Simplified Schematic Flow Diagram Boron Plant Facilities

 FIGURE 6
POND PROCESSING SCHEMATIC

TRUCK HAULAGE

DRYING AREA

77 TONS
PER HOUR

MMD
-2" SIZE
PRIM/l.RY
CRUSHER

NORDBERG
+4MESH ~ VIBRATING
SCREEN

~
2 DECK
NORDBERG
HP300
CONE
CRUSHER -10 MESH

4X 10 MESH
ROTEX SCREEN
4 UNITS

DELTA

-70 MESH

10 UNITS

14 UNITS
.::=::::::I TRIPLE PASS TRIPLE PASS
('"',....---.C...lf- MAGNETIC MAGNETIC
o (If-SEPARATOR (~)7--~(~)~?SEPARATOR
TAILS
TAILS

JlCONC
TAILS 4 I - - - - - - . - - - - ; - - - - - - - . J f
CONC

~I------------~~.CONCENTRATE
Preconcentrating Ore to be Fed to the Primary Refinery

Process flow sheets have been developed to upgrade tincal and kernite ores by dry mineral
beneficiation methods. Approximately 75% of the claystone present in the ore can be rejected
by dry high intensity magnetic separation. Rejection of this amount of claystone would upgrade
the ore from approximately 60% pure borate mineral to 90%. The process flow sheet for
preconcentrating tincal ore includes crushing in three stages, sizing the particles into three screen
brackets, and magnetically separating 6.6 mm x 1.4 mm (1/4" x 10 mesh Tyler) bracket to reject
free claystone particles and crushing the save product to minus 1.4 mm (10 mesh Tyler). The
quaternary crushing step liberates remaining claystone from borax and rejoins the 1.4 mm x .2
mm (10 mesh x 65 mesh Tyler) particle size stream which is also magnetically separated. The
minus .2 mm (65 mesh Tyler) upgrades by natural preferential breaking to become a save product
(see Figure 7). Three to seven percent of the BZ0 3 is lost with the reject stream. The reject
product is dry and granular with very desirable handling characteristics for discarding.

The process flow sheet for kernite ore is similar to that of tineal ore with the exception that
the screening method is changed to deal with the acicular mineral shapes (see Figure 8). The
mechanical action of rotary screens provides the advantage of aligning the long axis of the
kernite minerals with the long axis of the screens. The slots are parallel to the long axis of the
screen and are .83 mm width to size kernite at the liberation point.

The two flow sheets take advantage of the opportunity to reject clean claystone particles that
axe detached above the liberation point. Data from a typical tincal magnetic separation laboratory
test is shown in Table 2. It becomes clear that rejection of claystone above the liberation point
helps to produce low B Z0 3 losses and cuts the amount of material to be crushed in the quaternary
step in half.

Table 2. Tineal Ore Magnetic Separation of Screen Fractions

3.3 (6 mesh) 10.9 51.1 1.8 66.5 . 33.1 14.0

1.4 (10 mesh) 14.8 43.7 3.0 84.9 31.1 14.4
0.8 (20 mesh) 21.3 38.6 6.8 74.9 34.3 6.2
0.4 (35 mesh) 23.4 33.1 4.5 80.1 33.7 7.4
0.2 (65 mesh) 22.4 36.0 7.0 74.5 33.6 7.3
Fines 23.7 31.6 23.7 31.6
Total 19.2 39.3 4.6 80.4 31.6 13.0

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 TincalOre

6.6 mm x 1.4 mm
Magnetic
Secondary Separator
Crusher
()
Open
Circuit

Conc

Tails

Tertiary
Crusher
00 Quaternary
Closed Crusher
Circuit

-6.6 mm
(1/4 in) ,...4l1liII1II-----

Screen
1.4mm I
(10 Mesh)"
~+1.4mm

-1.4 mm
1.4 mm x.2 mm Magnetic
Separator

Conc
+.2mm
Tails

Reject Tailings Preconcentrated Feed

To Primary Refinery
Figure 7. Schematic Flow Diagram Tineal Ore
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Kernite Ore

6.6 mm x.8 mm
Magnetic
Secondary Separator
Crusher
()
Open
Circuit

Cone

Tails

Tertiary
Crusher
00 Quaternary
Closed
Crusher
Circuit

-6.6 mm
(1/4 in) .....
4111.......- - - -

-.8mm +.8 mm

.8 mm x.2 mm Magnetic
Separator

Cone
Tails
+.2 mm
-.2mm

Reject Tailings
Preconcentrated Feed
Figure 8. Schematic Flow Diagram Kernite Ore
To Primary Refinery

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 The application of borate ore upgrading for economic benefit at Boron is the classic
installation of a concentrating mill between the mine and refinery. Because the ore at Boron is
very high grade and contains 60% water soluble sodium borate minerals it is difficult to justify
a concentrating mill. In fact the first attempt to justify a concentrating mill in the primary
refinery flow stream was a failure. Simply upgrading ore feed streams to the existing plant
provided enough economic benefit to offset added operating cost but not enough additional to
justify capital expenditure to construct a major plant.

Detailed investigation of the chemistry of upgraded ores led to new possibilities for process
improvements. Several principles were discovered that have potential for major plant operational
savmgs:

• Magnetically separated ores provide desirable particle size distributions that aid down stream
process kinetics.

• Direct dissolving of kernite ores can be accomplished in manageable retention times.

• Co-precipitation of probertite (NaCaB509 • 5H20) occurs in similar retention time.

• Other proprietary improvements.

First cut economic analysis of applying the above principles made possible by mineral
beneficiation of the ore to production of refined products showed the potential for significant
operational unit cost savings. Commercial implementation of the alternate methods would require
replacement of a major portion of the present plant facility. Intangible product quality
improvements are noticed also. Research is progressing from large scale laboratory testing to
continuous pilot scale testing. Because we are changing the basic conditions at the head end of
the circuit everything downstream is affected. The pilot test run will be very detailed.

Concentrating Borate Minerals to Produce Potential Products

Laboratory scale research to find methods to produce beneficiated mineral products has been
conducted. Technical problems exist which prevent this project from progressing to the next step.

CONCLUSION

Dry mineral beneficiation including magnetic separation will be taking a more important role
in processing borate ores at U.S. Borax. Application of the principles occurs in three stages of
process development: (1) commercial plant construction, (2) pilot plant testing, and (3) laboratory
investigation.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author would like to acknowledge the U.S. Borax management and staff for permission
to present this paper and for encouragement and help in its preparation. The management team
in the Mine Department was especially helpful in gathering samples and in evaluating data.

REFERENCES

Anon, Inprosys, "High-Force Magnetic Separators," Technical Bulletin.

Anon, OSNA, "Permroll Magnetic Separator," Technical Bulletin.

Hsih, C. S. and Wen, S. B., 1994, "An Extension of Gaudin's Liberation Model for
Quantitatively Representing the Effect of Detachment In Liberation," International Journal of
Mineral Processing, 42 ( 1994) 15-35, Elsevier Science.

Siefke,1. W., 1991, "The Boron Open Pit Mine at The Kramer Borate Deposit," The Diversity
of Mineral and Energy Resources of California, Guidebook Series Volume 12, pp 4-15, by
Society of Economic Geologists, McKibben, M. A., ed.

Taggart, A. F., 1945, "Relative Magnetic Attractability of Minerals," Handbook of Mineral

Dressing, Wiley & Sons, p 13-02.

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