SME Annual Meeting
Feb. 28-Mar. 03, 2010, Phoenix, AZ
DESIGN OF A JIG FOR SEPARATING MINERALS OF VERY SIMILAR DENSITIES
J. T. Carlson, Michigan Tech, Houghton, MI
T. C. Eisele, Michigan Tech, Houghton, MI
S. K. Kawatra, Michigan Tech, Houghton, MI
ABSTRACT
Dolomite is an objectionable impurity in phosphate ores, due to its
MgO content. Even though dolomite and apatite liberate at a coarse
size, the very similar densities of dolomite and apatite makes density
separations difficult. However, if operated correctly, jigging can be a
very efficient process. This has led to the development of a unique
laboratory scale jig that allows for easy alteration of effective jigging
properties. Key jigging parameters have been investigated for the
separation of dolomite from phosphate ores. It was found that a
pulsation rate of approximately 200 pulses/minute worked best for
separating dolomite from apatite.
INTRODUCTION
Phosphate rock is a fundamental commodity used in the
production of phosphorus based fertilizers. In the United States,
Florida and North Carolina account for approximately 85% of total
domestic output of phosphate rock (USGS 2009). Large phosphate
reserves such as the Bone Valley of Florida are becoming depleted,
forcing the phosphate industry to move operations south into lower
grade phosphate reserves. These low grade phosphate reserves
typically contain large amounts of dolomite impurities. If not removed,
dolomite hinders the phosphoric acid production process by increasing
sulfuric acid consumption and decreasing filtration rates. Dolomite
content is typically reported as weight percent MgO and in general, an
MgO content of less than 1% is desired.
Due to the mineralogical similarities between dolomite
(CaMg(CO3)2) and apatite (Ca5(PO4)3(F,OH,Cl)), an efficient and
cost effective method for dolomite removal has not yet been
developed. Methods such as flotation (direct and reverse), acid
leaching (strong and weak), and gravity separation (heavy media
cyclones) have been proposed for the separation of dolomite from
apatite. Ultimately, each method has failed due to one or more of the
following reasons:
1. High cost of crushing and grinding
2. High cost associated with reagents
3. Low phosphate recovery
4. Inability to achieve a phosphate concentrate containing less than
1 %MgO
One method that has not been attempted for use in separating
dolomite from apatite is jigging. Jigging is a process in which light
particles are separated from heavy particles by the continuous
expansion and compaction of a particle bed. Figure 1 shows the
mechanisms of separation that occur during the jigging process. The
first mechanism of separation is initial differential acceleration, which
occurs at the very beginning of the pulsation stroke. Initial differential
acceleration separates purely on density differences. The second
mechanism of separation, hindered settling, occurs during the
pulsation stroke and leading into the suction stroke, and separates
based on both particle size and particle density. The final mechanism
of separation is consolidation trickling, where-in the suction stroke pulls
fine heavy particles through larger heavy particles on top of the screen.
Consolidation trickling separates particles mainly based on size.
1 Copyright © 2010 by SME
Preprint 10-044
Figure 1. Methods of Particle Stratification Through the Jigging
Process: The particle bed is stratified through a series of expansions
and compactions. Figure adapted from Gupta and Yan 2006.
Even though the separation mechanisms involved in the jigging
process are known, the interaction between key jigging parameters is
not well understood. Some of the most significant jigging parameters
include: Total jigging time, particle bed depth, hutch water flow rate,
pulsation stroke length, and pulsation rate. Stroke length and
pulsation rate are said to be the most important jigging parameters
aside from total jigging time (Mukerjee and Mishra 2006). This is
mainly due to the fact that these two parameters determine the fluid
velocity which is exerted on the jig bed, therefore, deciding whether or
not the jig bed fluidizes.
Jigging is particularly attractive for the removal of dolomite from
phosphate ores for many reasons:
1) Jigs can work with coarse particles, so grinding costs are
eliminated;
2) Jigging is relatively inexpensive compared to heavy media
separation and flotation;
3) Jigs can be highly selective if operated correctly. However,
jigging could potentially experience some of the same efficiency
problems as the heavy media cyclones.
Since jigging is a gravity separation process, by definition its
efficiency depends on the density differences between the minerals.
As a rule of thumb, the concentration criterion shown in equation (1)
can be used to describe the difficulty of the separation. In general, a
concentration criterion less than 1.25 means that the separation is not
economically feasible with the types of gravity concentration methods
currently available (Wills, 1985).
Dh − D f
Concentration Criterion =
Dl − D f
(1)
The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of
jigging as a method to separate dolomite from apatite in high dolomite
phosphate ores. One of the most important jigging parameters,
pulsation rate, was varied to see how it affects the efficiency of the
 SME Annual Meeting
Feb. 28-Mar. 03, 2010, Phoenix, AZ

jigging process in removing dolomite from high dolomite phosphate ore, there was a need to design a jig that allowed for easy changes.
ores. Density studies were done to predict the efficiency of gravity Figure 4 shows photos of the plunger style jig. The main body of the
separation processes with the concentration criterion. jig is made of 4” PVC pipe with a pulsation arm made of 2” PVC pipe.
Also pictured are the pulsation rate controller and jig top (contains
EXPERIMENTAL screen). The valve at the bottom of the jig allows for a constant flow of
Materials water (hutch flow) through the jig. Flow rates were controlled and
Two 55 gallon drums of high dolomite phosphate ore were regulated using a chemical resistant magnetic drive pump with a
obtained from a Florida phosphate company. The ore was screened to calibrated rotameter. This constant upward flow increases the
the following size fractions: +2.5 mesh, -2.5/+3 mesh, -3/+4 mesh, - magnitude of the fluid velocity during the pulsation stroke and aids in
4/+5 mesh, -5/+6 mesh, -6/+8 mesh, -8/+10 mesh, -10/+12 mesh, - the fluidization of the particle bed.
12/+14 mesh, and -14 mesh. A series of rotary and riffle splitters were Table 1. Density Measurements using 25mL Pycnometer.
used to split each size fraction into approximately 100 gram 3
Density (g/cm )
representative samples. Atomic absorption spectrometry was used to
Dark Black Pebbles (Apatite) 2.78
determine the amount of MgO present in each of the size fractions.
Light Grey Smooth Pebbles (Apatite) 2.55
The atomic absorption spectrometer used was a Varian fast sequential
atomic absorption spectrometer model number AA240FS. Mg results Light Yellow Rough Pebbles (Dolomite) 2.51
were converted to MgO by multiplying by 1.658 (ratio of M.W. of MgO
divided by M.W. of Mg). Figure 2 shows the characterization of the Plunger and
high dolomite phosphate pebble ore. Motor
Pulsation
Mechanism
High Dolomite Phosphate Pebble Characterization
30.0% 8.00%
Screen
2” PVC
7.00% Pipe
25.0%

6.00%
Weight Percent of Total  (%)

Controller
20.0%
5.00%
% MgO

Hutch
15.0% 4.00% Water Inlet
Valve
3.00%
10.0%

2.00% Jig Top

4” PVC
Plunger Style Jig Pipe
5.0%
1.00%
Figure 4. Plunger Pulsation Jig.
0.0% 0.00%
Another benefit for making the jig out of PVC pipe is that it is
+2.5M 2.5x3M 3x4M 4x5M 5x6M 6x8M 8x10M 10x12M 12x14M ‐14M
Size Fraction (Tyler Mesh) corrosion resistant. The jig was designed keeping in mind the
Figure 2. Characterization of High Dolomite Phosphate Ore: The bar possibility of using jigging fluids other than water, and PVC pipe allows
graph represents the weight percents of each size fraction (left y-axis) for the use of potentially corrosive fluids. Unions made the jig user
and the line graph represents the % MgO in each size fraction (right y- friendly by allowing specific parts of the jig to be modified easily and
axis). quickly without have to build a completely new jig.

Since the efficiency of the proposed gravity separation method Experimental Procedure
depends greatly on the density of the ore, the density of pebbles were A batch testing procedure was developed and used in the initial
measured. Pebbles were hand separated into three categories base optimization of critical jigging parameters. The procedure was a
and color and texture. The following three categories represent the straight forward batch process that can be simplified into the following
different pebbles present in the high dolomite phosphate ore: Dark steps:
black pebbles, light grey smooth pebbles, and light yellow porous 1) Fill jig with desired amount of ore;
pebbles. Figure 3 shows a photo of the samples. It was determined 2) Set pulsation rate and constant hutch water flow rate;
with XRD that the dark black and light grey smooth pebbles are both 3) Run jig for desired jigging time;
apatite while the light yellow pebbles are dolomite. 4) Shut off pulsation controller and magnetic drive pump.
After the jig was drained, the jig top (contains jig bed) was
removed. In order to quantitatively describe the degree of separation,
the jig bed was broken down into four zones as shown in figure 5.
Each zone was removed (starting with zone 4), dried, weighed, and
analyzed for MgO content using atomic absorbance spectrometry.
Better separations would result in a lower MgO content in zones 1 and
2, and a higher MgO content in zones 3 and 4.
When comparing different jigging tests it was important to take
Figure 3. High Dolomite Phosphate Ore: The phosphate pebble was into consideration the variation in the total MgO content in the feed.
separated by hand into categories based on color and texture. This variation in feed MgO was significant considering that a pebble
sized ore (up to 3 mesh) was used in the jigging tests. To account for
Density measurements were completed using a 25mL this variation, results were plotted as weight % rejected vs. % of total
pycnometer. Ten grams of each pebble type were put into a 25mL MgO removed. These graphs are described as “MgO rejection
pycnometer and filled with distilled water. The pycnometer was rotated curves”.
gently for about two minutes to make sure no air bubbles were trapped
between the pebbles. Results are shown below in table 1. Experimental Parameters
The following tests were designed to investigate the feasibility of
Experimental Setup using jigging as method for removing dolomite from high dolomite
With the initial phase of the project focused on optimizing key phosphate ore. The pulsation rate was varied in attempt to find the
jigging parameters for the removal of dolomite from phosphate pebble optimal pulsation rate for the separation. Pulsation rates of 100, 200,
2 Copyright © 2010 by SME
 SME Annual Meeting
Feb. 28-Mar. 03, 2010, Phoenix, AZ

and 300 pulse/min were tested. Each test was run in triplicate check
for reproducibility. Constant jigging parameters are located below in
table 2.
The MgO rejection curves show that the 200 and 300 pulse/min.
results in a straight line up to approximately 75 weight % rejected.
This indicates that practically no separation occurred from zone 2 to
zone 4. The results in table 3 numerically confirmed this observation.
This was somewhat expected taking into consideration the density
measurements shown in table 2, with essentially no difference
between the low density apatite pebbles and dolomite pebbles.
However, this jigging process did efficiently concentrate the dark
apatite pebbles, which was visually apparent in figure 7. In order to
increase phosphate recovery rates further, any of several approaches
must be taken to enhance the separation efficiency. Such methods
could include the use a ragging materials and/or the modification of
effective particle densities.

Zone 4 Table 3. Results from Pulsation Rate Jigging Tests.

Pulsation Rate ‐ 100 pulse/min
Zone 3 T1 T2 T3
% MgO % Weight % MgO % Weight % MgO % Weight
Zone 2 Zone 4 3.71% 20.92% 4.18% 20.58% 4.04% 20.73%
Zone 3 3.89% 25.47% 2.88% 26.27% 3.51% 25.53%
Zone 1 Zone 2 3.64% 26.58% 3.70% 29.06% 2.88% 26.64%
Zone 1 2.82% 27.03% 3.14% 24.09% 2.88% 27.09%
Calc. Feed 3.49% 100% 3.45% 100% 3.28% 100%

Screen Pulsation Rate ‐ 200 pulse/min
T1 T2 T3
Figure 5. Jig Top. % MgO % Weight % MgO % Weight % MgO % Weight
Table 2. Constant Jigging Parameters. Zone 4 3.85% 16.96% 3.83% 20.58% 3.98% 20.92%
Parameter Value Zone 3 4.09% 19.99% 4.07% 26.27% 4.48% 25.47%
Total Jigging Time 1 Minute Zone 2 4.18% 29.01% 3.57% 29.06% 3.11% 26.58%
Zone 1 2.01% 34.04% 1.75% 24.09% 1.88% 27.03%
Hutch Water Flow Rate 0.5 gpm
Calc. Feed 3.37% 100% 3.32% 100% 3.31% 100%
Feed -3 /+6M Phosphate Ore
Fluid Medium Tap Water Pulsation Rate ‐ 300 pulse/min
T1 T2 T3
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION % MgO % Weight % MgO % Weight % MgO % Weight
Analysis of Results Zone 4 4.06% 15.19% 3.59% 18.46% 4.29% 25.51%
Results from the pulsation rate studies can be seen in table 3 Zone 3 4.37% 17.10% 3.89% 24.81% 3.67% 23.55%
below, in the form of % MgO content and % weight recovery for each Zone 2 4.16% 28.56% 3.44% 30.61% 3.99% 25.82%
zone. The higher pulsation rates (200 and 300 pulse/min) show a Zone 1 2.30% 39.15% 1.57% 26.11% 1.80% 25.12%
significantly better separation than the lower pulsation rate (100 Calc. Feed 3.45% 100% 3.09% 100% 3.44% 100%
pulse/min). Although, from the table it was not apparent whether a
pulsation rate of 300 pulse/min. is better than a pulsation rate of 200
pulse/min. The results were also plotted as an MgO rejection curve
which is shown below in figure 6. Graphically, it shows that higher
pulsation rates of 200 and 300 pulse/min gave the best results as they
removed more MgO while removing less total weight. Pulsation rates
beyond 300 pulse/min. were not tested because higher pulsation rates
produced turbulent and uneven fluid flow through the jig bed.

Pulsation Rate Jigging Results
Figure 7. Sample From 200 pulse/min Pulsation Rate Test: Results
100%
visibly show that the jigging process works well at concentrating dark
apatite pebbles into zone 1. The problem lies in the fact that the light
90%
grey apatite and dolomite pebbles have almost the same densities.
80% Various approaches are under consideration to increase the efficiency
70%
of the jigging process.
Weight % Rejected

60% CONCLUSIONS
50%
The high dolomite phosphate ore could be separated (by hand)
40% into three different color categories: Dark black pebbles, light grey
smooth pebbles, and light yellow rough pebbles. With XRD it was
30%
determined that the dark black and light grey smooth pebbles were
20% both apatite while the light yellow rough pebbles were dolomite. The
PR100
10% PR200
densities for the light grey apatite and dolomite pebbles were almost
3
PR300 exactly the same at approximately 2.5 g/cm . The dark black high
0%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
density apatite pebbles were significantly denser at approximately 2.8
3
% of Total MgO Removed g/cm .
Figure 6. Jigging Results for Pulsation Rate Tests: When plotted as Jigging tests were carried out using a -3/+6 mesh high dolomite
weight % rejected vs. % of total MgO removed it is apparent that phosphate feed at pulsation rates of 100, 200, and 300 pulse/min.
higher pulsation rates give better separations. Pulsation rates of 200 Pulsation rates of 200 and 300 pulse/min showed significantly better
and 300 pulse/min show almost identical results. separations than that of the lower pulsation rates. Pulsation rates

3 Copyright © 2010 by SME

 SME Annual Meeting
Feb. 28-Mar. 03, 2010, Phoenix, AZ

greater than 300 pulse/min. resulted in turbulent flow through the jig 17. Mukherjee, A. K, and B. K. Mishra. "An integral assessment of the
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20. Zafar, Zafar Iqbal, M. M. Anwar, and D. W. Pritchard.
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