MINING MATERIAL CHARACTERIZATION

PRACTICUM
MINERAL ANALYSIS AND PROCESSING LABORATORY
MINING ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
ENGINEERING FACULTY HASANUDDIN UNIVERSITY
Gedung Jurusan Geologi Lt. 3 Fakultas Teknik Universitas Hasanuddin Kampus 2, Jl. Poros Malino Km. 6, Bontomarannu, Gowa. 92171.

Mining Material Characterization

Practicum Module

EVENT IV: LOSS ON IGNITION

EVENT HOLDER:
Muh. Rahmatul Jihad
Shany Sofiah Fauth
Aisha Rezi Amalia

MINERAL ANALYSIS AND PROCESSING LABORATORY

MINING ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

ENGINEERING FACULTY
HASANUDDIN UNIVERSITY

MAKASSAR
2022
 MINING MATERIAL CHARACTERIZATION
PRACTICUM
MINERAL ANALYSIS AND PROCESSING
LABORATORY MINING ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

A. BACKGROUND

Analysis Loss on Ignition was used to determine the content of incandescent

loss in the sample. Loss on Ignition method shows the content of material lost during
the annealing process by comparing the weight of the sample before and after
combustion, where before the combustion process is carried out, the sample contains
some water content and volatile material, but after the annealing process what
remains is only the mineral part of the soil. This method determines the content of
the sample at high temperature using a furnace (Zhang and Wang, 2014).
Sequential loss on ignition (LOI) is a common and widely used method to
estimate the organic and carbonate content of sediments (Dean, 1974). The weight
loss during the reactions is easily measured by weighing the samples before and
after heating and is closely correlated to the organic matter and carbonate content of
the sediment ( Bengtsson & Enell, 1986). Dean (1974) evaluated the method and
concluded that LOI provides a fast and inexpensive means of determining carbonate
and organic contents of rocks with precision and accuracy comparable to other, more
sophisticated geochemical methods. Bengtsson & Enell (1986), in their instructions to
the technique, mention that the method gives a rough indication of the organic
matter and carbonate content of sediments. Depending on the ignition temperature,
various losses of volatile salts, structural water and inorganic carbon may occur and
it is important to check the ignition temperature carefully for organic matter
determination. Nonetheless, a short survey of recently published palaeolimnological
studies shows that there are stillsubstantial differences in the methods used
(Sutherland, 1998). No standard protocol exists for LOI analysis, but it is well
documented that LOI is affected by ignition temperature, duration of ignition and
ignited sample mass (Abella & Zimmer, 2007).
Some companies engaged in mining, usually use samples in the form of fuse
beads in the analysis process. The process of making fuse bead samples is carried
out using very high temperatures so that some compounds will be lost due to the
oxidation process or disappearance of incandescence so that there is a need for an
analysis of Loss on Ignition in the fuse bead sample that has been made with the

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 MINING MATERIAL CHARACTERIZATION
PRACTICUM
MINERAL ANALYSIS AND PROCESSING
LABORATORY MINING ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

aim of knowing the total oxide contained in a sample. In the fuse bead process, it is
necessary to have a controller in the process, so this research is here to compare the
relationship between loi and elements which can later be used in several companies
in the analysis process.

B. LITERATURE REVIEW

1. Loss on ignition (LOI)

Loss on ignition (LOI) is one of the most widely used methods to measure
organic matter content in soil but it does not have a universal standard protocol. A
large number of factors can affect its accuracy, such as the type of furnace, the mass
of the sample, the duration and temperature of ignition and the clay content of the
sample. Loss on Ignition (LOI) analysis uses a relatively simple procedure compared
to other procedures used to determine organic matter content because the process
does not involve the use of any chemicals, only the use of a muffle furnace. Loss on
ignition (LOI) calculates the organic matter content by comparing the sample weight
before and before the soil is burned. Before ignition, the sample contained organic
matter, but after ignition all that remained was the mineral part of the soil. The
difference in weight before and before ignition indicates the amount of organic
matter present in the sample. This method determines the organic matter content of
the soil by oxidizing organic matter to CO2 at high temperatures in a considered
furnace and measuring weight loss (Edward, 2015).

2. LOI in the Mining Industry

In the cement industry, Loss on Ignition (LOI) analysis aims to control the
addition of limestone filler in the cement manufacturing process. Limestone filler is
an additive in the cement manufacturing process which contains a lot of CaCO3. The
addition aims to reduce clinker production costs, energy expended and reduce
carbon dioxide emissions. Loss on Ignition is a parameter used in cement analysis by
heating the cement sample at a high temperature of 950±50°C. This analysis was
carried out with the aim of determining the weight of water and organic compounds.

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 MINING MATERIAL CHARACTERIZATION
PRACTICUM
MINERAL ANALYSIS AND PROCESSING
LABORATORY MINING ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

In addition, this analysis aims to control the amount of limestone filler in cement (de
Sensale & Viacava, 2018).
In the nickel industry, considering that most of the world's nickel resources
contain a lot of laterite, laterite ores are generally classified into two types, namely
the highiron-lateriteore and the high-magnesia lateriteore. In the stainless steel
industry stipulated by the Chinese government, Nickel Pig Iron is used to produce
pure nickel because of its low cost. Thermal stability analysis is one of the stages of
making Nickel Pig Iron. Thermal characterization was carried out using
Thermogravimetric–Differential Thermal Analysis (TA+DTG). The principle of this
method is the same as the LOI analysis where the mass reduction or loss of volatile
substances in nickel samples is caused by changes in temperature (Daud, 2013).

C. PRACTICAL OBJECTIVES

The objectives to be achieved from this practicum are:

1. Knowing the use of Loss on Ignition analysis in the mining industry.
2. Knowing the percentage of Loss on ignition content in the sample.
3. Knowing the relationship between Loss on ignition and the sample being
analyzed.

D. TOOLS AND MATERIALS

The tools used in this practice are:

a. Muffle Furnace
b. Desiccator
c. Analytical balance sheet
d. Cup
e. Spatula
f. Laboratory Tweezers
g. Mortar
h. Mask (person)

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 MINING MATERIAL CHARACTERIZATION
PRACTICUM
MINERAL ANALYSIS AND PROCESSING
LABORATORY MINING ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

i. Laboratory coat
The materials used in this practice are:
1. Powder Sample
2. Alcohol
3. Tissue
4. Stationery

E. PRACTICUM IMPLEMENTATION STAGE

1. Prepare the tools and materials that will be needed in the practicum.
2. Tools are cleaned first and sterilized using alcohol.
3. Preparation of the sample into small granules using a mortar.
4. Weigh the empty cup, then add 1 g of sample.
5. Enter the cup and the sample that has been measured by weight into the
muffle furnace after the temperature in the tool has been 50oC.
6. Make settings on the control panel, namely "fixed temp" to set the
temperature and "timer" to set the burning time, then press the "start"
button.
7. Wait until the temperature that has been set matches the settings on the
control panel.
8. After that, the sample will be removed from the muffle furnace and put in the
desiccator.
9. After the sample is safe to hold, the sample will be weighed again to
determine its weight.
10. Then record all the weighing results to calculate the loss on ignition on the
sample.

F. PRACTICUM INTRODUCTION TASKS

1. Explain the meaning, benefits in the mining industry and the formula for Loss
on Ignition?

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 MINING MATERIAL CHARACTERIZATION
PRACTICUM
MINERAL ANALYSIS AND PROCESSING
LABORATORY MINING ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

2. Look for international journals about "Loss on Ignition", then translate into
Indonesian at least 3 paragraphs, then paraphrase the translation! Attach the
taken journal and mark the quoted paragraph with a pen or highlighter.
Noted: "For the same journal and paraphrase results, the value of
the assignment will be divided”

G. REFERENCES

Abella, S.R. & Zimmer, B.W. 2007. Estimating organic carbon from loss-on-ignition in
northern Arizona forest soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal . No. 71.
pp 545–550.

Bengtsson, L. & M. Enell, 1986. Chemical analysis. In Berglund, B. E. (ed.),

Handbook of Holocene Palaeoecology and Palaeohydrology . John Wiley & Sons
Ldt., Chichester.

Daud, S., 2013. The Reliminary Study on Re-utilization of Ferrous-Nickel Slag to

Replace Conventional Construction Material for Road Construction Advanced.
Advanced Material Research. Volume 723, pp. 694-702.

de Sensale, G.R., Viacava, I. R. 2018. A Study on Blended Portland Cements

Containing Residual Rice Husk Ash and Limestone Filler. Construction and
Building Material. Vol. 166, pp. 873-888.

Dean, W. E. Jr., 1974. Determination of Carbonate and Organic Matter In

Calcareous Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks by Loss on Ignition. Comparison
with Other Methods. J. Sed. Petrol.

Edward P.J. Plaster, 2015. Estimating soil organic carbon through loss on ignition:
effects of ignition conditions and structural water loss . Cengage Learning.
Boston: Amerika Serikat.

Sutherland, R. A., 1998. Loss on ignition estimates of organic matter and

relationships to organic carbon in fluvial bed sediments. Hydrobiologia 389.