International Journal of Mineral Processing 125 (2013) 149156

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International Journal of Mineral Processing

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijminpro

The effect of phyllosilicate minerals on mineral processing industry

Bulelwa Ndlovu, Saeed Farrokhpay , Dee Bradshaw
Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre, The University of Queensland, 40 Isles Road, Indooroopilly, QLD 4068, Australia

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 20 April 2013
Received in revised form 25 September 2013
Accepted 28 September 2013
Available online 9 October 2013
Keywords:
Clays
Phyllosilicate
Mineral processing
Flotation
Rheology

a b s t r a c t
The increased exposure to low grade ores has highlighted the importance of understanding phyllosilicate gangue
mineralogy. These minerals exist as common gangue minerals and have been shown to present challenges during
ore beneciation, with issues arising throughout the processing circuit. Nonetheless, the industry's understanding of the issues and solutions related to these minerals remains poor; a likely result of the gap between mineral
processing and mineralogy. This paper gives a comprehensive description of the phyllosilicate group; classifying
the minerals according to variations in structure. The typical problems encountered with these minerals are
discussed, with specic reference to industrial operations. The current practices being used to mitigate the effects
of phyllosilicate minerals are also reviewed. This paper provides a better understanding of the effect of
phyllosilicate minerals on mineral processing.
2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Contents
1.
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.
Phyllosilicate mineralogy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.
Typical processing problems encountered with phyllosilicate bearing ores
4.
Current mitigation strategies for dealing with phyllosilicate bearing ores
5.
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1. Introduction
The increased exposure to nely disseminated, low grade ores has
highlighted the importance of understanding gangue mineralogy as a
means to diagnose problems and improve processing in mineral industry. The presence of multiple phases of unwanted gangue material often
hinders the liberation of valuable minerals, and ultrane grinding is
then required to achieve sufcient mineral recovery. Often broadly classied as clays, phyllosilicate group minerals exist as common gangue
components in many low grade ores (e.g. serpentine in Mt. Keith nickel
sulphide ore, Western Australia (Senior and Thomas, 2005) and talc in
the Bushvelt Complex, South Africa (Schouwstra et al., 2000)). In the
past, the processing of some of these ores has been problematic; with
difculties such as reduced production performance, complex tailings
treatment, and pumping challenges arising. However, the industry's
Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 7 33465987; fax: +61 7 33655999.
E-mail address: s.farrokhpay@uq.edu.au (S. Farrokhpay).
0301-7516/$ see front matter 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.minpro.2013.09.011

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149
151
152
153
154
155
155

understanding of the specic effects and potential solutions to

phyllosilicate related processing problems remains poor. Research into
the fundamental analysis of the ow behaviour of phyllosilicate mineral
suspensions is an area of growing interest, particularly in the context of
low grade ore beneciation. Such knowledge would be benecial towards nding long term solutions to the processing problems currently
being encountered.
As the most likely products of chemical weathering, hydrothermal
alteration and sedimentary deposition, phyllosilicate minerals are common accessory minerals in several mineral deposits including copper
porphyrys, nickel laterites, volcanic volatile-rich igneous rocks and
coal deposits. As a result, phyllosilicate minerals are associated with
several valuable minerals including (but not limited to) copper, nickel,
iron, gold and uranium. Therefore, the adverse effects arising from the
presence of phyllosilicate gangue minerals are prevalent throughout
mining and mineral processing industries. This makes the signicance
of phyllosilicate gangue mineralogy on the overall processing of
low grade ores seem obvious. Most studies linking mineralogy and

150

B. Ndlovu et al. / International Journal of Mineral Processing 125 (2013) 149156

metallurgical performance have been limited to ores often creating

an environment that is both difcult to control and quantify. (e.g.
Burdukova et al., 2008; Shabalala et al., 2011; Wiese et al., 2007;
Jorjani et al., 2011). However, there has been little research aimed at
identifying the specic behaviour of the different phyllosilicate minerals
within the context of specic unit operations. In fact, this area, is relatively new in its application to the mineral processing industry.
Indeed there has been some valuable fundamental research conducted on some minerals belonging to the phyllosilicate group; with
most studies limited to kaolinite and montmorillonite (e.g. Cruz et al.,
2013). However, most of these studies have been angled towards
other industries such as nanocomposite science, ceramic manufacturing,
cosmetics, paper making and soil decontamination (e.g. Miano and
Rabaioli, 1994; Dai and Huang, 1999; Gier and Johns, 2000; Plotze
et al., 2003; Banll et al., 2009; Viseras et al., 2010; Duman et al.,
2012). In those applications, the key issues are not necessarily the
same points of interest as pertained to the mineral processing context.
However, research in these elds has been foundational in identifying
the asymmetric particle shape, colloidal particle size and anisotropic
surface charge properties as the key factors proven to be useful to the respective industries (Rand and Melton, 1977; James and Williams, 1982;
Vali and Bachmann, 1988; Scales et al., 1990; Permien and Lagaly, 1994;
Johnson et al., 1998; Benna et al., 1999; Luckham and Rossi, 1999; Lagaly
and Zeismer, 2003; Tombcz and Szekeres, 2006; Burdukova et al.,
2007).
Some contemporary denitions have categorised clay minerals as
particles with sizes less than 20 m (e.g. Deer et al., 1992; Boggs,
2006; rodo, 2006). At these colloidal particle sizes, surface specic
area is larger and the inuence of surface charge is greater. The likelihood of entrainment of ne gangue to the concentrate, the formation
of slime coatings' poor settling rates and increased residence time are
also enhanced (Arnold and Aplan, 1986). When present in an ore they
will enter the processing circuit because their ne size makes them virtually unavoidable.
Phyllosilicate minerals are also characterised by their distinctive
non-spherical particle shapes. Fundamental rheological studies using
synthetic materials have been benecial in demonstrating that suspension rheological behaviour becomes increasingly complex with a larger
deviation from spherical morphology (Barnes et al., 1989). Rheological
complexity, in this case, describes the non-Newtonian behaviour experienced by suspensions associated with nonlinear increases in yield
stress and viscosity with increasing solid content. The relevance of
non-spherical morphology in mineral systems was veried in dense
medium separation studies, with suspensions of spherical ferrosilicon
particles, of equivalent slurry density and particle size, exhibiting
lower viscosities than irregular shaped magnetite particles (Collins
et al., 1974). This difference was attributed to variations in length to diameter (L/D) ratios, where non-Newtonian behaviour is more pronounced with particles of larger L/D ratios (Horie and Pinder, 1979).
The agglomeration behaviour of phyllosilicate minerals is further
complicated by their anisotropic surface charge properties; which results in edges and faces of different charges. The derivation of charge
on these surfaces has been investigated considerably, and is still an
area of much debate. Traditionally, the face surfaces are believed to
carry a permanent structural negative charge due to isomorphous substitution of higher valence ions (e.g. Si4+) with lower valence ions (e.g.
Al3+) (Okuda et al., 1969; Zhou and Gunter, 1992; Johnson et al., 2000).
However, advances in electrokinetic, streaming potential and direct
force measurements have revealed that the basal faces also show
ionisation trends, not inconsistent with the pH dependent hydrolysis
of silicon in the surface plane. This is particularly the case in the pH regime 48, suggesting the presence of a small amount of pH dependent
negative charge (Scales et al., 1990). The exact contribution to the face
charge of layered silicates due to either isomorphous substitution or
ionisation is not clearly understood and more detailed research is warranted. However, it can generally be assumed that the charging on the

basal plane of phyllosilicate minerals is largely due to isomorphous substitution resulting in a negative charge, whose change with pH may be
attributed to the pH dependent ionisation of exposed silanol groups
on the surface. The charge derivation on the edges has not been conclusively established either, but is thought to be due to the ionisation of exposed hydroxyl groups, dependent on solution pH. Therefore, in acidic
solution the edge is expected to carry a positive charge, while in alkaline
solution the edge is negatively charged. It should be noted that the effective surface charge also depends on the ions adsorbed from the solution, which is inuenced by the surface charge density and the ions
available from the compounds used to adjust the pH.
While there is still much debate over the derivation of charges on the
different surfaces, there is common agreement that there is a charge separation between the edges and faces, with the faces carrying a predominantly negative charge while the charge on the edges changes from
positive to negative. This charge heterogeneity results in irregular stacking. Although there exist differing schools of thought regarding the prevalent modes of particle interaction, three main modes have been
identied, namely; edgeface (EF), edgeedge (EE) and faceface (FF);
each with different implications on the suspension ow behaviour
(Van Olpen, 1977; Rand and Melton, 1977; James and Williams, 1982;
Permien and Lagaly, 1994; Benna et al., 1999; Johnson et al., 2000;
Lagaly and Zeismer, 2003; Burdukova et al., 2007; Ndlovu et al., 2011a,
b). FF association leads to the formation of lamellar structured aggregates
(tactoids) with low yield stress requirements; whilst EF and EE associations lead to three dimensional voluminous house of cards structures,
which exacerbate the suspension colloidal behaviour and give rise to
more complex colloidal behaviour and processing difculties (Tombcz
and Szekeres, 2006; Gupta et al., 2011). It is likely that these structures
occur simultaneously in suspension, resulting in heterocoagulated
aggregates.
The prediction of the metallurgical behaviour of phyllosilicate bearing ores is often complicated by difculties in phyllosilicate mineral
identication and characterisation. The mineralogical characterisation
of these minerals has been a longstanding challenge. This makes the
use of techniques such as X-ray Diffraction (XRD), which is primarily
concerned with structural aspects, most suited to the recognition of
structural groups. However, the differentiation between the component
species is often difcult. This is exacerbated by the multiplicity of spectra when many components are present, as well as the poor crystallinity
and/or small size of crystals. Moreover, extraneous organic carbonates
or iron compounds (cementing agents) often occur and obscure
peaks; resulting in increased peak intensity which is undesirable
for XRD analysis (Brindley and Brown, 1980). The application of auxiliary techniques such as thermal and acid treatment can be used to
resolve some of these problems (Brewster, 1980; Hassellov et al.,
2001; rodo, 2006; Deng et al., 2009). The identication of
phyllosilicate minerals may be best achieved by using a combination
of mineralogical (e.g. XRD, Mossbauer spectroscopy, Mineral Liberation Analysis (MLA), Differential Thermal Analysis spectroscopy
(DTA)), colloidal (e.g. atomic force microscopy, zeta potential, settling tests and rheology) and macroscopic (e.g. gamma ray logging,
triaxial shear strength) analytical techniques. However, such a comprehensive analysis may prove costly.
Kaminsky et al. (2006, 2009) have extensively characterised
clays. While their work was related to oil sands, but their method
can be also applied for general characterisation and understanding
clay minerals. They used X-ray diffraction of oriented clay slides
and random powder samples to quantify the clay minerals in the
oil sands ore. They also used transmission electron microscopy lattice fringe imaging, and electron diffraction to evaluate the fundamental particle size of the clay minerals. Kaminsky et al. (2006,
2009) have shown that the mean fundamental particle thicknesses
of kaolinite and illite in the minus 2 m fraction are less than
10 nm, which would explain the large surface areas reported for
these clays in the literature.

B. Ndlovu et al. / International Journal of Mineral Processing 125 (2013) 149156

This paper seeks to provide a better understanding of the different

minerals belonging to the phyllosilicate group. A classication of the
phyllosilicate group is given, based on differences in mineralogical
structure. This will provide clarity on the minerals beyond the scope
of kaolinites and swelling clays, which have been studied extensively.
Current practices employed in dealing with these issues are also
outlined, demonstrating the need for a better fundamental understanding of the specic effects of these minerals.
2. Phyllosilicate mineralogy
Phyllosilicate minerals comprise tetrahedral T and octahedral O
layers which are the basic building blocks of this group. A tetrahedral
layer consists of silica (SiO4) tetrahedral units. Within each unit, four oxygen atoms are arranged symmetrically around a silicon atom. Successive tetrahedra are held together by shared apical oxygen atoms to
form rings of tetrahedral T layers. An octahedral unit consists of a central cation in a six fold co-ordination bonded to six hydroxyl groups,
resulting in an octahedral symmetry. These hydroxyl groups are in
turn linked to other surrounding metallic atoms. Charge balance is
maintained, dependent on the cation valence in the octahedral unit.
When the cations are divalent, brucite (Mg(OH)2) makes up the octahedral layer, resulting in the formation of a trioctahedral phyllosilicate. In
the case of trivalent cations, however, gibbsite (Al(OH)3) forms the O
layer, resulting in dioctahedral phyllosilicate minerals, as shown in
Fig. 1.
Variations in T and O layer congurations result in minerals of relatively similar structure, but with different physical and chemical properties. Consequently, there have been many different classications of
phyllosilicate minerals reported in literature (e.g. Brindley and Brown,
1980; Dixon and Weed, 1989; Klein and Hurlbut, 1993; Hurlbut and
Sharp, 1998). The classication used here is in accordance with the
phyllosilicate classications made by Deer et al. (1992) and is shown
in Fig. 2. In this case, the phyllosilicate minerals are grouped according
to the proportion of the tetrahedral and octahedral layers, as well
as the interlayer connections that may occur between successive structural units. This categorises the minerals into serpentinites, talc/
pyrophillite, micas, chlorites and clay minerals. The clay minerals can
be further classied into non-swelling (kaolinites and illites), and swelling (smectites and vermiculites) clays. Alternative classications may
incorporate the chlorites into the clay mineral group (e.g. Dixon and
Weed, 1989). It is worth noting that there is a distinct difference between clays and clay minerals. Clays are sediments which comprise
clay minerals and accessory non-clay minerals (Deer et al., 1992;

151

Boggs, 2006) while clay minerals are pure sheet silicates that are responsible for the classic properties of clay, such as plasticity when wet
and hardness when dry or heated (Guggenheim and Martin, 1995). By
this denition, bentonite, for example, is a type of clay which is composed mostly of montmorillonite (clay mineral) and will mimic the
properties of montmorillonite, but can include other non-clay minerals
or phyllosilicate minerals (e.g. quartz). The difculty with clay minerals
stems from their ability to change from one form to another (interstratication), such that they typically comprise alternate layers of other
clays in either ordered and regular or highly unordered and irregular sequences. In such cases, mineral identication is difcult, as they tend to
mask each other.
A summary of the main differences in mineral structure and paragenesis of the different phyllosilicate groups is given in Table 1. The
polymorphs belonging to each group are given, with examples of
phyllosilicate bearing ores also provided.
The variations in structure result in minerals with different morphologies. Indeed most phyllosilicate minerals have a platy morphology, although the variations in mineral structure affect the degree of
layering, irregularities in stacking behaviour, crystallinity and cleavage
of the minerals (Deer et al., 1992). Fig. 3 shows SEM images of different
phyllosilicate minerals. Here, the brous morphology of chrysotile (serpentine group) is evident (Fig. 3a); a result of convolution of T-O units
due to a mismatch in the constituent layers. The platy morphology of
talc (talc/pyrophillite group) and kaolinite (Fig. 3b and e respectively)
can also be seen, while the brittle and aky habit of muscovite (mica
group) and chlorite (chlorites) (Fig. 3c and d) is also presented. Fig. 3f
shows the characteristic formation of pores on the surface of montmorillonite (smectites group). Montmorillonite particles have a higher interlayer swelling potential than vermiculite, primarily due to a lower
layer charge (0.20.5 mol per unit cell) relative to vermiculites (0.6
0.9 mol per unit cell) (Brindley and Brown, 1980; Laird, 2006). Moreover, isomorphous substitutions in vermiculites occur in the interlayer
region between successive T-O-T layers, where the swelling potential
is limited by the interaction between charge balancing cations and the
T sheets. Substitution in smectites such as montmorillonite, on the
other hand, occurs in the octahedral sheets, away from the interlayer
spacing where balancing cations are present, resulting in relatively
large interlayer expansion (Abollino et al., 2008). The swelling behaviour of montmorillonite occurs by the formation of pores on the mineral
surface; enhancing the absorption of water and resulting in the formation of gels/sols (McBride and Baveye, 2003; Laird, 2006). The limited
swelling potential of vermiculite is evident at temperatures above
400 C. At these conditions, the heat causes the release of structural

Fig. 1. (a) SiO4 tetrahedral units and silica T layers (b) octahedral (XO6) units and the difference between brucite and gibbsite O layers.
Adapted from Klein and Dutrow (2008).

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B. Ndlovu et al. / International Journal of Mineral Processing 125 (2013) 149156

Fig. 2. Classication of phyllosilicate group minerals.

and absorbed interlayer water as steam. This causes vermiculite particles to exfoliate in a worm-like (vermiculare) or concertina-like manner
(Fig. 3g). The spacing between adjacent plates typically accounts for one
water molecule (Deer et al., 1992), while expansion in montmorillonite
can result in up to three water molecules in the interlayer region (Deer
et al., 1992; McFarlane et al., 2005; Pils et al., 2007). Fig. 3h shows a SEM
image of interstratied illitesmectite, associated with kaolinite. This is
the form in which most phyllosilicate minerals exist, resulting in more
complex mineral systems.
3. Typical processing problems encountered with phyllosilicate
bearing ores
In general, the problems associated with phyllosilicate bearing ores
are physicochemical, impacting all facets of the mineral processing circuit, with inefciencies arising during slurry transportation and beneciation through to dewatering and disposal. For example, the sticky
nature of phyllosilicate minerals renders the use of conveyors, idlers
and screens difcult; resulting in a signicant reduction in pump capacity during material handling. Due to their characteristic small particle
sizes and high viscosities, phyllosilicate minerals may also result in
preg robbing and restrict percolation during leaching. Tanks are subject
to overowing because of the insufcient fall on the tanks (Tremolada
et al., 2010; Farrokhpay and Bradshaw, 2012). In comminution, the
grinding efciency is lowered, making it necessary to operate the mill
at signicantly lower densities (Tangsathitkulchai, 2003). Moreover,
an increase in the quantities of ne clay particles in the crushing and

grinding circuits often results in a retardation of the overall grinding

process, particularly within the ultrane grinding regime, due to viscosity effects (Shi and Napier-Munn, 2002). The risk of wall collapse and
leakage is also enhanced during the treatment of high phyllosilicate
tailings; resulting from their poor dewaterability (de Kretser and
Boger, 1992). Table 2 gives a summary of some of the problems typically
encountered when treating phyllosilicate bearing ores; highlighting the
ubiquitous effects of these minerals throughout the processing circuit.
Of particular interest is the effect of phyllosilicate minerals on the
otation performance of mineral suspensions. The characteristic high
surface area of phyllosilicate minerals makes them highly reactive and
responsive to changes. It has been observed that the presence of aluminosilicate and magnesium silicate minerals in froth otation affects performance through (i) slime coating on the mineral surfaces as well as air
bubbles (Tao et al., 2010), (ii) higher reagant consumption, poorer selectivity and impeded otation kinetics (Connelly, 2011a) (iii) entrainment of large quantities to the concentrate during both roughing and
scavenging stages (Patra et al., 2010; Vasudevan et al., 2010; Jorjani
et al., 2011) (iv) increasing pulp viscosity (Arnold and Aplan, 1986;
Genc et al., 2010) and (v) increasing or decreasing the froth stability
(Dippenaar, 1988; Bulatovic, 2007; Farrokhpay, 2011). The exact mechanisms of clay interactions with other minerals during otation have
not been clearly identied, but are thought to be largely due to their anisotropic surface charge properties, high surface area, complex suspension rheology and hydrophobicity effects.
The formation of slime coatings has been attributed to the electrostatic attractive forces between minerals and the clay particles of

Carbonatites (e.g. Virginia, Wissahickon, USA; Foskor,

Palabora, South Africa)

Volcanic-volatile rich igneous rocks and petroleum

reservoir rocks (e.g. kimberlites in Slave Cratons, Canada;
Jwaneng, Botswana; Venetia, South Africa)

Vermiculite (platy and hydrating)

Montmorillonite, nontronite, saponite, hectorite,

sauconite (super-swelling and porous when
hydrated)

Oil sands deposits (e.g. Athabasca deposit, Alberta, Canada)

Illite (platy)

Kaolinite (platy), halloysite (cylindrical), dickite,

nacrite, allophane, imogolite (rarer polymorphs)

Common accessory minerals in many igneous

rocks and porphryr copper deposits
Argillaceous rocks, iron-rich sediments
(e.g. Phelps Dodge, Quebec; Henry Basin, Utah)
Al/Fe-rich acid rocks (e.g. geothite, hematite iron ores,
Australia)

..X + H2O_T-OT_X + H2O..

Smectites

..X + H2O_T-OT_X + H2O..

Vermiculites

..K + _T-O-T_K + ..
Illites

T-O
Kaolinites

..T-O-T-brucite-T-O-T..
Chlorites

Mica

..X + _T-O-T_X + ..

T-O-T
Talc/pyrophillite

Phlogopite, biotite, muscovite, lepidolite, glauconite,

zinnwaldite (platy with perfect basal cleavage)
Clinochlore, chamosite, pennantite, kammerite (platy)

Nickel sulphide ores (e.g. Norseman-Wiluna,

Western Australia; Jinchuan, Northern China)
Base metal sulphide ores (e.g. Bushveld Complex,
South Africa; Birchtree, Canada)
Chrysotile (brous), lizardite (platy), antigorite (platy)
(Yada, 1971; Klein and Hurlbut, 1993)
Talc (platy), pyrophillite (platy)

Polymorphs
Paragenesis

Hydrothermal alteration of olivines and pyroxenes

(Kirjavainen and Heiskanen, 2007)
Talchydrothermal alteration of ultrabasic rocks and
siliceous dolomite; pyrophillitehydrothermal
alteration of feldspars (Deer et al., 1992)
Variable metamorphism of igneous, metamorphic
and sedimentary rocks; recrystallisation of illites
Hydrothermal alteration of primary ferromagnesian
minerals, pyroxenes, argillaceous sediments
Weathering or low temperature hydrothermal
alteration of feldspars micas and other silicates,
usually in acid rocks
Formed by a variety of precursors e.g. muscovite,
kaolinite, feldspar. Also occur by low grade
metamorphism of smectites (illisation)
Weathering and hydrothermal alteration of micas,
chlorites and pyroxenes; acid intrusions of basic and
ultrabasic rocks (Fanning and Keramidas, 1977; Brindley
and Brown, 1980)
Alteration of basic rocks, or volcanic material in
alkaline conditions

Structure

T-O
Serpentine

Phyllosilicate group

Table 1
A summary of structure, paragenesis and polymorphs of the different phyllosilicate groups. Some examples of phyllosilicate bearing ores are also given.
Adapted from Deer et al. (1992).

Ore examples

B. Ndlovu et al. / International Journal of Mineral Processing 125 (2013) 149156

153

opposite surface charges at specic pH conditions (Guidice, 1934;

Fuerstenau, 1958; Ralston and Fornasiero, 2006; Tao et al., 2010;
Jorjani et al., 2011). It has been postulated that the formation of a coating on air bubbles by the silicates with colloidal particle sizes prevents
the attachment of larger mineral particles (Wen and Sun, 1977). The
role of the brous morphology of magnesium silicates such as chrysotile
in silicate transportation to the froth phase has also been demonstrated.
It is hypothesised that the entrapment of particles by entanglement in
the bres renders the gangue otable (Vasudevan et al., 2010; Patra
et al., 2010). It has also been previously demonstrated that phyllosilicate
mineral suspensions exhibit more complex rheological behaviour than
non-phyllosilicate minerals (Ndlovu et al., 2011a,b; 2013). High pulp
viscosities often result in poor gas dispersion, cavern formation, increased turbulence damping and bubble coalescence. In the case of
poor gas dispersion, the small bubbles generated within the vicinity of
the impellor are not efciently dispersed throughout the cell by bulk
uid ow, due to the high (apparent) viscosity of the slurry. This is exacerbated by the formation of a region with yielded uid (cavern), within the vicinity of the impellor, while the rest of the slurry remains
stagnant (Bakker et al., 2009; Shabalala et al., 2011) Flotation kinetics
are impeded and may inuence the froth stability and mobility
(Schubert and Bischofberger, 1978; Bakker et al., 2009; Genc et al.,
2010; Farrokhpay, 2012). This is often manifested in the occurrence of
the occulation phenomenon in the froth zone (Dippenaar, 1988;
Bulatovic et al., 1999).
It is worth noting that even with such a broad understanding of the
effects of this class of minerals on process performance, phyllosilicate
minerals behave differently and in some cases their behaviour may
vary from ore type to ore type. For example, studies by Hussain et al.,
1996 indicated that illite and chlorite reduce coal recovery (28% and
20% reduction respectively), while studies in the oil sands industry
have demonstrated that the addition of illite does not have a signicant
effect on the bitumen recovery (Kasongo et al., 2000). However, it is
through its characteristic degradation to smectites and its occurrence
as interstratied illitesmectite that it reduces bitumen recovery
(Wallace et al., 2004). Therefore, the effects of these minerals may be
ore specic. In general, chrysotile has been found to pose a major challenge in the overall processing of many nickel sulphide ores (e.g.
Norseman-Wiluna, Western Australia and Jinchuan, Northwest China)
by reducing the nickel grade in the concentrate; either by entrainment
as ne liberated particles or by true otation, as composite hydrophilic
coatings on the negatively charged sulphide particles (Patra et al.,
2010; Laskowski et al., 2010). Due to its natural hydrophobicity, talc
readily reports to the otation concentrate, effectively increasing the
viscosity in the froth phase, resulting in a reduction in both grade and
recovery (Becker et al., 2009; Wiese et al., 2010). Large quantities of
talc in the concentrate can cause problems during smelting; often
resulting in smelting penalties for mineral processing companies
(Beattie et al., 2006). It has been found that the otation of copper porphyry ores is limited by the presence of aluminosilicates, such as kaolinite, vermiculite and muscovite, and can produce concentrates with low
levels of copper grade and recovery and high levels of alumina and silica
(Jorjani et al., 2011). The high alumina content in hematite ores in
Australia has been attributed to the presence of kaolinite, and has
often been detrimental to the blast furnace and sinter plant operations,
due to the prevalence of highly viscous slags and high coke rates (Ma
et al., 2009).
4. Current mitigation strategies for dealing with phyllosilicate
bearing ores
Despite the abundance and adverse effects associated with
phyllosilicate minerals, the industry understanding of the processing issues, and potential solutions to treating phyllosilicate bearing ores, remains poor. In many cases, these problems are simply avoided by
either not processing the ores at all, while some operations opt to run

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B. Ndlovu et al. / International Journal of Mineral Processing 125 (2013) 149156

Fig. 3. (a) Fibrous morphology of chrysotile; (b) Platy morphology of talc (c) aky, layered structure of mica (muscovite);(d) platy habit of chlorites and (e) kaolinite (Du et al., 2010);
(f) gel/sol structure of montmorillonite (g) exfoliated vermiculite and (h) platy morphology of illite.
Unpublished data, University of Cape Town, 2008-1011, 2: Glasmann, J. R., Williamette Analytical Geological Services.

at signicantly lower solid concentrations. Slurry dilution with water is

also frequently used to reduce medium viscosity throughout the circuit
(Connelly, 2011b). However, this puts a strain on an increasingly scarce
resource, especially since many mines are located in arid or desert regions. Indeed some operations have approached the processing problems by nding short term chemical and engineering solutions. These
include the use of viscosity modiers such as sodium pyrophosphate
and caustic soda in stabilising colloidal systems during milling and classication, gold carbon in pulp leaching (CIP) and otation (Mpofu et al.,
2004; McFarlane et al., 2005; Xiao et al., 1999). The application of these
compounds is suggested to be mainly due to their ability to adsorb onto
clay surfaces, altering the surface chemistry properties of the particles
and inducing electrostatic repulsive forces and disperse systems (Klein
and Pawlik, 2005). However, these phosphate dispersants may not be
stable in severe conditions such as low pH or high temperatures. Moreover, the physical aspects (morphology), which also contribute towards
clay behaviour, may not necessarily be controlled by the modiers
(Vasudevan et al., 2010).
Engineering solutions include feeding directly to semi-autogeneous
milling (SAG), bypassing crushing and screening to avoid problems of
sticky clays during secondary crushing in the comminution circuit. In
mineral sands operations, the incorporation of hydrosizers upfront
aids the separation of clays from the feed. Similarly, the inclusion of
scrubbers early on is benecial in clay removal to the tailings dam in
dense media separation. It is worth noting, however, that the inclusion
of such modications may not necessarily improve recovery and
throughput. This was observed at the Mt. McLure and Mt. Muro plants,

which were specially designed for heavy clays but still proved inoperable (Connelly, 2011a). Other methods for mitigating clay effects include
dilution and blending of high clay ores with less complex ores. However,
these are limited to mixture concentrations below which the clay content starts to cause problems. Such information has not been clearly
dened and a better fundamental understanding, particularly of the
rheological properties of the different phyllosilicate minerals, is required for long-term solutions to these processing problems.

5. Conclusions
The mineral processing industry's approach to the processing of high
phyllosilicate bearing ores has, in most cases, been rather simplistic;
typically leading to an adverse outcome. If not identied at an early
stage, phyllosilicate minerals have the potential to signicantly affect
the planning, operation and economics of a project. Understanding the
geology and mineralogy of an ore is critical in optimising ore beneciation, as the presence of phyllosilicate minerals inuences the selection
of equipment and the ow sheet design. The deleterious effects of
phyllosilicate minerals throughout the processing circuit have been
broadly described. Engineering and chemical solutions have been devised to mitigate the problems associated with phyllosilicate bearing
ores, but these are often unsustainable and do not fully vitiate the difculties encountered. There is a need to build a fundamental understanding of the behaviour of phyllosilicate minerals in order to be able to
better deal with the processing issues.

Table 2
Typical mineral processing problems experienced during the processing of phyllosilicate bearing ores.
Adapted from Connelly (2011a).
Comminution

Beneciation

Tailings treatment

Clays stick to equipment (conveyors, idlers, screens)

Reduced crushing capacity
Decreased throughput
Decreased pump capacity
Decreased grinding efciency

Restricted percolation during leaching

Preg robbing
Decreased hydrodynamic performance
Decreased selectivity
Impeded otation kinetics
Slime coating
Poor froth stability
Low ltration rates

Poor water recovery

Low wall stability
Blocked drainage holes
Increased pulp residence time
Decrease permeability
Increased settling time

B. Ndlovu et al. / International Journal of Mineral Processing 125 (2013) 149156

This paper has provided a simplied classication of the group,

highlighting the main differences between the different minerals. The
key issues associated with this group have been discussed within the
context of specic mineral processing operations. This is foundational
in establishing a better understanding of phyllosilicate mineralogy,
and is benecial towards on-going efforts to bridge the gap between
fundamental research on clay minerals and the complex mineral systems typically encountered in the mineral processing industry. There
remains a need to establish the effects of different phyllosilicate minerals on the operability of specic unit operations. More research in
the area of phyllosilicate minerals, within the context of mineral processing, is required. Such an understanding could be used in collaboration with geometallurgical early detection techniques (e.g. hy-logging)
for future mineralogical based predictions of clay containing ore
performance.

Acknowledgments
This work has been facilitated by the Mineral Chemistry Research
Alliance (MiCRA) at the Julius Kruttschnitt Minerals Research Centre
(JKMRC), The University of Queensland. Special thanks to Ms. Catherine
Curtis for her contribution in the early stages of the research. Dr. Megan
Becker and Dr. Elizaveta Forbes are also acknowledged for some of the
SEM images.

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