GRAVITY CONCENTRATION OF IRON ORES

• Iron ore is separated from other silicate minerals as the density of iron is significantly
higher than that of silica.

• There are several gravity concentration methods such as Dense Media Separation
(DMS), Heavy Media Separation (HSM), Jigging, Spiralling and Tabling etc.

CONCENTRATION USING A SPIRAL

• It's a common device used for gravity concentration of iron ores

• The device has a higher capacity, in inexpensive and simple to operate.

CONCENTRATION PROCESS IRON ORES

• Generally, the feed (iron ores) enters the spiral channel as a homogeneous slurry from
the top

• As the pulp flows around the helix of the concentrator, stratification occurs in the
vertical plane

• The stratification is considered to be as a result of hindered settling

Spiral concentrator

The result is that, in the vertical plane, the heavies (iron ores) settle to the lower velocity zone
near the trough surface while the lights tend to stratify above them in the higher velocity zone