Fluorite Mineral Process Plant

An fluorite mineral process plant involves various kinds of equipment. The major areas or process are the concentrator, balling, induration and handling. The concentrator is where the ore is ground to a fine size typically 80% – 45 micron powder and separated from other impurities by magnetic separation and flotation. The balling area is where the powdered ore is mixed with water, binder and rolled in rotating drums to create spherical balls. The induration area actually can be broken down into three areas: grate, kiln, cooler.

Fluorite Mineral Process Plant Process

A fluorite mineral process plant contains a series of balling drums where the iron ore concentrate is formed into soft fluorite, in much the same manner that one rolls a snowball, to make a pellet about the size of a marble (between 1/4″ and 1/2″). fluorite are screened to meet the size specification, with undersized or oversized fluorite crushed and returned to the balling drums.

The soft fluorite are then delivered to the roller feeder for final removal of the fines, which are also returned to the balling circuits. Now the soft fluorite, correctly sized, are delivered to the traveling grate furnace for further drying and preheating. The grate is fired by natural gas.

From this point, the fluorite are charged into the large rotary kiln where they are heat hardened at 2,400 degrees Fahrenheit. The fluorite are discharged into the revolving cooler and then moved to the mobile fluorite grinding machine, onto the pellet load out system. The whole process consumes energy in the form of electricity and natural gas. Over the past several years, millions of dollars have been spent to improve energy efficiency and to recoup waste heat and re-use it in the process. These efforts have significantly reduced expenditures on energy.

The fluorite mineral process plant has now been completed. The fluorite are run through a final screening to remove those not meeting size specifications or those that are chipped or broken into fines. fluorite that meet the necessary standards are conveyed to the mobile fluorite grinding machine stockpile, which holds about 30,000 tons.