CHARACTERIZATION AND GRAVITY CONCENTRATION OF KURUNGU IRON ORE, KOGI STATE, NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

Characterization and concentration of Kurungu Iron ore has been undertaken. Bulk samples were collected from the deposit site located in Kurungu village Ajaokuta Local Government Area of Kogi State, Nigeria. The samples were crushed and pulverized and a representative sample obtained by coning and quartering method. Analysis of the representative sample was done using the XRF for composition analysis,  XRD and SEM for the mineralogical analysis and the modified Berry and Bruce method was used to determine the work index of the ore. The XRF reveals that the ore contains 60.86% Fe2O3, 0.49% MnO, 0.10% CaO, 36.2% SiO2, 0.04% CuO, 0.10% ZnO, 0.02%, Rb2O,

0.36% In2O3, 0.1% Sb2O3, 0.24% La2O3, 0.57% Eu2O3 and 0.03% Re2O7. Mineralogical

analysis by XRD revealed that the iron bearing mineral is Magnetite while Actinolite and Quartz are present as associated minerals. The liberation size was established to be - 355+250 µm; having the highest grade value of 65.09%Fe2O3. The density of the ore was found to be 3.81 x 103kg/m3. The SEM images show that the minerals were locked together in layers and the work index of 13.96kWh/t was obtained. Beneficiation of the ore using gravity concentration indicated that the iron of the ore can be upgraded from 44.15% to 55.4% Fe with a recovery of 77.80%. Based on the results, Kurungu iron ore can be seen as another potential deposit that can be explored and exploited for use in iron and steel production.