Mining involves the extraction of useful and valuable materials (mostly minerals) from Earth. Mining is a complicated and technical process that requires great resources and manpower. One of the greatest challenges involved in mining is related to separating the valuable material from the unwanted particles or materials that are intertwined together. While extracting from Earth, it is not possible to only extract the valuable material. Rather it will bring impurities, unusable materials, unwanted materials, and minerals of low value that are not really desirable. No matter if you extract through underground mining or open seam, these by-products are a part and parcel of the mining process. The real challenge is to separate these unwanted materials from desired materials. Luckily, technological advancement has made it possible to efficiently separate valuable and invaluable materials. It is possible by opting for the process of magnetic separation which offers efficient and quick results.
Magnetic separators act as a real game changer in the mining industry. The mining industry deals with strong and bulk materials which require an efficient and effective technique to separate the desirable items from the waste. If you want to find out more about the magnetic separator process and how it is used in mining then this article is meant for you. Here you will find all the desired information to help you understand this process in-depth.
What is magnetic separator?
Let's start with unveiling what a magnetic separator is and what does it do? It is a process that separates the metallic and non-metallic components from a mixture using magnetic force. The magnetic separator device can vary in size and formation as different vendors like to design it in their unique manner. Magnetic separators can be built in various forms and sizes depending on the usage. It can be in a drum shape, plate form, drawer shape, or any other. Commonly, the magnetic separator is a device that has 2 belts namely an upper and lower belt. The mixture is poured or moved from the opening in the upper belt and leaves the separator from the downward belt. At the heart of this separator, a strong magnet is installed which builds a magnetic field. When the mixture is fed into the separator machine, the magnetic force pulls the magnetic particles to the upper belt and separates them from the rest of the mixture which leaves the machine from the lower belt.
Types of magnetic separators
In general, the types of magnetic separators used commonly are electromagnetic and permanent magnets. Suspended above the conveyor belt, the electromagnetic separators work by attracting the impurities to the top side. The electromagnetic separators are easy to clean and maintain.
These magnets are powerful enough to attract the magnetic particles efficiently. The magnets are so strong now that they can even trace stainless steel which was difficult to test in previous years on this ground.
Powerful magnetic field- a prerequisite for the mining industry
As you might have an idea, the mining industry deals with complex mixtures. The magnetic separator can only work in the mining industry if it is strong enough to pull down the contaminated materials from valuable minerals or materials while ensuring that they won't get mixed again. Using a high-quality and strong magnet, you can easily build a strong magnetic force that is powerful enough that no matter how rapidly the mixture flows and how huge is the quantity of mixture, the magnetic force will still work efficiently to attract all metallic components of the mixture and separate them purifying the mining mixture you are dealing with.
A heavy machine with a rugged structure and strong magnetic force is a prerequisite to using the magnetic separator in the mining industry. The magnetic field in such a machine is so powerful that it separates the metallic and non-metallic components even if they are hidden or embedded in the mixture.
You must be wondering what we refer to as strong magnets. Well, various kinds of magnets can be used in a magnet separator. Each magnet has its own strength and performance capability. For the mining industry, ceramic magnets are used to separate the tramp iron. In addition rare earth magnets are also used such as neodymium which is a strong magnet and can efficiently separate the stainless steel and iron components from the mixture.
How magnetic separator works in mining
Here we are going to unveil the entire process of how a magnetic separator works in a mining procedure to get you a clear-cut idea of its usage and importance.
• Prepare the mining ore: It is required to prepare the ore and the extracted material. By preparing the ore, we refer to the crushing and grinding of ore material in a desirable size. The crushing not only helps to pass out the crushed ore in build quality but also ensures that all minerals and waste particles are unchained from each other so that the magnetic force can efficiently and easily attract the magnetic particles.
• Study the magnetic properties of minerals: It is important to understand the magnetic properties of the mining ore you are working on. This is because each mineral has variable magnetic attraction. Some parts are ferromagnetic that can be easily attracted towards the magnet, whereas some others are paramagnetic that are weakly attracted and some are diamagnetic that can't be attracted by the magnetic field. By understanding the properties of the minerals at hand, you can better decide which magnet to incorporate in the magnetic separator to get the desired results.
• Magnetic separator type: On the basis of the magnetic properties of the mining ore, the design and type of magnet are finalized. The magnet is chosen on the basis that it will give the best results in separating it from impurities. There can be various designs of magnetic separator devices that can built as per the requirement based on the type of mining ore and the way it is accessed (open seam, underground mining, etc.). Some of the widely used formations include:
• Drum separator: As the name refers, this device is in the form of a drum that has a magnet fixed inside. The mixture is added in the rotating drum. The magnet attracts the magnetic particles while the non-magnetic material leaves the drum from the other side.
• Magnetic strength: When the minerals in mining ore have strong magnetic concentration then strong magnets are used to make sure that they attract the magnetic components.
• Liquid traps: If the mixture contains liquids consisting of water-based mining material then the magnetic separators are designed in a way that they can accommodate liquid and remove the ferrous materials from the mixture.
• Separation of ferrous and non-ferrous substances: When you pass the processed ore from the chosen magnetic separator ideally the magnetic substances get attracted to the magnet owing to the strong magnetic field. The magnetic particles stay attached to the magnet while the rest of the mixture gets down the device and is collected separately. Later, the magnetic particles attached to the magnet are also removed and placed in a separator container or discarded as planned by the mining experts.
• Cleansing and purification: Some mining experts also advise undergoing a cleansing and purification ritual on the magnetically separated mixture. This helps to further purify the mixture and extract valuable minerals. It can involve other processes such as grinding, drying, or some chemical application.
Magnetic separator and tramp ore
The magnetic separator process is aimed at separating the magnetic particles from the mixture. The most common impurities that require magnet separator application are referred to as trump ore. You will be surprised to know that the trump ore normally consists of metallic waste that is man-made. You must be wondering how man-made impurities can be found in the mining ores that are discovered or find under Earth. Well, the manmade impurities may get mixed with the ore mixture because it includes the metallic objects that get inside the mixture while the ore was being extracted.
Man-made waste can includes many object such as nuts, nails, bolts, wires that can remain after the explosion is done, and broken tools (pieces of hammer or screwdriver). All these items can get mixed with the mixture because all these objects are used in the mining process so they are always available on site.
The magnetic separator is ideally placed when the ores are being processed after extraction. Separating the metallic impurities at this point is crucial to ensure that the machinery used down the way won't get damaged. If you don’t separate the metallic impurities (nuts, bolts, nails, etc.) then it can damage the machinery you used to process the separated mixture. For instance, if you run the magnetically treated mixture on a conveyor belt or a crushing device and the mixture still has some impurities inside or has not ever been treated before. Then these impurities can damage the machines they are run through. Being pointed and sharp, such metal objects can scratch the surface of the machines you will require next.
