Marra Mamba ore, its mineralogical properties and evaluation for utilization

This paper provides an overview of chemical and physical properties of Marra Mamba ores as well as their influence on sintering performance. Evaluation tests focusing on basic characteristics, granulation ability and melting behavior have been conducted by using Ore W, a newly shipped bland of Marra Mamba ore. Although the amount of gangue minerals in Marra Mamba ores is smaller than that of other Australian ores, they have high combined water content and high fraction of fine particles. They have inferior granulation ability and required high moisture content in granulation due to their porous structure. Cohesive strength of fine ores is still low level even at high moisture content due to small kaolinite content. Penetration behavior of melt from fine particles is superior due to their low gangue mineral content, while assimilation behavior of coarse ores is inferior, resulting in poor agglomeration despite favorable behavior during heating-up in term of crack formation. Pot test results performed by BHP Billion showed decrease of strength and product yield with large amount of use. Improvement of strength was achieved by increasing moisture content during granulation, Intensification of granulation with pre-treatment or palletizing of Marra Mamba ores must be one of the key technologies for utilization of them.