DEVELOPMENT OF MINERALOGY APPLICATIONS IN MINERAL PROCESSING

The problem of mineralogical guides in mineral processing is discussed with special references to frontier domains such as direct upgrading, extractive metallurgy, mineral-elastomere composite materials and hydrothermal synthesis. Au-197 Mossbauer spectroscopy allows the analysis of gold and the identification of gold-bearing phases and can provide some useful guidance in extractive metallurgy. Sb-121 Mossbauer spectroscopy also gives encouraging results. A detailed crystallochemical analysis of reinforcement kaolinite leads to a good prediction of the rheological behaviour of rubber vulcanisates. In the case of processes involving a phase transition, such as alpha-plaster production, engineering can successfully utilize the techniques of experimental mineralogy to understand and regulate the process of hemihydrate growth.