Technological Characterisation of West African Iron Ores in Order to Predict their Performance in the Beneficiation Process

This study details a mineralogical and textural characterisation of West African iron ores with an emphasis on their behavior during mineral processing. By means of both qualitative and quantitative characterisation, a simulation of the beneficiation process applied to these iron ores is performed. A series of different analytical tools are used, including: X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) for qualitative mineralogical analysis; qualitative optical microscopy (phase identification, description of micro-textures) and (semi)quantitative optical microscopy (counting of particles, phases and textural types); and chemical analyses. All the information provided by these analytical methods are combined into a quantitative mineralogical and textural analysis, here called “modal analysis”, which enables us to simulate the capability of West African iron ores to be beneficiated by magnetic and gravimetric separation techniques.