Titanite Ores of the Khibiny Apatite-Nepheline-Deposits: Selective Mining, Processing and Application for Titanosilicate Synthesis

Abstract

Geological setting and mineral composition of (apatite)-nepheline-titanite ore from the Khibiny massif enable selective mining of titanite ore, and its processing with sulfuric-acid method, without preliminary concentration in flotation cells. In this process flow diagram, titanite losses are reduced by an order of magnitude in comparison with a conventional flotation technology. Further, dissolution of titanite in concentrated sulfuric acid produces titanyl sulfate, which, in turn, is a precursor for titanosilicate synthesis. In particular, synthetic analogues of the ivanyukite group minerals, SIV, was synthesized with hydrothermal method from the composition based on titanyl-sulfate, and assayed as a selective cation-exchanger for Cs and Sr.

Titanite-Containing Mineral Compositions and Their Chemical Treatment with Preparation of Functional Materials

“…Titanite is a typical apatite-nepheline mineral associated with minor rock-forming types. Titanite inclusions occur in apatite-nepheline (a) and apatite-titanite (b) ores of the Koashva deposit [18] ( Figure 1). Among the disposed minerals, calcium titanite-titanosilicate (СаTiSiO5) containing titanium represents a practical interest.…”

“…Titanite is a typical apatite-nepheline mineral associated with minor rock-forming types. Titanite inclusions occur in apatite-nepheline (a) and apatite-titanite (b) ores of the Koashva deposit [18] (Figure 1). Recovery of titanite mineral concentrate and its chemical treatment is described in numerous published papers in monographs [2,19,20].…”

Hydrochloric Acidic Processing of Titanite Ore to Produce a Synthetic Analogue of Korobitsynite

“…Our experiments with concrete tiles covered by nano-sized titanosilicate particles of ETS-4, ETS-10, IE-911, SIV, a synthetic natisite analogue and their mixtures have shown that these tiles effectively destroy organic dyes [18]. However, most of these titanosilicates are too expensive for the building industry, even when produced from local titanite concentrate using the cheapest sulfuric-acidic schema [19]. Therefore, the development of a new technology of titanite processing to obtain new titanosilicate photo-catalyzers is imperative.…”

“…Therefore, the development of a new technology of titanite processing to obtain new titanosilicate photo-catalyzers is imperative. There are a few ways to obtain cheap titanosilicate materials: (1) to use rich titanite ore without its enrichment by flotation [19]; (2) to obtain other titanosilicates with similar photocatalytic activity but lesser temperature and time of crystallization; (3) to develop another technology that would allow a complete use of titanite. All these ways were put to use in the proposed technology of hydrochloric acidic processing of titanite to produce a synthetic analogue of korobitsynite, SKR, a rhombohedral Ti-dominant member of the labuntsovite group [20].…”

Mineralogical and Technological Aspects of Phosphate Ore Processing

“…In the conditions of declining industrial high-quality reserves of phosphoruscontaining ores, issues of a more comprehensive and in-depth study of the mineral and material composition, as well as improvement of existing technologies for processing this type of raw material, become urgent. The study of the influence of the mineral raw materials composition on the features of the beneficiation schemes construction is given in the works of many authors (Aleksandrova et al 2012;Evdokimova et al 2012;Gerasimova et al 2018;Litvintsev et al 2006;Mitrofanova et al 2017).…”