Placer Magnetite-sand and By-product Iron, Generated during the Beneficiation of Mineral Sand Ilmenite to High-Titanium Products, as Potential Alternatives to the High-Grade Fe-ore for Steel Making

Abstract

Iron is the most important of all metals and ∼ 98% of it, in the form of iron ore/pellets, is used as the key raw material in making steel, with its per-capita consumption often seen as an Index for a nation’s Prosperity. Salient aspects of the industries of iron ore mining and steel-production are presented. These include deposit-types and grades of iron-ore, iron ore minerals with Fe-contents, major producing-exporting-importing countries, international/national prices of iron ore; and major producing countries of steel, international/national production figures, processes of steel-making, including recent hydrogen-energy based green steel/iron ore under de-carbonisation. The less available high-grade Fe ore (>63.5% Fe), as compared to that of the benchmark or standard grade (62% Fe) and low-grade (< 59% Fe) iron ores, has many beneficial features in steel-making, carries a premium price of US $ 1–2/tonne for every 1% increase in Fe-grade over that of the standard grade and, hence, is much sought after. In this communication, two low-cost, potential alternatives to the highgrade Fe ore for steel-making are proposed from the mineral sand industry. These are: (i) placer magnetite-sand, with an example from the coastal Nizampatnam heavy mineral sand deposit in Andhra Pradesh, and (ii) by-product Fe, generated during the beneficiation of ilmenite-sand for high Ti-products such as synthetic rutile/anatase, titanium dioxide pigment, Ti-sponge, Ti-metal etc. A brief account of the mineral sand deposits, including the processes to obtain the above proposed alternatives and the consequent multiple benefits for both the steel and mineral sand industries, is presented in this paper.