Lithium Beneficiation Process

Lithium ores exhibit varying properties, including differences in lithium content and mineral composition. Consequently, the beneficiation methods employed for lithium ore can differ accordingly.

The beneficiation process for lithium primarily focuses on three lithium-containing minerals: spodumene, lithium feldspar, and lepidolite.

Based on the characteristics of these minerals, selecting an optimal lithium processing plant allows for achieving the best sorting results and minimizing production costs.

Minerals	Lithium content/%	Density/（g⋅cm－³）	Hardness
Spodumene	3.7	3.1~3.2	6~7
Lepidolite	1.39~3.6	2.8~3.3	2.5~4
Lithium feldspar	1.6~2.7	2.4	6~6.5

The beneficiation of lithium ore primarily relies on the flotation process, which is often supplemented by gravity separation, magnetic separation, and other combined processes.

Gravity separation:

1. Gravity separation is employed when there is a density difference of more than 0.2-0.5g/cm3 between spodumene and gangue minerals, particularly for coarsely sized spodumene. Equipment such as shaking tables and jigs are commonly used.
2. When the density difference is less than 0.2-0.5g/cm3, the ore is mixed with a dense medium (a suspension created by mixing ferrosilicon powder and water) and undergoes separation through dense medium cyclones.

Flotation separation:
The flotation method is effective for sorting the main lithium-bearing minerals. It is particularly suitable for fine disseminated lithium ore, offering high recovery rates and a simple process.

Magnetic separation:
Magnetic separation serves as a supplemental method for removing iron impurities from concentrates. Since iron-containing lepidolite and spodumene exhibit weak magnetic properties, strong magnetic methods can be used to sort them and enhance the quality of spodumene products.

Flotation-magnetic separation combined beneficiation:
This approach is employed when the lithium concentrate obtained through flotation contains higher levels of iron. The goal is to obtain low-iron spodumene by subjecting the flotation concentrate to magnetic separation.

Gravity-flotation-magnetic separation combined beneficiation:
For lithium ore containing tantalum and niobium minerals, a combination of gravity separation and flotation is typically used for processing. After gravity separation and desliming treatment, the lithium ore enters the flotation stage. The flotation concentrate is then processed in a magnetic separator to remove iron, thereby improving the quality of the lithium concentrate and obtaining a high-grade final product.

Lithium Processing Plant

Lithium Processing Plant

1. Lepidolite Flotation Plant

1. Hopper + Vibrating Feeder: Automatically feeds stones to the jaw crusher.
2. Jaw Crusher: Crushes large stones into smaller sizes.
3. Fine Jaw Crusher: Further crushes the output from the jaw crusher to create fine sands.
4. Vibrating Screen: Sieves stones larger than 20mm back to the fine jaw crusher, and separates 0-20mm stones for storage.
5. Storage Bin + Electromagnetic Feeder: Automatically feeds materials to the ball mill.
6. Ball Mill: Grinds the fine sands to 0-1mm size, working in conjunction with the spiral classifier to ensure a final product size of 0-0.074mm.
7. Slurry Pump No.1: Transports the overflow from the spiral classifier to the flotation machine.
8. Flotation Machine: Uses chemicals to obtain lepidolite concentrate.
9. Thickener: Receives the lepidolite concentrate from the flotation machine.
10. Disc Vacuum Filter Machine: Removes moisture from the lepidolite concentrate to produce dry final products.

Note: The capacity of this crushing plant can be customized according to specific requirements, such as 10tph, 50tph, 100tph, etc. The layout of the machines mentioned above is provided as a reference and may need revision based on the conditions of the mine.

2. Spodumene Processing Plant

1. Crushing & Screening: The lithium ore undergoes a three-stage and one closed-circuit crushing and screening process, or a two-stage and one closed-circuit crushing and screening process. The selection of the process depends on the particle size of the raw ore, ensuring a suitable lithium ore crushing process.
2. Grinding & Classifying: To ensure complete dissociation of lithium minerals from gangue minerals, a closed-circuit grinding and classifying process is utilized. This involves using a ball mill in conjunction with a classifying machine. Some lithium ores may require desliming after the grinding stage, depending on their specific properties.
3. Beneficiation Stage: Lithium ore often contains various associated minerals. Beneficiation is primarily achieved through flotation, which is occasionally combined with gravity separation, magnetic separation, and other processes to maximize the recovery of lithium. The specific beneficiation method employed depends on the characteristics of the ore.
4. Concentrate Dewatering: To obtain high-quality lithium concentrate, the lithium concentrate product is subjected to concentration and dewatering processes to remove excess moisture.

Please note that the order of the processes may vary depending on the specific requirements and characteristics of the lithium ore.