Titanium (ilmenite) concentrate was extracted from a New Zealand
ilmeno-magnetite deposit. Tailings from the existing processing line at the Waikato North Head ironsand concentration plant were used as a raw material feed. The titanium bearing mineral extracted was defined as intergrowths of ilmenite and hematite in the size range below 150 um.
The Owen-Honda equation was used to determine the conditions for
ilmenite/hematite magnetic separation. Three distinct regions of magnetic field strength for the mineral separation have been defined. Theoretical estimates from this calculation have been confirmed experimentally.
Ilmenite concentrate was obtained using medium field magnetic and
electrostatic separation. The final material contains 40.6 - 42 per cent TiO2 and 39.1 - 39.8 per cent Fe (total). The actual yield from extraction was about seven per cent of the < 150 um tailings.
Zircon, leucoxene and monazite were found as byproducts of the
titanium concentration process. Preliminary experiments have shown the viability of industrial zircon benefication.