Removal of calcium from magnesite flotation concentrate by selective leaching and kinetics analysis

Dolomite is the main impurity mineral in magnesite ore, affecting the quality of magnesite products. This study proposed a selective leaching process to reduce the calcium content from the magnesite flotation concentrate using hydrochloride acid (HCl). Laboratory scale tests were conducted to explore the influence of operation factors including HCl concentration, leaching temperature and time, stirring speed on the leaching recovery. The results showed that leaching recovery of CaO and MgO increased with increasing HCl concentration, temperature and time. The CaO leaching recovery is always significantly higher than that of MgO, indicating a good selectivity of HCl to leach dolomite from magnesite. The leaching kinetics of both dolomite and magnesite follow the Avrami model and are diffusion controlled, with an activation energy of 43±}1 kJ×mol-1 and 25±}4 kJ×mol-1, respectively.