Tantalum/niobium ores

Niobium minerals, especially columbite, are also associated with other valuable minerals, such as tantalum, zircon and rare earth minerals. Pyrochlore and a mixture of pyrochlore and columbite have different origins, and therefore, beneficiation of pyrochlore and columbite are different from that of the mixed tantalum niobium ores. In actual plant practice, the treatment process is significantly different from that used for mixed niobium tantalum ores. This is due to the fact that the beneficiation process is largely determined by the nature of gangue minerals present in the ore. In most cases, the beneficiation process applicable for pyrochlore ore cannot be successfully applied for beneficiation of tantalum/ niobium ores. 

Oxalic acid is used as the depressant of various silicates. Meantime, it is also applied in the flotation separation of rare-earth mineral, tantalum-niobium ore, monazite, and cassiterite. 

The group investigated, for example, platinum ores from Siberia and ores from Scandinavia, containing rare earth minerals such as gadoHnite Be FeY Si Ojjj and fergusonite Y(Nb, Ta)0. Tantalum-niobium ores containing the mineral columbite (Fe,Mn)(Nb,Ta)20g were also collected and examined. 

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