Study the effect of chromite ore properties on pelletisation process

Chrome ore properties play a critical role in various pelletisation subprocesses (grinding, filtering, pelletisation and sintering) and slight variation in ore properties significantly affect the whole pelletisation process. Three ore samples (sample-A, B and C) were collected from different working faces of a chromite ore mine. Experiments were carried out to find out the difference in grinding (Inherent ore granulometry, ore hardness, ore grindability and friability), pelletisation (green pellet strength, balling time and pellet size) and sintering (pellet strength and porosity) characteristics of these ore samples. Chemical analysis and microscopic studies of the ore samples and pellets were also carried out to identify the cause of difference in pelletisation characteristics of ore samples. These differences were mainly caused by ore genesis process, degree of weathering and mining method. Results of the study show that the ores collected from different working faces of a mine show the significant difference to unstabilize the process with degraded product quality. It was found that blending could be a suitable option to tailor the desired grade feed for steady process efficiency and product quality with proper natural resource utilization.