Mica Beneficiation Process

Mica Beneficiation Process

Introduction
Mica is known as a shiny silicate mineral with a layered structure within granite and other
rocks, or as crystals. Mica’s advanced properties include being highly translucent, stable,
tough, durable and electrical resistant, therefore can be used for number of applications. The
most prominent industry to use mica is as a thermal or electrical insulator in the electrical and
electronics industries. Mica is also widely used in aircraft industry due to its unique
combination of flexibility, transparency, and toughness. Other than that, beauty and personal
care sectors use mica to give shiny and glittery appearance in the products such toothpaste
and cosmetics. Mica has been used in India since ancient times as a medicinal item in
Ayurveda and is known as abhrak. With the development of electrical industry, mica found
new vistas of use. Its insulating properties have made it a valuable mineral in electrical and
electronics industry. It can withstand high voltage and has low power loss factor.

The three major types of mica found in India are: muscovite, phlogopite and biotite.
Important mica bearing pegmatite occurs in Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar and Rajasthan.
The total in situ reserves of mica are placed at 59,065 tonnes. The in situ reserves of mica in
Andhra Pradesh are 42,626 thousand tonnes, Jharkhand 1,496 tonnes and in Rajasthan 2,007
tonnes.

Ores of Mica
1. Lepidolite - K(Li,Al,Rb)2(Al,Si)4O10(F,OH)2

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 Mica Beneficiation Process

2. Biotite - K(Mg,Fe)3AlSi3O10(F,OH)2

3. Phlogopite - KMg3AlSi3O10(F,OH)2

4. Muscovite - KAl2(AlSi3O10)(FOH)2, or (KF)2(Al2O3)3(SiO2)6(H2O)

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 Mica Beneficiation Process

Production and Distribution:

India has a near monopoly in the production of mica and is the world’s largest producer of

sheet mica, accounting for about 60% of global production. The majority of the mica mines

are concentrated in the north-eastern states of Jharkhand and Bihar. Production was just 772 3
tonnes in 1947-48 which increased to about ten thousand tonnes within three years. The
production increased at a rapid pace up to 1960-61 and there was a record production of

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 Mica Beneficiation Process

28,347 tonnes in that year. But afterwards it showed a declining trend and the production
came down to 1,217 tonnes in 2002-03

The mica industry in India has long been of the world’s largest in terms of mica production

and mica exports. India’s mica mining plays an important role in the country’s overall mining

activity, contributing significantly to the economic growth of India. Despite the mica industry

in India currently going through serious controversies around child labor issues, India still

remains one of the largest suppliers of mica in the global market. As the mica market

continues to grow, business opportunities with leading mica producers and exporters in India

are also expected to flourish in the future, especially as the Indian government and the top

players in the market launch new initiatives to tackle and eliminate the child labor issues.

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 Mica Beneficiation Process

Mica Beneficiation Process

In recent years, more than 99 percent of the domestic mica produced has been scrap and flake and
flake mica (mica which does not meet specifications for sheet mica and which is used for producing
fine-ground mica). Most flake mica is obtained as the major marketable product by crushing and
milling pegmatites. To a lesser extent, mica is produced as a by-product of feldspar and spodumene.
Mica is mostly beneficiated by floatation method. First method utilizes acid cationic floatation for
recovery of mica. This method requires thorough desliming of the ore with consequent fine mica
losses. The other utilizes an alkaline anionic-cationic process for recovering fine-size mica from
pegmatite ores after desliming sufficiently to remove clay materials, but not so drastically as to
remove fine mica.

Floatation Methods

1. Acid Cationic Floatation Method

The acid cationic method of mica floatation provides an efficient method for recovery of coarse mica.
Partiles as coarse as 14 mesh may be floated by the process. However, the ore must be completely
deslimed at 150 to 200 mesh, which results in considerable loss of fine mica. The process includes
conditioning the ground ore pulps at 40 to 45 percent solids with sulfuric acid and floating the mia
with a collector. The sulfuric acid is used for pH of 4.0. Cationic reagents, such as the long-carbon-
chain amine acetates, were the most effective collecting agents for floating mica.

2. Alkaline Anionic-Cationic Floatation Method

This method of mica floatation provides a very effective method for recovery of mica in the presence
of slimes. The ore is normally deslimed sufficiently to remove the clay slimes, but not so drastically
as to remove the fine-size mica and other granular material. Particles as coarse a 20 mesh may be
floated by the process.

The process includes conditioning the finely round ore pulps at 40 to 45 percent solids with sodium
carbonate and calcium lignin sulfonate and floating the mica with a combination of anionic and
cationic collectors. The separation is not particularly sensitive to pulp pH, and excellent mica
recoveries are obtained in a pH range of 8.0 to 10.5.

The function of sodium carbonate is to retard floatation of the gangue minerals and control the pH of
the pulp. The exact mechanism of the retarding action of the sodium carbonate is not known. It seems
probable, however, that its effectiveness may be due to removal and dispersion of slime coatings on
the mineral surfaces. Anionic-type reagents, such as oleic acid and combinations of oleic and linoleic
acid, were found to be the most effective collecting agents for floating mica. Increased sensitivity in
the presence of slimes was imparted to anionic collectors by incorporating small amounts of cationic
amine acetate collecting agents in the system.

The most effective ratio of anionic and cationic collector for mica floatation is 2 to 3 parts fatty acid
to 1 part cationic collector. Any appreciable change in the ratio decreases both the grade and the
recovery of mica. 5

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Comparison of the two Mica Floatation Methods
Acid Cationic Method
1. Requires acid proof equipment.
2. Will not tolerate slimes.
3. Does not effectively depress limonite and
biotite.
4. Will float coarser size material than will
alkaline circuit.
5. Requires more desliming equipment than
alkaline circuit, thus increasing operating costs
and losses in fine mica.
Mica Beneficiation Process
Alkaline anionic Cationic Method
1. Does not require acid proof equipment.
2. Recovers mica from ore pulps
containing slimes.
3. Depresses limonite and biotite
4. Will float finer size material than will
acid circuit.
5. When coarse mica is recovered by
differential grinding and screening prior to
alkaline floatation, the coarse mica is not
coated with reagent.
6. Overall recovery is higher because a
larger percentage of mica is subject to
recovery by screening and flotation.
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 Mica Beneficiation Process

1. Flowsheet for Recovery of Mica using Acid Cationic Floatation Method

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 Mica Beneficiation Process

2. Flowsheet for Recovery of Mica using Alkaline Anionic- Cationic

Floatation Method

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 Mica Beneficiation Process

Applications
 Paints: It is used in paints as a pigment extender and also helps to brighten the tone of
coloured pigments
 Electrical Industry: In the electrical industry the same as thermal insulation, and electrical
insulators in electronic equipment
 Cosmetics: Its shiny and glittery appearance makes it ultimate for toothpaste and cosmetics
 Electronics: The high thermal resistance allows it to be used as an insulator in various
electronics
 Corrosion inhibitors: Mica Shields or Gauge Glass Mica can be used to secure the liquid
level gauges from corrosive and acidic solutions.
 Industrial Uses: The highest level of silica content in it makes it the most preferred mineral to
be used in various industries and also for other personal uses.
 It is invariably used for fillers, extenders along with providing smoother uniformity,
improving workability and prevents cracking.
 Insulator: It is also used as an insulator in home attics, concrete blocks and also poured into
open top walls.
 As filler: It is also added to grease to increase its durability and giving it a better surface.
 Mica is also used as a soil conditioner particularly in potting soil mixes and in gardening
plots.

Mica Manufacturing Industries in India

1. Indian Metals and Ferro Alloys Ltd.

MFA Building Bhubaneswar Odisha 751 010, INDIA, India

2. Mica Manufacturing Private Limited

3 C, Cemac Street, Cemac Street, Kolkata, West Bengal 700016

3. Sakti Mica Manufacturing Co.

3/5A, Vivek Nagar, Gr. Floor, Kolkata, West Bengal 700075

4. Ruby Mica Co. Ltd. - Mica Tapes and Tubes

Barganda Rd, Argaghat, Giridih, Jharkhand 815301

5. Premier Mica Company

38, Seethammal Rd, Seetammal Colony, Seethammal Colony, Lubdhi Colony, Teynampet,
Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600018

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 Mica Beneficiation Process

References:

 Floatation of Muscovite from Alabama Graphitic-Mica Schist Ore. BuMines Rept. Of

Inv. 7263, 1969, 7pp.
 Browing, James S., Mica Process Development, Trans. AIME, v. 247, 1970, pp, 269-
273
 http://www.adhunikudyog.com/what_is_mica.php
 http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/environment/minerals/state-wise-production-and-
distribution-of-non-metallic-minerals-in-india/19747
 https://www.bizvibe.com/blog/mica-industry-india/

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