A study on the rare earth ore containing scandium by high gradient magnetic separation

Scandium (Sc) concentration from the rare earth ore by high gradient magnetic separation (HGMS) was determined on the basis of Sc content, geophysical parameter determination and the magnetic analyses of the ore. Based on the condition experiments, expanding experiments were carried out. The results showed that the ore had a Sc grade of 48.90 g/t, and after removing iron by low-intensity magnetic separation, a Sc concentrate of 314.89 g/t grade and with 77.53% recovery was obtained by one-stage roughing-one-stage cleaning of high gradient magnetic separation. Most of the rare earth elements were enriched in the Sc concentrate, and some could be comprehensively recovered during Sc extraction. It was therefore concluded that most of the rare earth elements in the weakly magnetic minerals could be effectively enriched by high gradient magnetic separation.