Description of the common processing options for various grades of antimony ore.

1. ANTIMONY ORE BENEFICIATION PROCESS PATHS
Oxide ores
Mixed
~50%
Sulphide ores (marketed as lump sulphide, clean sulphide & Chinese concentrate)
~50%
1
25 - 45%
1.5% - 25%
45% - 60%
> 59%
2
Crush, mill, float
3
Carbon, soda
Pressure
cynidation in
pipe reactor
Leach
Electrolysis
Reduction in
reverbatory or
short rotary
Liquation in
reverbatory or crucible
furnace
Roasting
in shaft
furnace
Smelting in
Iron precipitation in
rotary smelter
Iron precipitation in a
Fluedust,
Sb metal
buttons,
oxide
Smelting to
regulus
Furnace stage
Smelting in
4
Crude Sb metal
>70%
Sb oxides to
oxide ore
processing
paths
Volatisation in
reverbatory furnace
Small
amounts of
stibnite
Crude Sb
metal >70%
Volatisation in
reverbatory furnace
Refining 99.5% regulus
in reverbatory furnace
Soda
Refining by heating in
5
Furnace stage
Impure Sb
(Fe & S contaminants)
80 - 90%??
Regulus
> 99.65%
Commercial grade ATO
99.2 - 99.8%??
High -grade
ATO >99.8%??
Roasting
in shaft
furnace
Recovery using
oxidising flux
Sb metal
>99.65%??
Flame
Sb
Pigments
Volatisation
LEGEND
Formation of Sb metal and its by-products
CONS MURCH PROCESS SUMMARY
1, 2, 3 Stibnite grade ave over 1%, gold separated
& upgraded to sulphide concentrate of >58% Sb.
Formation of ATO and its by-products
Pre-product processes
4 Antimony Products (Pty) Ltd treats conc at
adjacent plant to 97% ATO.
Cons-Murch process
San Antonio process
5 Bulk of ATO is exported for refining to 99.2 99.5% ATO, some to Cookson Chemicals Durban
for refining into 99.5% ATO for SA consumption.
Pb - based
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Pb pipes, pumps,
valves
Cable sheathing
Refining in
pots or
reverbatory
furnaces
Regulus >99%
Pb - acid
batteries
Pb - acid
batteries
Scrap
Recycling in
blast furnace
Semiconductors
> 99.999%