(General session) Mineral processing

[2301-08-02] Development of Beneficiation Process for Recovering Cassiterite from Primary Tin Deposit, Indonesia

○Topan Satria Gumilang^{1[Master’s course]}, Ilhwan Park¹, Mayumi Ito¹, Naoki Hiroyoshi¹ (1. Hokkaido University)

Chairperson：ジョン　サンヒ（秋田大学）

Keywords:primary tin deposits, cassiterite, dense medium separation, wet high-gradient magnetic separation, agglomeration flotation

Tin (Sn) is an essential rare metal for the high-tech industry, and cassiterite (SnO₂) is the most widely recognized and abundant tin-bearing mineral. The demand for tin is projected to increase due to its important role in low-carbon technologies like electric vehicles (EVs). Indonesia is the second largest tin producer, and PT Timah Tbk—one of the Indonesian tin mining companies—produces the majority of tin products from alluvial tin deposits by a series of shaking tables. However, the beneficiation process for alluvial tin deposits is not applicable to primary tin deposits because of the fine grain size of cassiterite. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a new beneficiation process tailored for primary tin deposits to produce tin concentrates amenable for tin smelters (i.e., Sn concentrates with Sn ≥ 40%, SiO₂ ≤ 2.85%, and Fe ≤ 8%). In this study, the combination of dense medium separation, wet high-gradient magnetic separation, and agglomeration flotation was investigated to produce saleable tin concentrates from primary tin deposits.