ABSTRACT
In this work, the possibility of upgrading a locally available low grade Manganese Ore was attempted. The low grade ore deposit is located in Wasagu/Danko Local Government Area of Kebbi State, North Western Nigeria. The work involved chemical and mineralogical characterization of the ore and separation tests using gravity and magnetic Separation Techniques, while the work index of the ore was determined using the Berry and Bruce method. Results of chemical analysis using X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF) revealed that the manganese ore contains 38.67%Mn on the average. Mineralogical characteristics of the ore determined using the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) revealed that the ore is predominantly spessartite with quartz and hematite as minor minerals while others are in trace amounts. Upgrading the ore using shaking table gave a concentrate of 48.89%Mn, Spiral concentrator gave a concentrate of 49.34%Mn and the Magnetic separation gave a concentrate of 52.63%Mn while their corresponding recoveries are 97.60%, 99.10% and 77.78% respectively. The results obtained from these tests showed that magnetic separation gave a better grade of the concentrate compared to the gravity concentration techniques. The grade of 52.63%Mn obtained using magnetic separation method compared favorably with 52.5%Mn required for production of ferromanganese.