Ahmad Hamid, SarbastAlfonso Abella, María PuraAnticoi, HernanGuasch, EduardOliva, JosepDosbaba, MarekGarcia Vallès, MaiteChugunova, Marina2018-06-152018-06-152018-04-112075-163Xhttps://hdl.handle.net/2445/122983The mineralogy and liberation characteristics of the comminuted Penouta leucogranite host of the Sn-Ta ore were determined. Grinding developed by a combination of high-pressure grinding rolls (HPGR) followed by a ball mill (BM) was compared with a single ball mill process. The mineral characteristics of the grinding products were analyzed using a Tescan Integrated Mineralogical Analyzer (TIMA-X) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). The ore contains 103 ppm of Ta and is mainly composed of quartz, albite, microcline, muscovite, and kaolinite. Nb, Ta-rich minerals are columbite-(Mn) and tantalite-(Mn), as well as minor microlite and wodginite. The liberation in the product is high in the size fraction of less than 250 m (51-52 wt % for columbite-group minerals (CGM) and 74-80 wt % for cassiterite) and reduced in larger particles (8.8-17 wt % for CGM and 28-37 wt % for cassiterite). The recovery in the 􀀀250 m fraction was high, while in the larger fraction it is limited, remaining up to 80 ppm in some tailings. The combined use of HPGR and a BM reduces the particle size distribution of the product and, thus, increases the liberation of the ores. Smaller fractions can be treated directly using gravity methods; however, particles of a size greater than +250 m should be ground more.application/pdfengcc-by (c) Ahmad Hamid, S. et al., 2018http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/esMineralogiaJaciments mineralsMineralogyMineral depositsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/article6806712018-06-15info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess