Mineral Dissociation and Enrichment Characteristics of Apatite Pulverized by High-pressure Gas Rapid Unloading and High-Speed Impact Combined Effect

Abstract Mineral dissociation and enrichment have always been the core issues in ore processing. The goal of multi-stage crushing and ball milling is dissociation because mineral dissociation is the foundation of beneficiation. High energy consumption and environmental pollution have always been unavoidable topics. We propose a novel method involving continuously graded apatite particles produced by high-pressure gas rapid unloading and high-speed impact. Particle size follows MR-R distribution. The scanning electron microscopy data shows that the apatite particles smaller than 4 mm produced by rapid unloading of high-pressure gas have completely dissociated, and high-grade apatite enriched in the particle size range of 0.5 to 4 mm. The average grade of the preferred particle size interval is 3–5% higher than the original ore because most impurity minerals become fine particles and separate from apatite. The quality proportion of particle size range of 0.5 to 4 mm is higher than that of particle size less than 0.5 mm. Dissociation degrees of apatite less than 4 mm are above 88%, which is beneficial for mineral processing.