Application of magnetic-and-gravity separation in production of titanomagnetite concentrates from ores of various Russian deposits

A.S. Opalev, A.V. Fomin, S.A. Alekseeva, R.V. Kaliuzhnaia
Mining Institute of the Kola Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Apatity, Russian Federation
Russian Mining Industry №1/ 2026 p. 89-96

Abstract: The article discusses the results of technological studies on the production of titanomagnetite concentrates from ores of the Kola Peninsula, the Urals, and Siberia. Specific features of the material composition of the mineral raw materials were studied, and the optimal parameters for ore preparation operations, magnetic and magnetic-and-gravity separation were determined. As a result of the research, technological solutions have been proposed to extract high-quality titanomagnetite concentrates from ores of various deposits. A concentrate with the weight fractions of 59.6% of total iron and 13.0% of titanium dioxide with the overall titanomagnetite recovery of over 90% was obtained from the apatite-nepheline ores of the Khibiny deposits characterized by a low titanomagnetite content of about 0.4%. A technology to produce a titanomagnetite concentrate with the iron content of 63% and titanium dioxide content of about 7%, with the total iron recovery of 63.7% from the source ore has been proposed for the perovskite-titanomagnetite ores of the Kola Peninsula containing 14.4% of total iron. Using titanomagnetite concentrate obtained from the ores of the Ural deposits as an example, the possibility of improving its quality through magnetic-and-gravity separation was demonstrated, increasing the total iron content from 61.6–61.7% to 63.9–64.8%, while maintaining a high operational recovery of the valuable component. Technological solutions have been proposed for complex titanomagnetite-perovskite-titanite-apatite ores of Siberia to produce a titanomagnetite concentrate characterized by the total iron content of 57.4% and its recovery of 56.5% with the titanium dioxide content in the concentrate being 11.8%.

Keywords: titanomagnetite ore, titanomagnetite, iron, titanium, ore reduction, magnetic separation, magnetic-and-gravity separation, separation technology

For citation: Opalev A.S., Fomin A.V., Alekseeva S.A., Kaliuzhnaia R.V. Application of magnetic-and-gravity separation in production of titanomagnetite concentrates from ores of various Russian deposits. Russian Mining Industry. 2026;(1):89–96. https://doi.org/10.30686/1609-9192-2026-1-89-96

Article info

Received: 29.10.2025

Revised: 16.12.2025

Accepted: 13.01.2026

Information about the authors

Alexander S. Opalev – Cand. Sci. (Eng.), Leading Researcher, Mining Institute of the Kola Science Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Apatity, Russian Federation; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5120-7595; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Alexander V. Fomin – Cand. Sci. (Eng.), Leading Researcher, Mining Institute Kola Science Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Apatity, Russian Federation; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0366-7439; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Svetlana A. Alekseeva – Senior Researcher, Mining Institute Kola Science Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Apatity, Russian Federation; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0183-9345; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Raisa V. Kaliuzhnaia – Researcher, Mining Institute Kola Science Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Apatity, Russian Federation; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5693-3051; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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