In coming years, global lithium production is expected to increase as the result of widespread electric vehicle adoption. To meet the expected increase in demand, lithium must be sourced from both brine and hard-rock deposits. Heavy liquid separation (HLS) and dense media separation (DMS) tests were conducted on the pegmatites from Hidden Lake, NWT, Canada to demonstrate the potential role of this technology in the concentration of spodumene (LiAlSi₂O₆) from hard-rock sources. A continuously operated DMS circuit test, conducted on +840 µm material, produced a concentrate grading 6.11% Li₂O with ~50% lithium recovery. The circuit rejected 50% of the original mass to tailings, with only 8% lithium losses. Sensitivity analysis showed that minor changes (+/−0.05) in the DMS-specific gravity cut point resulted in significant changes to the mass rejected and to the concentrate grade produced; this may limit the feasibility and operability of the downstream grinding and flotation circuits. The results demonstrate the potential for DMS in the concentration of spodumene from the Hidden Lake pegmatites, and by extension, the potential for DMS in the concentration of spodumene from other hard-rock occurrences.

中文翻译：

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稠介质分离法回收和浓缩锂辉石

未来几年，由于电动汽车的广泛采用，全球锂产量预计将增加。为了满足预期的需求增长，锂必须来自卤水和硬岩矿床。对加拿大 NWT 隐湖伟晶岩进行了重液分离 (HLS) 和重介质分离 (DMS) 测试，以证明该技术在从硬岩源中浓缩锂辉石 (LiAlSi ₂ O ₆ ) 中的潜在作用. 对 +840 µm 材料进行的连续运行 DMS 电路测试产生了浓度为 6.11% Li ₂的精矿O 具有~50% 的锂回收率。该电路将 50% 的原始质量排除在尾矿中，只有 8% 的锂损失。敏感性分析表明，DMS 比重临界点的微小变化 (+/-0.05) 会导致废品质量和生产的精矿品位发生显着变化；这可能会限制下游研磨和浮选回路的可行性和可操作性。结果证明了 DMS 在来自 Hidden Lake 伟晶岩的锂辉石浓缩中的潜力，进而证明了 DMS 在其他硬岩产状锂辉石的浓缩中的潜力。