Some Surface Characteristics of Six Hematite Ores from the Middleback Range Area, South Australia

Surface chemical techniques were used in an attempt to characterise eight samples of hematite. The hematites studied were six samples from the Middleback Ranges (Iron Knob (2 samples), Iron Monarch, Iron Prince, Iron Princess and Iron Baron) and two high purity, synthetic sa mples. The isoelectric points of the hematite samples showed a wide variation in value (from <2 to 8) whereas the zero points of charge were in the range 5.5 to 7.5. Using a simple mathematical calculation it was possible to estimate the surface charge characteristics of these hematite samples which gave a much better picture of the true surface properties of these samples in an aqueous environment. It was hoped that this study would contribute to a better understanding of the interaction between different hematite samples and water, a mechanism that is important in many industrial applications e.g. slurry pumping, agglomeration and granulation.