Assessing The Quality Mining And Processing Techniques Of Bombawuha Kaolin Deposit Southern Ethiopia

Bombawuha kaolin deposit is a residual type deposit formed by weathering and hydrothermal alteration of granite and pegmatite units. The present study was designed to assess the quality, mining and processing techniques of Bombawuha kaolin deposit by physical observations of the site and different analytical methods. For this purpose, samples of the source rock, kaolin deposit, run of mine, and processed kaolin were collected for analyses. Chemical, and mineralogical (thin section) analyses were applied to examine the source rock of the deposit. For kaolin deposit, and processed kaolin chemical, mineralogical (XRD), and physical properties were investigated. A chemical analysis was also carried out to investigate the composition of run of mine. The result of the study revealed that the source rock of the deposit is composed of higher SiO2 (72.1%), coloring impurities (1.88% Fe2O3, and 0.13% TiO2), fluxes (5.765 alkalies, and 0.38% alkali earth oxides), and lower Al2O3 (16.3%) and loss on ignition (3.85%) values compared to its altered product. It is composed of quartz, k-feldspar, plagioclase, biotite, muscovite, and opaque minerals. The kaolin deposit has light gray to white color, higher grits (79.9-96.7%>63μm), pH (6.27-6.37), lower plasticity (

Get Full Work

Report copyright infringement or plagiarism