How are feldspar mined?

Conventional open-pit mining methods including removal of overburden, drilling and blasting, loading, and transport by trucks are used to mine ores containing feldspar. A froth flotation process is used for most feldspar ore beneficiation. Then the ore passes to a three-stage, acid-circuit flotation process.

How is feldspar obtained?

Feldspar is mined from large granite bodies (called plutons by geologists), from pegmatites (formed when the last fluid stages of a crystallizing granite becomes concentrated in small liquid and vapor-rich pockets that allow the growth of extremely large crystals), and from sands composed mostly of feldspar.

How is feldspar mined and refined?

A froth flotation process is used for most feldspar ore beneficiation. The ore is crushed by primary and secondary crushers and ground by jaw crushers, cone crushers, and rod mills until it is reduced to less than 841 µm (20 mesh). Then the ore passes to a three-stage, acid-circuit flotation process.

Why is feldspar used in ceramics?

2.3 Feldspar Feldspars of importance to ceramics are aluminosilicates of sodium, potassium, and calcium (Jones & Berard, 1993) They are used as fluxes to form a glassy phase in bodies, thus promoting vitrification and translucency. They also serve as a source of alkalis and alumina in glazes.

How is feldspar used?

Feldspars are used widely in the glass and ceramics industries. Albite, or soda spar as it is known commercially, is used in ceramics. The feldspar-rich rocks larvikite and a few anorthosites are employed as both interior and exterior facing slabs. In addition, several feldspars are used as gemstones.

What was feldspar used for?

The term feldspar encompasses a whole range of materials. Most of the products we use on a daily basis are made with feldspar: glass for drinking, glass for protection, fiberglass for insulation, the floor tiles and shower basins in our bathrooms, and the tableware from which we eat. Feldspar is part of our daily life.