PHOSPHORUS IN MAGNETITIC IRON ORES: OCCURRENCE, PROCESSING CHALLENGES, AND SEPARATION STRATEGIES.

Phosphorus constitutes a significant impurity in iron ore processing, adversely affecting steel properties such as ductility, cold-workability, weldability, and fracture resistance. High-phosphorus magnetitic iron ores, prevalent globally, contain phosphate minerals like apatite and fluorapatite, which manifest as disseminated gangue, fine intergrowths, composite particles, or inclusions within iron-bearing minerals. Despite extensive investigation, effective phosphorus removal remains challenging, as dephosphorization efficiency is intricately linked to mineralogical texture, liberation behavior, particle-size distribution, and surface chemistry. This research critically evaluates the modes of phosphorus occurrence in magnetite iron ores and systematically compares various dephosphorization strategies, including physical, flotation, thermal, thermochemical, hydrometallurgical, and integrated approaches. Emphasis is placed on the relationship between mineralogical characteristics and

beneficiation performance, considering factors such as phosphorus removal efficiency, iron recovery, energy demand, reagent consumption, and technological maturity. The study also addresses industrial limitations, scale-up constraints, environmental implications, and the identified gap in integrated geometallurgical approaches within current literature, noting flotation's continued prominence despite its varying efficacy.

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