Superconductive helical flow magnetic ore separator

A high field helical flow-through separator to concentrate weakly magnetic ores is described. The process is to flow slurry helically around a current carrying conductor in a cylindrical annulus. The magnetic field gradient forces magnetic particles inwards towards the conductor. Nonmagnetic particles (gangue, sands, etc.) are deflected outwards by centrifugal force. Separation occurs at the exit end of the channel where a divider separates inboard from outboard slurry. The experimental part of this experimental and theoretical study is reported here. Carefully sized synthetic ore particles with and without sand in a slurry are used. Experiments cover a wide range of particle sizes (100 - 800 microns), magnetic moments (1.4 - 4.8 Am²/kg), velocities (1.5 - 4 m/sec), magnetic flux densities (0 - 1.6 T), input solid concentrations (2.6 - 15% by weight), and input grades (16.5 - 100%). Satisfactory separation is found within the above parameter regions.