Preliminary Characterizations of Lejja Iron Ores for Steel Making Processes

Abstract

There is need to characterise the iron ore to determine their grade based on the iron and other mineral contents before usage. Comprehensive research has been carried out on the characterisation of Jaruwa, Agbaja and other deposits in Nigeria. But little or no work has been carried out on the characterisation of the iron deposit at lejja village. This research will help to reduce the over dependence of Nigeria on imported iron ore. In this study, iron ores from deposits from three Lejja villages: Amankwo, Dunoka and Umuakpo were characterised using X-ray diffractometer, X-ray florescence spectrometer, and scanning electron microscope. Phase identification and chemical compositions revealed that the iron ore content of the Amankwo village deposit is higher (73.50%) than that of the Dunoka village (71.57%), and the Umuakpo village (57.14%). The phosphorus contents of the deposits were higher than 0.04% recommended for high grade iron ore. Iron ore from Umuakpo contained more silica and alumina than Amankwo and Dunoka deposits. A spherical ooids (concentric layer) that shows partial and whole replacement by hematite (iron precipitates around a nucleus) was observed on the petrograph of Umuakpo ore as against the darker areas which signified more iron contents in Amankwo ore. Based on the findings, Amankwo village and Dunoka village deposits can be classified as high-grade hematite iron ore while Umuakpo village deposits can be classified as lean grade, although all can serve as feedstock for production of iron through the direct reduction route.