Dry versus Wet Magnetic Separation – Horses for Courses

Magnetic separation equipment has long been used to upgrade and beneficiate a wide variety of minerals and materials. Over the years, significant advances in both wet and dry magnetic separators have improved their operability and separation performances, broadening their use.But no one answer exists to the question: what is the right type of magnetic separator? For many minerals, including ilmenite, both process routes may be viable. There are technical, production, as well as economic reasons for choosing wet versus dry. However, recent developments illustrate that a new generation of wet magnetic separators is approaching performance once seen only in dry magnetic separation. With quality and production performance becoming similar, the choice between wet and dry magnetic separation is not as cut and dry as it once was.