Microbial Beneficiation of Iron Ore Collected from Rungta Mine Areas Using Aspergillus fumigatus

Abstract

In the current study the fungus Aspergillus fumigatus was used to beneficiate the iron ore sample collected from Rungta mines, Odisha. The iron samples used in the experiment contains 58.2 % Fe, 5.7 % alumina and 5.0 % silica. Shake flask studies were carried out in Bromofield medium at 35o C, pH-6.8 and 150 rpm for 30 days. At the above conditions the maximum removal of alumina and silica by A. fumigatus was 24.5 % and 27.3 % respectively with drop in pH 1.8 from intial pH 6.8. Various optimization parameters like variation in growth medium,variation in pulp density and variation in temperature were studied with fungus. In Bromofield medium A. fumigatus observed to remove 24.5 % alumina and 27.3 % at optimum temperature 35o C at 5 % pulp density. The results of the study indicated a potential relationship between Alumina and Silica removal and the organic acids production by this fungus. It is therefore concluded that there is a potential prospect in the use of metabolite from this type of fungus for biobeneficiation of iron ore minerals.