The beneficiation of Canadian garnet ores at CANMET

CIM Bulletin, Vol. 88, No. 995, 1995

P.R.A. Andrews, Resources Utilization Laboratory, CANMET, Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, Ontario

Garnet occurs in schists and gneisses in all provinces of Canada, but mainly in Quebec and Ontario. There is currently a renewed interest in exploration for economic sources of garnet for abrasive applications because of the inherent dangers from exposure to ground silica from sandblasting operations. High-quality garnet is used for lapping and grinding of glass and ceramics; for coated and bonded products such as sandpaper and cloth; and abrasive wheels for grinding and finishing various metals, woods, rubber and plastics. Low-quality garnet is used for cleaning and conditioning aluminum and other soft metals, particularly by aircraft manufacturers. Garnet may be added to grouting cements for oil-well drilling applications, and it has also been used for low- to medium-level radiation shielding. Garnet has been studied extensively by CANMET and its predecessor, Mines Branch, between 1917 and 1990. Twenty-nine studies relating to various aspects of beneficiation are presented and a review of the more important studies is presented. The information includes mineralogy, beneficiation methods, product sizes and analyses.