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Mineralogical Controlson Phosphorus AccessibilityDuring Fe(II)-Catalyzed Recrystallization of Natural Goethitic IronOres
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Mineralogical Controlson Phosphorus AccessibilityDuring Fe(II)-Catalyzed Recrystallization of Natural Goethitic IronOres

Niloofar Karimian, Mark I. Pownceby, Edward D. Burton, Nathan A. S. Webster, Andrew J. Frierdich, Andrew R. C. Grigg and Ruben Kretzschmar
Environmental science & technology, Vol.60(34), pp.24067-24080
09/2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6c06627
Appears in  Recent Faculty of Science and Engineering Publications
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Abstract

Fe(II)-catalyzed recrystallization goethite phosphorus mobilization iron ore beneficiation atom exchange redox-driven transformation X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) Fe isotope tracing impurity redistribution low-temperature mineralogical conditioning
Phosphorus (P) associated with goethitic iron ores remains a major challenge for iron ore beneficiation because much of the P is hosted within Fe-associated mineral domains that are poorly accessible to conventional extraction methods. Here, we investigate Fe(II)-catalyzed recrystallization as a low-temperature mineralogical conditioning strategy for selectively restructuring natural goethitic iron ores and enhancing P accessibility. Two goethite-rich Pilbara ores with contrasting crystallinity, Al-Si-substitution, and structural complexity were reacted with aqueous Fe-57-enriched Fe(II) under circumneutral anoxic conditions. Fe(II) rapidly transferred from solution to the solid phase, driving Fe atom exchange and structural reorganization without formation of new bulk crystalline Fe phases. Isotope tracing revealed substantially greater Fe atom exchange in the Fe-rich, well-crystalline ore (GOL, similar to 15%) than in the Al-Si-rich, structurally heterogeneous ore (GOV, similar to 7%), demonstrating that natural mineralogical complexity strongly controls Fe(II)-catalyzed recrystallization. Fe(II) treatment generated a transient pulse of dissolved P followed by rapid resequestration into the solid phase, accompanied by a marked increase in operationally defined NaOH-extractable P demonstrating that recrystallization enhances P accessibility rather than removing P directly from the ore. NaOH-extractable P increased to similar to 75%-80% of the initial bulk P content in GOL but only similar to 35%-40% in GOV, whereas Al remained largely immobile (<10%) and Si exhibited minimal changes in both aqueous and NaOH-extractable pools, confirming that Fe(II)-catalyzed recrystallization selectively restructures Fe-bearing P-hosting domains while largely preserving aluminosilicate and silica-rich components. Collectively, these results establish Fe(II)-catalyzed recrystallization as a mineralogical conditioning step that redistributes Fe-associated phosphorus into more alkali-accessible pools prior to alkaline extraction. The efficiency of this process is governed by crystallinity, Al-Si-substitution, and structural heterogeneity, providing new mechanistic insight into low-temperature mineralogical conditioning strategy for enhanced P extractability of natural goethitic iron ores.

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