The Principle and Research Status of Barite Beneficiation Technology based on Radiation

Barite (BaSO₄), known for its high density, stable chemical properties, and good absorption of X-rays and γ-rays, is an important non-metallic mineral resource widely used in oil drilling, coatings, plastics, pharmaceuticals, and the nuclear industry. The marked gaps in density and atomic number between barite and its gangue minerals produce clearly different radiation responses—in absorption, attenuation, and fluorescence—which has led to ray-based sorting techniques such as X-ray transmission sorting (XRT) and X-ray fluorescence sorting (XRF). These techniques offer high separation accuracy, strong adaptability, and high automation without requiring any chemical reagents, and they support pre-concentration, tailings discarding, and waste reduction. As such, they have become an important tool for handling low-grade, fine-grained, and complexly associated barite ores. The separation principles and applicable ranges of these techniques are first elaborated, followed by a review of research progress in process optimization, equipment development, and recognition algorithms. Existing problems and future development directions are then analyzed and proposed, with the aim of offering useful reference for the improvement, upgrading, and further study of this technology.