Nanomagnetite Extraction from Iron Sand Prepared by Mechanical Alloying Method

In this paper, the magnetic properties of Aceh iron sand was studied. The iron sand was collected from the Syiah Kuala coastal area, Banda Aceh and obtained by mechanical alloying method using planetary ball milling. The mineral compositions were investigated by XRD and XRF analysis tests. The XRF test showed that the sand mostly contain magnetite, Fe3O4 (85.80%) in association with other impurities of SiO2, TiO2, Al2O3 and some others minor minerals. Compare to XRD results, the phase compositions were mainly magnetite (Fe3O4). So, it is consistent with the XRF data. The electron microscopy observation (SEM) showed the fine crystalline structure and the main morphology was micro-crystalline in agglomerate forms. Furthermore, the magnetic properties after 20 hours milling showed the increasing in the coercivity (Hc) and remanent (Br), while the magnetic saturation (Ms) was decreased. This behavior can be explained that nano-Fe3O4 phase after the milling process plays an important role in the magnetic properties of iron sand.