The feasibility of beneficiating (upgrading) ilmenite ores using a molten salt extraction/electrolysis process was investigated. In this process, the iron fraction is selectively extracted from ilmenite and reduced to metallic iron at the cathode; the oxygen species is converted to CO and/or C 0 2 at a carbon anode. The beneficiated (upgraded) ore is then recovered from the melt, and the molten salt is recirculated back to the reactor. The high T i0 2 content o f the ore after extraction o f

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... iron fraction increases its value as a feedstock for the production o f T i0 2 pigment by the Chloride Process. Several salt systems were studied, including LiCl-KCl, NaOH-KOH, LiB 02-K B 02, and LiCl-KCl-LiB02. Of these systems, the best results were obtained for the LiCl-KCl-LiB02 system containing 5 to 20 weight % LiB02.