Magnetic Behavior of Natural Magnetite (Fe3O4) Extracted from Beach Sand Obtained by Mechanical Alloying Method

Investigation on the iron sand characteristic of Syiah Kuala beach in Banda Aceh coastal region has been performed. Samples were prepared by mechanical alloying method using a planetary type high energy ball milling. As shown by XRF results, the results indicate that the iron sand is dominated by magnetite up to 85.80 %. The XRD test showed that the Fe3O4 (magnetite) appears as the majority phase. Furthermore, the magnetic properties observation found that the magnetization saturation (Ms) and remanent (Br) are decreasing with the increasing of the coercivity (Hc). These results inform us that the mechanical alloying method is a very attractive technique to reduce the beach sand particle into nanometer scale.