For vanadium extraction from stone coal, roasting is usually a necessary procedure to liberate vanadium from crystal structure. In the roasting process, the characterizations of phase transformation and temperature of onset of sintering are very important. A new method for calculating the mineral phase and liquid phase formation temperature (LPFT) using FactSage software is described in this study. The mineral phases of roasted stone coal with different chemical components calculated by FactSage were consistent with those analyzed by XRD. The change trends of the LPFTs calculated by FactSage also agreed well with those of the temperatures of onset of sintering measured by apparent density method. This new method is less labor-intensive and less costly compared with XRD and apparent density method. Moreover, it also can provide prediction of roasting temperature range, additive species and dosage for vanadium extraction from stone coal. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.