Добірка наукової літератури з теми "Geometallurgey. geochemistry"

Management of solid mine wastes requires detailed material characterisation at the start of a project to minimize opportunities for the generation of acid and metalliferous drainage (AMD). Mine planning must focus on obtaining a thorough understanding of the environmental properties of the future waste rock materials. Using drill core obtained from a porphyry Cu project in Northern Europe, this study demonstrates the integrated application of mineralogical and geochemical data to enable the construction of enviro-geometallurgical models. Geoenvironmental core logging, static chemical testing, bulk- and hyperspectral mineralogical techniques, and calculated mineralogy from assay techniques were used to critically evaluate the potential for AMD formation. These techniques provide value-adding opportunities to existing datasets and provide robust cross-validation methods for each technique. A new geoenvironmental logging code and a new geoenvironmental index using hyperspectral mineralogical data (Hy-GI) were developed and embedded into the geochemistry-mineralogy-texture-geometallurgy (GMTG) approach for waste characterisation. This approach is recommended for new mining projects (i.e., early life-of-mine stages) to ensure accurate geoenvironmental forecasting, therefore facilitating the development of an effective waste management plan that minimizes geoenvironmental risks posed by the mined materials.

Copper-cobalt deposits in the Central African Copperbelt belong to the Sediment-Hosted Stratiform Copper (SHSC) type and are situated in the Neoproterozoic Katanga Supergroup. This paper describes in detail the geology, geochemistry and hydrometallurgy of cobalt, with a special focus on the Black Ore Mineralised Zone (BOMZ) unit from the Ruashi Cu-Co deposit as a case study. Based on results from fieldwork and laboratory testing, it was concluded that the BOMZ consists of a succession of massive and stratified dolostones, which are weathered into carbonaceous clay dolostones and clays. The Lower “Calcaire à Minéreaux Noirs Formation” (Lower CMN Formation) consists of stratified and finely laminated dolostones, which are weathered at the surface into clayey to siliceous dolostones. The cobalt concentration in the weathering zone is due to supergene enrichment, a process that is linked to the formation of a cobalt cap. The ore consists of heterogenite associated with minor amounts of chrysocolla and malachite. Minor carrollite, chalcopyrite, chalcocite and bornite are present in unweathered fragments. The cobalt grade in both the BOMZ and Lower CMN decreases within depth while the copper grade increases. These grade changes reflect the variation in mineralogy with depth from heterogenite with minor amounts of malachite and chrysocolla to malachite, chrysocolla with traces of heterogenite, spherocobaltite, chalcocite, chalcopyrite, carrollite and bornite. Based on the Cu (100xAS Cu/TCu) and Co ratio (100 xAS Co/TCo), which is related to the ore mineralogy, oxide ores (Cu ratio ≥ 75%) and oxide dominant mixed ores (Cu ratio < 75%, containing the copper sulphide chalcocite) can be differentiated in both the BOMZ and Lower CMN. The absence of talc and the low concentration of Ni, Mn and Fe, on the one hand, and the high-grade Cu in the BOMZ, on the other hand, facilitate the hydrometallurgy of cobalt but require a specific processing. Consequently, the recovery of Co from the BOMZ requires the application of a processing method that is based on sulphuric acid (30 g/L) leaching under reducing conditions (300–350 mV) and the removal of impurities (Cu > 95% and Mn ≈ 99%) from the pregnant leach solution (PLS) by solvent extraction (SX) prior to the precipitation of cobalt as a high-grade hydroxide (40.5%). The sulphuric acid leaching of the BOMZ enabled achieving, after 8 h of magnetic stirring (500 rpm), a highest yield of 93% Co, with other major elements Mn (84%) and Cu (40%). The latter forms a main co-product of the Co exploitation. In contrast, the highest leaching yield for Fe remained smaller than 5%.

Iron-oxide copper gold (IOCG)-uranium deposits represent South Australia’s primary resource base for copper production. The presence of daughter radionuclides (RN) from the 238U decay series within the ores necessitates a detailed understanding of their mineralogical deportment as a pre-requisite for attempts to remove or reduce RN concentrations. Research presented in this thesis contributes towards this knowledge by identifying and characterising potential RN-carriers, migration of radiogenic lead via geological processes, and provides evidence for RN sorption during processing. Novel approaches to RN reduction are proposed based on mineralogical-geochemical results. Evidence for migration of Pb within the deposit and during processing is relevant for any assessment of RN deportment, especially since the Pb-chalcogenides galena, clausthalite (PbSe) and altaite (PbTe) are often hosted within Cu-(Fe)-sulphides. Lead isotope values measured in-situ by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry suggest an overwhelmingly radiogenic origin for Pb and thus extensive decoupling of radiogenic Pb from parent U- and Th-minerals. Calculated 207Pb/206Pb ratios suggest Pb mobilisation during an event that postdates the initial Mesoproterozoic Fe-Cu-Au-U mineralisation event, an interpretation consistent with other studies in the Olympic Cu-Au province which indicate cycles of replacement-remobilization-recrystallization. A nanoscale study of the most common of the three Pb-chalcogenide minerals, clausthalite, by high-angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy, proved highly instructive for identifying mechanisms of remobilization and overprinting. Characteristic symplectite textures involving clausthalite and host Cu-(Fe)-sulphides are indicative of formation via reaction between Se that pre-existed in solid solution within Cu-(Fe)-sulphides and migrating Pb. Observed superstructuring of clausthalite nanoparticles within chalcopyrite provides a direct link between solid solution and symplectite formation. Sr-Ca-REE-bearing aluminium-phosphate-sulphates (APS) of the alunite supergroup are a minor component of the Olympic Dam orebody. They appear paragenetically late, often replacing earlier REE-minerals. Characterisation of these compositionally zoned phases allowed them to be defined as minerals that span the compositional fields of woodhouseite and svanbergite, and also a REE- and phosphate-dominant group displaying solid solution towards florencite. A nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry study of RN distributions in APS minerals in acid-leached copper concentrate revealed that APS minerals readily sorb products of 238U decay, notably 226Ra and 210Pb, whereas U remains in solution. Many APS phases, particularly those that are Pb-bearing, are stable over a wide range of pH and Eh conditions and at temperatures up to 450 °C. As such, synthetic APS phases represent viable candidates not only for the removal of radionuclides from metallurgical streams, but also for their safe storage and isolation from surrounding environments. Ca-Sr-dominant phases display preferential enrichment by Pb (notably 210Pb) during flotation. 210Pb uptake then increases during subsequent acid leaching. Mixed Ca- and Sr-bearing APS phases were synthesised by modifying existing recipes to test the role of compositional variability of APS phases on the sorption rate of Pb from dilute Pb(NO3)2 solution. Lead incorporation by the synthetic APS phases was confirmed, whereby Pb replaces Ca, but not Sr, within the APS crystal structure. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure analysis of the resulting solids reveals the nature of Pb sorption by the synthesized material. The data showed that the dynamic incorporation of Pb by APS phases occurred overwhelmingly at pH 3.5, thus verifying that uptake of Pb by synthetic APS phases may represent a robust mechanism to achieve both reduction and immobilisation of 210Pb within metallurgical processing streams.
Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Chemical Engineering & Advanced Materials, 2020