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METAL AND ARSENIC SPECIATIONS IN MINING WASTES OF FLOTATION ENRICHMENT OF SULPHIDE PLATINUM-COPPER-NICKEL ORES

S. I. Starostina 1, N. V. Yurkevich 1, A. Sh. Shavekina 1,2, O. L. Gaskova 2

1 Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics SB RAS, Novosibirsk, Russia; 2 Sobolev Institute of Geology and Mineralogy SB RAS, Novosibirsk, Russia

From year to year, there is a gradual depletion of the ore deposit reserves being developed, which forces a search for new, alternate raw materials. Tailing dumps represent underestimated sources of elements, the need for which is increasing every year. The mineral element speciations of Fe, Al, Ni, Cu, Co, Zn, Tl, and As in mining wastes of sulphide platinum-copper-nickel ores flotation processing are considered, and their mobility (ability to pass into solution) is estimated. The mineral association in tailings is established to be similar to primary ores. The main ore minerals composing mining wastes are chalcopyrite, pentlandite, pyrrhotite, pyrite, magnetite. There are also silver-containing varieties, such as an argentopentlandite. It is shown that the concentrations of Co and Pt in the tailings under consideration are comparable to their content in the developed ores of deposits, which makes it possible to regard the waste under study as an additional source of raw materials. IAccording to the results of thermodynamic modelling conducted for the first time for this object, the predominant forms of migration of Fe, Al, Ni, Cu in alkaline solutions are hydroxyl- and carbonate complexes, and migration of all metals under consideration in a medium with an acidic reaction occurs mainly in an ionic form.

Keywords: mining wastes of flotation enrichment, sulphide ores, thermodynamic modelling, element speciations, alternate resources.

DOI 10.20403/2078-0575-2025-1-64-74

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