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Open AccessArticle
Tellurium Enrichment in Copper Tailings: A Mineralogical and Processing Study
by
José L. Corchado-Albelo
José L. Corchado-Albelo 1,* and
Lana Alagha
Lana Alagha
Prof. Lana Alagha is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Mining and Explosives at [...]
Prof. Lana Alagha is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Mining and Explosives Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology. She holds a Ph.D. degree in Chemistry and Nanotechnology from the University of Texas at Dallas. She had over three years of postdoctoral experience in oil sands processing and water management at the Department of Chemical and Material Engineering, University of Alberta, Canada. She has extensive experience in colloid science, synthetic chemistry, and polymer design technology. Her current research interests include clean coal technology, management of tailings wastes produced from mining operations, extraction of rare earth, and simulation of mineral processing beneficiation circuits. She had diverse teaching appointments in the US and Canada. In her current role, she teaches both graduate and undergraduate mineral processing courses with some of the courses co-listed with other engineering departments at Missouri S&T. She is a member of the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) and the American Chemical Society (ACS).
1,2,*
1
Department of Mining and Explosives Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO 65409, USA
2
Missouri S&T Research Center for Critical Minerals Research and Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO 65409, USA
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Minerals 2024, 14(8), 761; https://doi.org/10.3390/min14080761 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 18 June 2024
/
Revised: 16 July 2024
/
Accepted: 21 July 2024
/
Published: 27 July 2024
Abstract
As the global demand for tellurium (Te) increases, it is crucial to develop efficient recovery methods that consider existing supply streams. This research combines gravity separation and froth flotation processes to enhance the recovery of Te minerals from tailings produced during the beneficiation of copper porphyry ores. Prior to processing, a systematic and comprehensive characterization study of copper tailing (CT) samples was conducted to examine the deportment of Te minerals in different mineral phases and to understand their locking and liberation behavior. Characterization techniques included inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and TESCAN’s integrated mineral analysis (TIMA). Copper tailing characterization showed that minerals with gold (Au), silver (Ag), bismuth (Bi), and Te were present in various forms, including native Au, electrum, tellurides, and sulfosalts. TIMA revealed that >90% of these minerals were primarily hosted in pyrite as less than 10 µm inclusions in the CT. TIMA also revealed that Te minerals exhibited fine-grained liberation of less than 20 μm. Moreover, TIMA results showed that >80% of mica and other silicate minerals were concentrated in size fractions < 38 μm, suggesting that desliming processes would positively impact Te enrichment. The results from the processing tests showed a Te recovery rate of ~77% and a Te enrichment ratio of 13 when using the combination of gravity separation and froth flotation at 90 g/t xanthate collector and 50 g/t glycol frother. The findings from this study show a significant potential for Te recovery from unconventional sources if appropriate physical beneficiation approaches are adopted.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Corchado-Albelo, J.L.; Alagha, L.
Tellurium Enrichment in Copper Tailings: A Mineralogical and Processing Study. Minerals 2024, 14, 761.
https://doi.org/10.3390/min14080761
AMA Style
Corchado-Albelo JL, Alagha L.
Tellurium Enrichment in Copper Tailings: A Mineralogical and Processing Study. Minerals. 2024; 14(8):761.
https://doi.org/10.3390/min14080761
Chicago/Turabian Style
Corchado-Albelo, José L., and Lana Alagha.
2024. "Tellurium Enrichment in Copper Tailings: A Mineralogical and Processing Study" Minerals 14, no. 8: 761.
https://doi.org/10.3390/min14080761
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