Unlocking the potential of copper sulfide tailings as a secondary source for tellurium and precious metals: a comprehensive characterization study

IF 6.5 Q2 ENGINEERING, ENVIRONMENTAL

Cleaner Engineering and Technology Pub Date : 2025-09-18 DOI:10.1016/j.clet.2025.101081

Fardis Nakhaei , Lana Alagha , Gary Wyss

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Abstract

This study investigated historical copper sulfide tailings as an unconventional source of tellurium (Te), gold (Au), and silver (Ag). Advanced analytical studies were conducted to determine the geochemical and mineralogical properties of the tailing samples. The results showed that tetradymite (Bi2Te2S) was the predominant Te-bearing mineral, while hessite (Ag₂Te) was a minor Te carrier, both notably occurring within fine-grained (<8 μm) inclusions in pyrite. Gold was present as native Au, electrum (Au-Ag), and within complex silver tellurides hosted primarily in chalcopyrite and pyrite. Froth flotation studies showed that the 180 to 38 μm size range was the optimum feed size that yielded recoveries of 59 %, 37 %, and 27 % for Te, Au, and Ag, respectively. These findings suggested that froth flotation is a feasible method for concentrating Te-Au-Ag-bearing phases. Given the strong association between Te, Au, Ag, and Cu, the co-extraction of these metals should significantly enhance the economic viability of tailings’ processing.

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解锁硫化铜尾矿作为碲和贵金属二次来源的潜力：一项全面的表征研究

本研究调查了历史上的硫化铜尾矿作为碲（Te）、金（Au）和银（Ag）的非常规来源。进行了深入的分析研究，确定了尾矿样品的地球化学和矿物学性质。结果表明：四长石（Bi2Te2S）是主要的含Te矿物，而半铁（Ag2Te）是次要的Te载体，两者均出现在黄铁矿的细粒（<8 μm）包裹体中。金以天然金、银（Au- ag）和主要赋存于黄铜矿和黄铁矿中的复杂碲化银的形式存在。泡沫浮选研究表明，180 ~ 38 μm为最佳给矿粒度，Te、Au和Ag的回收率分别为59%、37%和27%。研究结果表明，泡沫浮选是一种可行的富集含te - au - ag相的方法。考虑到Te、Au、Ag和Cu之间的强关联，这些金属的共萃取将显著提高尾矿处理的经济可行性。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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