Technological characteristics of sulfide-magnetite ore washability at the magnetite skarn Peschanskoe deposit

Abstract

Introduction. In the magnetite lime-skarn Peschanskoe deposit, the Zapadno-Peschanskaya ore deposit is distinguished, which differs from other ore bodies by an increased content of copper and precious metals. Due to the fact that the technology of processing magnetite ores of the Peschanskoe deposit at the enterprise of the subsurface user is configured to receive only iron concentrate, the development of a comprehensive technology for processing sulfide-magnetite ores is an urgent task. Research aim is to study the material composition and sulfide-magnetite ore concentration of the ZapadnoPeschanskaya ore deposit and to develop a comprehensive technology for its processing. The technology should ensure gold-containing, copper and iron concentrates production. Research methods consisted in studying the material composition of sulfide-magnetite ore by means of quantitative chemical analysis using Arcos emission spectrometer with inductively coupled plasma, Solaar atomic absorption spectrometer, CS-800sulfur analyzer, Titration Excellence T-70 automatic titration system, and Specord 250 Plus scanning spectrophotometer; chemical phase analysis for the forms of iron, copper, gold, silver and sulfur compounds; mineralogical analysis using the Axio Imager A1m optical microscope and Mineral C7 automated analyzer. Technological research was carried out by various concentration methods: X-ray radiometric separation on the SRF1-100L separator; dry magnetic separation on the PBS-90/25 magnetic separator; gravity on the KC-MD3 centrifugal concentrator and the SKL-0.2 concentration table; flotation on the FMP-L series flotation machines; wet magnetic separation on the electromagnetic separator EBM-32/20. Scope of results. The present research result can be used at complex sulfide-magnetite ores processing. Conclusions. The results of the material composition research and technological properties of the sulfidemagnetite ore of the Zapadno-Peschanskaya deposit of the Peschanskoe skarnovo-magnetite deposit are presented. It is established that the researched ore can be efficiently processed using a complex gravityflotation-magnetic technology, which allows to obtain: gravity gold-containing concentrate with a mass fraction of gold of 50 g/t at recovery of 27%; copper concentrate with a mass fraction of 23.71%, gold – 18.9 g/t and silver – 60.0 g/t when extracted, respectively, 93.6%, 42.9% and 54.6%; magnetite concentrate with a mass fraction of iron 66.5%, sulfur 0.7% with the recovery of total iron 76.6%.