Mineralogy and Geochemistry of Iron Tailings from Yeshan Iron Deposit, Southwest Jiangsu, China: Implications for Potential Utilization

Abstract

In this work, twenty-one core samples of tailings wastes were collected from Yeshan iron tailings pond in Jiangsu Province, China. The mineralogical−chemical properties of Yeshan iron ore tailings (IOTs) were investigated to explore potential utilization. Mineralogical investigations and mineral liberation analysis indicated that the iron tailings have complex texture and incomplete mineral liberation, suggesting further grinding can improve higher recovery. Yeshan IOTs accumulated much higher MgO originating from dolomite, therefore, it could be infeasible to utilize a large quantity of Yeshan IOTs as alternative raw meals for cement clinker or replace aggregates in concrete. 2D vertical distribution profiles created with the ordinary kriging method presented heterogeneous distributions of major elements, and the variation trends were inconsistent. The results obtained in this work provide insight for exploiting and reducing Yeshan IOTs.