Technological research on converting iron ore tailings into a marketable product

Abstract

SYNOPSIS We present three technological scenarios for the recovery of valuable components from gangue, stored in the tailings dam at Kremikovtzi metallurgical plant in Bulgaria, into marketable iron-containing pellets. In the first approach the iron concentrate was recovered through a two-stage flotation process, desliming, and magnetic separation. In the second proposed process, the iron concentrate was subjected to four sequential stages of magnetic separation coupled with selective magnetic flocculation. The third route entails the not very common practice of magnetizing roasting, followed by selective magnetic flocculation, desliming, and magnetic separation. The iron concentrate was pelletized in a laboratory-scale pelletizer. Each technology has been assessed with regard to the mass yield of iron concentrate, the iron recovery. and the iron, lead, and zinc content in order to identify the most effective route. Keywords: tailings reprocessing, magnetizing roasting, pelletization.

Characterization of Bulgarian Copper Mine Tailing as a Precursor for Obtaining Geopolymers

“…Mine tailing dumps in Bulgaria are well studied from a environmental or technological point of view. Some results on mine tailing valorization have been recently discussed in detail [19][20][21]. However, the mine tailing potential for application as raw materials for geopolymer obtaining is scarcely reported.…”