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Author ORCID Identifier

Gülay Bulut: 0000-0001-7016-8077

Gönül Göksu Gökçe: 0009-0000-5149-3456

Dilruba Karamanlı: 0009-0001-3891-8306

Oğuzhan Mert Gürkan: 0000-0002-9154-7495

Ergin Sarp Zenzirci: 0009-0007-0175-855X

Binnur Kırım: 0009-0007-8302-0187

Alim Gül: 0000-0002-1087-6589

Abstract

Tailings generated during the production of lead, zinc, and copper concentrates contain significant amounts of sulfide minerals, particularly pyrite. Pyrite, which remains in tailings after the recovery of other metals, is one of the main contributors to acid mine drainage (AMD). Therefore, recovering pyrite from tailings is environmentally and economically an important issue. In this study, pyrite recovery from tailings was investigated using flotation and gravity separation methods. Mineralogical characterization and liberation analyses were conducted by Mineral Liberation Analysis (MLA), indicating that pyrite is the major sulfide mineral with over 76% liberation degree even in the coarsest fractions. Flotation tests were performed using two collectors – potassium amyl xanthate (KAX) and Tomamine M73 – on both as-received and ground samples.  Grinding improved the performance of Tomamine M73 but reduced that of KAX, reflecting KAX’s greater sensitivity to surface oxidation. Pyrite recovery was higher in the case of gravity separation (94%) compared to flotation (84%). Overall, gravity separation appears to be a simpler, more sustainable, and more cost-effective method for processing tailings containing mostly liberated pyrite.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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