Liberation Characteristics of Ta–Sn Ores from Penouta, NW Spain
The strategic importance of tantalum and its scarcity in Europe makes its recovery from low grade deposits and tailings interesting. In Penouta, the contents of Ta and Sn in old tailings from an Sn mine are of economic interest. Due to the relatively low grade of Ta of around 100 ppm, a detailed stu...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-05-01
|
| Series: | Minerals |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/10/6/509 |
| _version_ | 1797566522448674816 |
|---|---|
| author | Pura Alfonso Sarbast Ahmad Hamid Hernan Anticoi Maite Garcia-Valles Josep Oliva Oriol Tomasa Francisco Javier López-Moro Marc Bascompta Teresa Llorens David Castro Francisco García Polonio |
| author_facet | Pura Alfonso Sarbast Ahmad Hamid Hernan Anticoi Maite Garcia-Valles Josep Oliva Oriol Tomasa Francisco Javier López-Moro Marc Bascompta Teresa Llorens David Castro Francisco García Polonio |
| author_sort | Pura Alfonso |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The strategic importance of tantalum and its scarcity in Europe makes its recovery from low grade deposits and tailings interesting. In Penouta, the contents of Ta and Sn in old tailings from an Sn mine are of economic interest. Due to the relatively low grade of Ta of around 100 ppm, a detailed study of the mineralogy and liberation conditions is necessary. In this study, the mineralogy and the liberation characteristics of Sn and Ta ores of the Penouta tailings were investigated and compared with the current leucogranite outcropping ores. The characterization was conducted through X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and electron microprobe. In addition, automated mineralogy techniques were used to determine the mineral associations and liberation characteristics of ore minerals. The grade of the leucogranite outcropping was found to be about 80 ppm for Ta and 400 ppm for Sn, and in the tailings used for the liberation study, the concentrations of Ta and Sn were about 100 ppm Ta and 500 ppm Sn, respectively. In both, the leucogranite outcropping and tailings, the major minerals found were quartz, albite, K-feldspar, and white mica. Ore minerals identified were columbite-group minerals (CGM), microlite, and cassiterite. The majority of CGM examined were associated with cassiterite, quartz, and muscovite particle compositions and cassiterite was mainly associated with CGM, quartz, and muscovite. The liberation size was 180 µm for CGM. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:28:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ba88224a8cc94cfbabd778262a0820cb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-163X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:28:01Z |
| publishDate | 2020-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Minerals |
| spelling | doaj.art-ba88224a8cc94cfbabd778262a0820cb2023-11-20T02:24:40ZengMDPI AGMinerals2075-163X2020-05-0110650910.3390/min10060509Liberation Characteristics of Ta–Sn Ores from Penouta, NW SpainPura Alfonso0Sarbast Ahmad Hamid1Hernan Anticoi2Maite Garcia-Valles3Josep Oliva4Oriol Tomasa5Francisco Javier López-Moro6Marc Bascompta7Teresa Llorens8David Castro9Francisco García Polonio10Departament d’Enginyeria Minera, Industrial i TIC, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya Barcelona Tech, Av. Bases de Manresa 61-63, 08242 Manresa, SpainPetroleum Department, Duhok Polytechnic University, 61 Zakho Road, Mazi Qr 1006, Duhok 42001, IraqDepartament d’Enginyeria Minera, Industrial i TIC, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya Barcelona Tech, Av. Bases de Manresa 61-63, 08242 Manresa, SpainDepartament de Mineralogia, Petrologia i Geologia Aplicada, Universitat de Barcelona, Carrer Martí i Franquès, s/n, 08028 Barcelona, SpainDepartament d’Enginyeria Minera, Industrial i TIC, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya Barcelona Tech, Av. Bases de Manresa 61-63, 08242 Manresa, SpainDepartament d’Enginyeria Minera, Industrial i TIC, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya Barcelona Tech, Av. Bases de Manresa 61-63, 08242 Manresa, SpainDepartment of Geology, University of Salamanca, Plaza de los Caídos s/n, 37008 Salamanca, SpainDepartament d’Enginyeria Minera, Industrial i TIC, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya Barcelona Tech, Av. Bases de Manresa 61-63, 08242 Manresa, SpainDepartment of Geology, University of Salamanca, Plaza de los Caídos s/n, 37008 Salamanca, SpainDepartament de Mineralogia, Petrologia i Geologia Aplicada, Universitat de Barcelona, Carrer Martí i Franquès, s/n, 08028 Barcelona, SpainDepartment of Geology, University of Salamanca, Plaza de los Caídos s/n, 37008 Salamanca, SpainThe strategic importance of tantalum and its scarcity in Europe makes its recovery from low grade deposits and tailings interesting. In Penouta, the contents of Ta and Sn in old tailings from an Sn mine are of economic interest. Due to the relatively low grade of Ta of around 100 ppm, a detailed study of the mineralogy and liberation conditions is necessary. In this study, the mineralogy and the liberation characteristics of Sn and Ta ores of the Penouta tailings were investigated and compared with the current leucogranite outcropping ores. The characterization was conducted through X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and electron microprobe. In addition, automated mineralogy techniques were used to determine the mineral associations and liberation characteristics of ore minerals. The grade of the leucogranite outcropping was found to be about 80 ppm for Ta and 400 ppm for Sn, and in the tailings used for the liberation study, the concentrations of Ta and Sn were about 100 ppm Ta and 500 ppm Sn, respectively. In both, the leucogranite outcropping and tailings, the major minerals found were quartz, albite, K-feldspar, and white mica. Ore minerals identified were columbite-group minerals (CGM), microlite, and cassiterite. The majority of CGM examined were associated with cassiterite, quartz, and muscovite particle compositions and cassiterite was mainly associated with CGM, quartz, and muscovite. The liberation size was 180 µm for CGM.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/10/6/509tailingstantalumcolumbite-group mineralscassiteritemineral liberation |
| spellingShingle | Pura Alfonso Sarbast Ahmad Hamid Hernan Anticoi Maite Garcia-Valles Josep Oliva Oriol Tomasa Francisco Javier López-Moro Marc Bascompta Teresa Llorens David Castro Francisco García Polonio Liberation Characteristics of Ta–Sn Ores from Penouta, NW Spain Minerals tailings tantalum columbite-group minerals cassiterite mineral liberation |
| title | Liberation Characteristics of Ta–Sn Ores from Penouta, NW Spain |
| title_full | Liberation Characteristics of Ta–Sn Ores from Penouta, NW Spain |
| title_fullStr | Liberation Characteristics of Ta–Sn Ores from Penouta, NW Spain |
| title_full_unstemmed | Liberation Characteristics of Ta–Sn Ores from Penouta, NW Spain |
| title_short | Liberation Characteristics of Ta–Sn Ores from Penouta, NW Spain |
| title_sort | liberation characteristics of ta sn ores from penouta nw spain |
| topic | tailings tantalum columbite-group minerals cassiterite mineral liberation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/10/6/509 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT puraalfonso liberationcharacteristicsoftasnoresfrompenoutanwspain AT sarbastahmadhamid liberationcharacteristicsoftasnoresfrompenoutanwspain AT hernananticoi liberationcharacteristicsoftasnoresfrompenoutanwspain AT maitegarciavalles liberationcharacteristicsoftasnoresfrompenoutanwspain AT josepoliva liberationcharacteristicsoftasnoresfrompenoutanwspain AT orioltomasa liberationcharacteristicsoftasnoresfrompenoutanwspain AT franciscojavierlopezmoro liberationcharacteristicsoftasnoresfrompenoutanwspain AT marcbascompta liberationcharacteristicsoftasnoresfrompenoutanwspain AT teresallorens liberationcharacteristicsoftasnoresfrompenoutanwspain AT davidcastro liberationcharacteristicsoftasnoresfrompenoutanwspain AT franciscogarciapolonio liberationcharacteristicsoftasnoresfrompenoutanwspain |