5 methods of gold mine tailings treatment and comprehensive recovery

Tailings are components that have a low content of useful components produced in beneficiation operations and cannot be economically used in industrial production at present and are also the main component of industrial solid waste. With the continuous exploitation of gold mine resources and the progress of the beneficiation technology of refractory gold mines, the discharge of gold mine tailings has also increased year by year, which inevitably brings a series of problems and further stimulates the treatment of gold mine tailings. And the development of comprehensive utilization.

Problems with mine tailings discharge

1. Long-term stacking takes up a lot of lands.

2. Pollution of the environment

Chemical agents must be added to the gold ore beneficiation process. These chemical residues will remain in the tailings, and the heavy metals, toxic and harmful pollutants contained in the tailings, if they flow downstream or infiltrate into the ground, even extremely fine tailings sand particles will follow the wind Drift causes harm to the surrounding environment.

3. Waste of resources

Restricted by the previous level of beneficiation technology, a large number of valuable resources are still left in the tailings and have not been comprehensively utilized.

4. Safety hazards

5. The tailings inventory is facing safety hazards such as collapse and landslide.

Tailings treatment method

Based on the above problems, the treatment and comprehensive utilization of gold mine tailings can be described as imminent. At present, the common gold mine tailings treatment methods and comprehensive utilization mainly include the following ways

1. Re-selection of gold mine tailings

The gold content in gold mine tailings is generally 0.2-0.6g/t. Due to the backward mining technology in the past, some of the gold and silver is lost in the tailings. At the same time, most of the gold ore in China is accompanied by copper, lead, and copper. With the advancement of beneficiation technology, zinc, iron, sulfur, and other elements, gold mine tailings can be recycled in addition to gold and silver, and valuable elements can also be comprehensively recovered according to the nature of the tailings. Therefore, tailings re-selection has become a major trend in the current gold mine tailings treatment.

2. Gold mine tailings dry drainage process dehydration

The dry tailings discharge process eases the storage pressure of the tailings reservoir, reduces the hidden safety hazards of the tailings reservoir, and the utilization of backwater reduces the pressure of sewage treatment and saves the production and operation costs of the mine. It is a national green environmental protection mine construction requirement.

For gold mine tailings after gold extraction using all mud cyanidation, the tailings filter press process of a filter press can be used. Since the press filtrate returns to the process flow, most of the cyanide ions, alkali, and dissolved gold in the filtrate are recovered, thus saving the amount of water for beneficiation, lime, and cyanide, and reducing the discharge of cyanide-containing sewage.

3. Production of building materials

The types of deposits are complex and the types of surrounding rocks are diverse. Some deposits contain few metal minerals, and gangue minerals are relatively pure. Gold tailings can be used directly as important non-metallic raw materials or building materials, such as making bricks, preparing glass-ceramics, and producing Aerated concrete, Portland cement, etc.

4. Mine filling

As a better filler, tailings can be used for local materials and waste utilization, eliminating the cost of collecting, crushing, and transporting the production of filler and crushed stone. For high-value gold ore bodies, tailings can improve the extraction conditions of the pillars and reduce the dilution loss. Often, an appropriate amount of cement or other cementing materials are added to the filler to condense the loose tailings into a solid body with a certain strength.

5. Reclamation

Land reclamation is also an effective way to treat gold mine tailings. Certain measures are taken on the gold mine tailings pond to plant agricultural, forestry, animal husbandry, and vital crops to conserve the soil and strengthen the embankment, which has a positive effect on protecting the environment and preventing pollution.

The above is the common method of gold mine tailings treatment and comprehensive utilization. In the actual application of the concentrator, it is recommended to comprehensively consider the nature of gold mine tailings, the scale of the tailings, and the rate of return on investment to determine suitable gold mine tailings treatment and comprehensive utilization methods, and tailor-made reasonable gold mine tailings treatment equipment.