| The occurrences of the valuable elements copper, gold and silver in Zijinshan Cu-Au deposit ore and their trends in the separation process were studied by using MLA, SEM and XRD techniques. It was shown that copper minerals mainly included chalcocite, covellite, enargite, etc., and that gold and silver minerals existed as dissociate minerals and sulfide inclusions. Copper minerals were commonly filled along dissolution holes or broken cracks of alunite, closely associated with pyrite. Separating copper minerals from the original ore, the theoretical grade was Cu 69.70%, and the theoretical recovery rate was 93.55%. Medium-grained gold embedded between grains or cracks of copper minerals and pyrite minerals, was obtained from copper and sulfur concentrates, and the theoretical recovery rates of gold in copper and sulfur concentrates were 57.19% and 27.27%, respectively. Fine gold particles were encapsulated in alunite and quartz, and lost in tailings along with gangue. Silver was dominated by microscopic silver, and it was mostly wrapped in sulfide minerals. The theoretical recovery rates of silver in copper and sulfur concentrates were 56.96% and 26.71%, respectively. |
