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I detta arbete har polerprov framställts för att därefter undersökas med malm- och svepelektronmikroskopi (SEM) med energidispersiv röntgenspektroskopisk analys (EDS). Med dessa metoder har mineralsammansättning, strukturer och texturer identifierats och undersökts. De undersökta proverna kommer från borrkärnor genom malmzonen i Lovisagruvan i Bergslagen, södra Mellansverige. Malmen är en tabulär, silverförande Zn-Pb-sulfidmineralisering.  De kombinerade undersökningarna av polerproven visar att de huvudsakligen består av zinkblände, blyglans, kvarts, mikroklin, granat, amfibol och pyrit, vilka karakteriseras av texturer som visar på omkristallisation, heterogen deformation och lokal remobilisering. De uppvisar småskaliga texturer som sannolikt är direkt relaterade till uppkomsten av s.k. kulmalmstextur. De ingående mineralens inbördes relationer tyder på att blyglans och zinkblände bildades samtidigt och därefter, under regionalmetamorfa förhållanden, tillväxte pyrit och granat som porfyroblaster. Majoriteten av texturerna och strukturerna är sekundära och visar på en kraftig senare överprägling av malmen genom metamorfos och flerfasig deformation under olika tryck- och temperaturförhållanden. / In this project polished sections have been prepared for study by means of ore and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The application of these methods allows mineralogy, structures and textures to be characterized. This was done within the EU H2020-funded project X-Mine. The studied samples are from drill cores transecting the ore zone of the Lovisa mine (Lovisagruvan), which is located in Örebro County in the Bergslagen ore province, south central Sweden. Here, a tabular, stratiform silver-bearing Zn-Pb sulphide ore is mined.  Studies of the polished ore sections show that the samples mainly contain sphalerite, galena, quartz, microcline, garnet, amphibole and pyrite, characterized by textures of recrystallisation, heterogeneous deformation and localized remobilization.  The studied samples from the main ore and exhibit textures directly related to the formation off the so-called ball ore. The textural interrelationships of the major minerals indicate that galena and sphalerite formed penecontemporaneously, and then under regional metamorphic conditions, pyrite and garnet formed as porphyroblasts. The majority of the present textures and structures are secondary, representing different stages of metamorphism and deformation under variable P-T-conditions, post-dating original ore formation. / Real-Time Mineral X-Ray Analysis for Efficient and Sustainable Mining, H2020 X-Mine, Projekt-id: 730270

An acid rock drainage (ARD) stream emanating from the Zn-Pb XY-deposit in the Yukon Territory was examined in order to evaluate the physico-chemical and geochemical processes governing the distribution of dissolved elements from the creek. The creek showed very high concentrations of metals (300 mg/L Fe, 500 mg/L Zn, 15 000 µg/L Ni, 1300 µg/L Cu and 4500 µg/L Cd), low water temperatures (1 – 12°C) and was acidic to moderately acidic (pH 3.1 – 5.0). It was found that this stream experienced a strong seasonal evolution, with increased sulphate and metal concentrations and decreased pH over the course of the summer. The mineral precipitates that formed under low pH conditions were a mixture of schwertmannite, goethite, jarosite and barite, while those that formed under moderately acidic conditions were a mixture of jurbanite, hydrobasaluminite, gibbsite and an X-ray amorphous Al-sulphate phase. Most of the mineral precipitates were of inorganic origin, although microbes may have played a role in mineral formation and trace metal sequestration in some of the precipitates. All of the mineral precipitates contained anomalous concentrations of trace elements (up to 1.5 % wt Zn) and showed a seasonal evolution in their mineralogy, both of which were determined to be a function of the pH and prevailing geochemical conditions. The geochemistry of the ARD creek draining the XY-deposit was compared to another ARD creek in the area that was likely draining shales. The two creeks were compared in order to determine if ARD geochemical characteristics can be used as a tool for the mineral exploration industry.

An acid rock drainage (ARD) stream emanating from the Zn-Pb XY-deposit in the Yukon Territory was examined in order to evaluate the physico-chemical and geochemical processes governing the distribution of dissolved elements from the creek. The creek showed very high concentrations of metals (300 mg/L Fe, 500 mg/L Zn, 15 000 µg/L Ni, 1300 µg/L Cu and 4500 µg/L Cd), low water temperatures (1 – 12°C) and was acidic to moderately acidic (pH 3.1 – 5.0). It was found that this stream experienced a strong seasonal evolution, with increased sulphate and metal concentrations and decreased pH over the course of the summer. The mineral precipitates that formed under low pH conditions were a mixture of schwertmannite, goethite, jarosite and barite, while those that formed under moderately acidic conditions were a mixture of jurbanite, hydrobasaluminite, gibbsite and an X-ray amorphous Al-sulphate phase. Most of the mineral precipitates were of inorganic origin, although microbes may have played a role in mineral formation and trace metal sequestration in some of the precipitates. All of the mineral precipitates contained anomalous concentrations of trace elements (up to 1.5 % wt Zn) and showed a seasonal evolution in their mineralogy, both of which were determined to be a function of the pH and prevailing geochemical conditions. The geochemistry of the ARD creek draining the XY-deposit was compared to another ARD creek in the area that was likely draining shales. The two creeks were compared in order to determine if ARD geochemical characteristics can be used as a tool for the mineral exploration industry.

An acid rock drainage (ARD) stream emanating from the Zn-Pb XY-deposit in the Yukon Territory was examined in order to evaluate the physico-chemical and geochemical processes governing the distribution of dissolved elements from the creek. The creek showed very high concentrations of metals (300 mg/L Fe, 500 mg/L Zn, 15 000 µg/L Ni, 1300 µg/L Cu and 4500 µg/L Cd), low water temperatures (1 – 12°C) and was acidic to moderately acidic (pH 3.1 – 5.0). It was found that this stream experienced a strong seasonal evolution, with increased sulphate and metal concentrations and decreased pH over the course of the summer. The mineral precipitates that formed under low pH conditions were a mixture of schwertmannite, goethite, jarosite and barite, while those that formed under moderately acidic conditions were a mixture of jurbanite, hydrobasaluminite, gibbsite and an X-ray amorphous Al-sulphate phase. Most of the mineral precipitates were of inorganic origin, although microbes may have played a role in mineral formation and trace metal sequestration in some of the precipitates. All of the mineral precipitates contained anomalous concentrations of trace elements (up to 1.5 % wt Zn) and showed a seasonal evolution in their mineralogy, both of which were determined to be a function of the pH and prevailing geochemical conditions. The geochemistry of the ARD creek draining the XY-deposit was compared to another ARD creek in the area that was likely draining shales. The two creeks were compared in order to determine if ARD geochemical characteristics can be used as a tool for the mineral exploration industry.

An acid rock drainage (ARD) stream emanating from the Zn-Pb XY-deposit in the Yukon Territory was examined in order to evaluate the physico-chemical and geochemical processes governing the distribution of dissolved elements from the creek. The creek showed very high concentrations of metals (300 mg/L Fe, 500 mg/L Zn, 15 000 µg/L Ni, 1300 µg/L Cu and 4500 µg/L Cd), low water temperatures (1 – 12°C) and was acidic to moderately acidic (pH 3.1 – 5.0). It was found that this stream experienced a strong seasonal evolution, with increased sulphate and metal concentrations and decreased pH over the course of the summer. The mineral precipitates that formed under low pH conditions were a mixture of schwertmannite, goethite, jarosite and barite, while those that formed under moderately acidic conditions were a mixture of jurbanite, hydrobasaluminite, gibbsite and an X-ray amorphous Al-sulphate phase. Most of the mineral precipitates were of inorganic origin, although microbes may have played a role in mineral formation and trace metal sequestration in some of the precipitates. All of the mineral precipitates contained anomalous concentrations of trace elements (up to 1.5 % wt Zn) and showed a seasonal evolution in their mineralogy, both of which were determined to be a function of the pH and prevailing geochemical conditions. The geochemistry of the ARD creek draining the XY-deposit was compared to another ARD creek in the area that was likely draining shales. The two creeks were compared in order to determine if ARD geochemical characteristics can be used as a tool for the mineral exploration industry.

Zinkgruvan is a Pb-Zn-Ag deposit located in south-central Sweden, owned and operated by Lundin Mining. The ore is beneficiated by a collective-selective flotation circuit, recovering both galena and sphalerite in a bulk rougher-scavenger flotation stage and later on separating them into two final products. Opportunities for increase in zinc recovery in the bulk rougher scavenger flotation stage have been identified as the plant is relying on natural Pb-activation to process the ore. Process mineralogical tools were used to characterize four different orebodies from Zinkgruvan (Burkland, Borta Bakom, Nygruvan and Sävsjön) and evaluate the metallurgical performance for flotation and magnetic separation, following a geometallurgical approach to better understand and predict the behavior of such ore types in processing plant. The first hypothesis in this thesis is that by addition of copper sulfate and increased collector dosage, Zn recovery will be improved without being detrimental to galena flotation. Results demonstrated that there is a significant increase in Zn recovery by further increasing collector dosage and copper-activating the flotation pulp in the scavenger stage. For instance, an increase in zinc recovery up to 16% has been achieved after addition of copper sulfate. Galena is readily floatable while sphalerite takes longer to be recovered. In addition, iron sulfides take longer to be recovered and, after addition of copper sulfate, there was an increase in iron sulfide recovery. The amount of iron sulfides reporting to the concentrate should still not be a problem to the plant. Most of the Fe in the concentrate is still coming from the sphalerite lattice. However, it might be that some orebodies coming into production in the near future have higher amounts of pyrrhotite, which might be a problem. Therefore, magnetic separation methods have been tested to remove pyrrhotite from the bulk ore. The second hypothesis is that the high Fe content in the concentrate might be due to the presence of iron sulfides, in which case they could be selectively removed by magnetic separation. XRD analyses demonstrated that Sävsjön is a highly variable orebody, and that its high Fe content varies with the location inside the orebody, being caused by either iron sulfide or iron oxide minerals. Both monoclinic and hexagonal pyrrhotite have been observed. Davis Tube could remove monoclinic pyrrhotite but it was very inefficient when dealing with hexagonal pyrrhotite. WHIMS, on the other hand, performed well for both types of pyrrhotite. When applying Davis Tube on Sävsjön OLD feed, a concentrate with up to 52.3% pyrrhotite is achieved, at a recovery of 35.32%. However, sphalerite is also reporting to the magnetic concentrate, which would generate Zn losses for the overall process. Zinc losses were up to 15.3% when the highest field strength was applied. Therefore, the applicability of magnetic separation for Zinkgruvan ore must be further evaluated.

No description available.