Element and Mineral Characteristics of Tailings in the Porphyry-Type Iron Deposit from Ningwu Basin

The porphyrite-type iron deposit in Ningwu Basin is an important source of iron resources in China, and the premise for the efficient and comprehensive utilization of its complex tailings is a thorough understanding of their mineral processing characteristics. In order to provide a reference for the comprehensive utilization of porphyrite-type iron deposit tailings in Ningwu Basin, the process mineralogy characteristics were explored by using the combined methods of X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), and TESCAN integrated mineral analyzer (TIMA). The results show that the tailings are composed of mainly Si, Fe and Al. The mineral compositions are mainly albite, hematite, magnetite and quartz. Silicon mainly occurs in quartz and albite, whereas Fe mainly occurs in hematite/magnetite. The tailings have a fine particle size and low mineral liberation degree. Compared to other types of iron deposit tailings in China, these tailings are characterized by a high content of Al and a relatively high proportion of pyrite.