A. P. Vinogradov Institute of Geochemistry SB RAS (Irkutsk, Russia):
Zhaboedov A. P., Researcher, Candidate of Engineering Sciences, rover2808@yandex.ru
Nepomnyashchikh A. I., Chief Researcher, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, ainep@igc.irk.ru
Eliseev I. A., Senior Researcher, Candidate of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences, sashaf@igc.irk.ru
Fedorov A. M., Head of the Experimental Section, Candidate of Engineering Sciences, elia@igc.irk.ru

Provision of the Russian industrial sector with high-quality quartz raw materials is of strategic importance. The scarcity and limited reserves of rock crystal required to obtain high and ultra-high purity quartz concentrates necessitate a search for and mineralogical and engineering assessments of non-traditional types of quartz rocks. These types of rocks must have few structural impurities and their mineral and fluid inclusions must be effectively removed during processing. The aim of the work was to obtain quartz concentrates from East Sayan quartzites without the use of flotation, high-temperature chlorination, magnetic and electrostatic separation. The paper presents the results of a mineralogical and engineering study of quartzites from the Urengenur block. Relevant textural and structural features and minor minerals have been studied. An assay of their mineral phases indicates the presence of three types of carbonate materials: dolomite, calcite, and siderite. Apatite, rutile, and xenotime were found as accessory minerals. Minor and accessory minerals occur mainly along cracks and in the intergranular space. The density of dolomite, calcite, and siderite is higher than that of quartz and their sizes are much smaller than those of quartz grains, which complicates the use of classical separation methods. The effects of desliming in a water flow and in chemical leaching in a fluidized bed column on the purity of concentrates synthesized have been studied. According to the results of the study, minor carbonate and accessory minerals are effectively removed by a water flow and subsequent chemical leaching allows obtaining quartz concentrates with a total impurity content of 27 ppm. The results obtained significantly expand the applications of the Urengenur block quartzite.
The work was carried out according to the state task No. 0284-2021-0004 «Materials and technologies for the development of radiation detectors, phosphors and optical glasses» using the scientific equipment of the Center for Collective Use «Isotope-Geochemical Research» of the Vinogradov Institute of Geochemistry SB RAS.

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