Russian Academy of Sciences Geological Institute of SB RAS, Ulan-Ude, Russia

S. S. Sanzhanova, Researcher, Candidate of Technical Sciences, e-mail: sanzhanova7@rambler.ru
A. M. Plyusnin, Head of the Laboratory, Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences

The possibility of concentrating non-ferrous metals (NM) – Zn, Cu, Cd, Co, Ni – and rare earth metals (REM) from liquid waste from the processing of tungsten ores using limestone has been studied. For the work, two sand samples were selected from different points of the tailing storage, differing in the content of NM and REM. Liquid waste is obtained by filtering distilled water through sand according to a developed scheme. The composition of resulting filtrates depends on the composition of original sand and the filtration water volume. The maximum content of NM and REM reached in the first portions (3 l) of the filtrate, mg/l: 1420 Zn; 320 Cu; 21 Cd; 9.5 Co; 7.4 Ce; 5.3 Ni; 2.9 La; 2.6 Nd; 2.6 Y; 0.75 Pr; 0.43 Sm; 0.43 Dy; 0.36 Gd; 0.26 Er; 0.095 Eu; 0.09 Ho; 0.068 Tb; 0.039 Tm; 0.25 Yb; 0.02 Lu. It has been established that while washing sands with distilled water, the filtrate becomes less concentrated. Based on the results of measuring pH and determining the content of chemical elements, it was concluded that the pore waters of sands contain a limited amount of dissolved substances, which are washed out of them during the filtration with distilled water. The facility for concentrating NM and REM from acidic filtrates was designed in the form of a horizontal chute with compartments filled with limestone. The filtrate entered the chute through textile and paper filters to separate suspended particles. At certain intervals, water and limestone samples were taken from the compartments for chemical analysis. The process of concentrating NM and REM with limestone is accompanied by the neutralization of liquid waste from pH 3.35 to 6.49 and from 4.85 to 6.32. The maximum concentration of zinc recorded in waste limestone reaches 80 g/t, copper — 75 g/t, cadmium — 11 g/t, yttrium — 12.3 g/t. The total concentration of all rare earth metals in limestone reaches 32 g/t. The formation of smithsonite, gypsum, and fluorite on the surface of waste limestone was revealed.
The study was carried out within the framework of the state assignment of the Russian Academy of Sciences Geological Institute of SB RAS under project No. АААА-А21-121011890033-1.

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