Sustainable Iron Recovery and Management Strategies for the Tailings of the Mohammad Abad Copper Flotation Plant, Iran

The tailings from mining and mineral processing have dangerous environmental effects and the reprocessing of these tailings is considered a newly emerging solution. The representative sample of the tailing dams of Mohammad Abad copper flotation plant (Markazi Province, Iran) containing 18.95% Fe2O3 was investigated for the identification and initial feasibility studies for the recovery of iron-containing minerals. Characterization studies showed that basanite, calcite, specularite, and quartz minerals were the important minerals found in the tailing dam. In the beneficiation experiments of iron minerals, the gravity beneficiation experiment did not have a good yield, but with magnetic separation with an intensity of 6000 Gauss, the grade of Fe2O3 increased up to 50.06%. Performing the reverse flotation test of calcium-containing minerals in the tailings of the magnetic separation experiment decreased the CaO grade from 23.98% to 17.07% and SO3 from 14.08% to 11.52%. The results of the feasibility tests showed that it is possible to produce iron concentrate and it is not possible to completely remove calcium and sulfur by flotation method, but the tailing of the magnetic separation (final tailing) contained 28.02% SiO2, 9.51% Fe2O3, 7.12% Al2O3, 23.98% CaO, and 14.08% SO3 and has the potential to be used in the cement industry.