Mineralogy

Article Chemistry, Physical

Impacts of chemical pre-treatments on the hydrogen isotope composition of clay minerals: Determining potential effects in the absence of impurities

Nadine J. Kanik, Artur Kuligiewicz, Jeffrey T. Cullen

Summary: This study examined the effects of different pre-treatments on the structural H-isotope composition of clay minerals. The results showed that different pre-treatments had varied impacts on different clay minerals, and the choice of pre-treatment should be based on the specific properties and mineralogy of the samples.

APPLIED CLAY SCIENCE (2024)

Article Engineering, Chemical

Flocculating fine cuttings particles suspended within partially hydrolysed polyacrylamide (PHPA) solutions used as drilling fluids in mineral exploration

Alton F. Grabsch, Phillip D. Fawell, Michael G. Davies

Summary: High molecular weight partially hydrolysed polyacrylamide (PHPA) is commonly used in mineral exploration drilling to increase fluid viscosity and help maintain the suspension of fine particles. However, clarifying these suspensions can be difficult, and previous studies have found that anionic flocculants are ineffective. This study confirmed that nonionic flocculants can successfully aggregate the particles, indicating that the charged tails of adsorbed PHPA prevent anionic flocculants from accessing the particle surfaces.

MINERALS ENGINEERING (2024)

Article Geochemistry & Geophysics

Probing the deep mantle wedge in an active subduction zone: Xenoliths from the Mercaderes Volcanic District, Southern Colombia

L. Notini, M. Scambelluri, A. Tommasi, A. Zanetti, F. Ferri, A. Rodriguez-Vargas, E. Rampone

Summary: This study provides important petrologic information on the mantle wedge above an active subduction zone in Southern Colombia. The researchers analyzed a unique suite of rock samples and found evidence of hydration, metasomatism, and partial melting in the mantle wedge. They also observed variations in lithotypes, textures, and mineral abundance, indicating different interactions with melts and fluids. This study sheds light on the complex petrological processes occurring in the mantle wedge and contributes to our understanding of subduction zone dynamics.

LITHOS (2024)

Article Engineering, Chemical

Pre-concentration and partial fractionation of rare earth elements by ion exchange

Luciano Bernardo Jose, Gabriela Cordeiro Silva, Ana Claudia Queiroz Ladeira

Summary: This study evaluated the pre-concentration and fractionation of rare earth elements (REE) from acid mine drainage using ion exchange technique. The results showed that the ion exchange resin exhibited higher selectivity for La, Ce, Pr and Nd during the loading step, while 0.01mol L-1 NH4EDTA achieved better elution profiles during the fractionation step.

MINERALS ENGINEERING (2024)

Article Engineering, Chemical

Insights into the design of polymetallic ore flotation circuits, including tailing desulfurization

Yesica L. Botero, Luis A. Cisternas, Isabelle Demers, Mostafa Benzaazoua

Summary: Flotation is a widely used mineral concentration technology, but there is limited research on flotation circuit designs for polymetallic ores. Sulfide mineral flotation tailings can generate acid mine drainage, highlighting the need for tailings without sulfur species. This paper investigates different circuit designs for polymetallic ores, considering factors such as stage recovery uncertainty, costs, energy use, and environmental impacts. The results suggest that holistic design approaches can lead to more efficient designs and that traditional processing methods have higher energy, water, and material consumption, resulting in greater environmental impact.

MINERALS ENGINEERING (2024)

Article Chemistry, Physical

Rehydroxylation of calcined swellable clay minerals at ambient conditions

N. Werling, A. Kuligiewicz, A. Steudel, R. Schuhmann, F. Dehn, K. Emmerich

Summary: Thermal treatment of clay minerals can be used to produce building materials and environmentally friendly binders. This process involves dehydration, dehydroxylation, breakdown of structure, and recrystallization of high temperature phases. Rehydration and rehydroxylation are important factors to consider for geopolymers and SCM.

APPLIED CLAY SCIENCE (2024)

Article Engineering, Chemical

The importance of sample preparation techniques for use in mine site operational mineralogy

C. Garner, J. Strongman, B. Staniforth, J. Fletcher, C. Brough

Summary: The use of automated mineralogy is crucial in all stages of a mine cycle, but the quality and automation of the process depend on the accuracy and efficiency of sample preparation. Poor sample preparation can lead to lower quality automated mineralogy data outputs, highlighting the need for optimization in this stage.

MINERALS ENGINEERING (2024)

Article Engineering, Chemical

Ultrasonic pretreatment for enhancing flotation separation of elemental sulfur and silver-bearing lead minerals from an oxidative pressure leaching residue of zinc sulfide

Canneng Chen, Song Zhang, Quanjun Liu, Luzheng Chen, Yongjun Xian, Yijie Wang

Summary: This study introduces the use of ultrasonic pretreatment to enhance the flotation separation of elemental sulfur and silver-bearing lead minerals from ultrafine residue. The results show that ultrasonic pretreatment effectively liberates associated sulfur and improves the separation of sulfur and silver-bearing lead minerals. Under optimized conditions, ultrasonic pretreatment significantly improves the recovery and grade of sulfur in the concentrate, as well as the recovery of lead and silver in the tailings.

MINERALS ENGINEERING (2024)

Article Chemistry, Physical

Bentonite homogenisation and swelling: The effect of salinity

K. A. Daniels, C. C. Graham, A. C. Wiseall, J. F. Harrington, P. Sellin

Summary: Geological storage with clay buffer is widely preferred for removing hazardous radioactive waste. The impact of fluid salinity and void space on the swelling behavior of barrier bentonites was examined through experiments. The findings suggest that clay swelling is suppressed at higher salinities, which affects the void-filling process.

APPLIED CLAY SCIENCE (2024)

Article Chemistry, Physical

Polymer nanocomposites to modify crude oil waxy crystallization: Influence of content and type of clay (mineral)

Bruna F. Alves, Rita C. P. Nunes, Luiz C. Bertolino, Elizabete F. Lucas

Summary: Operational problems in the oil industry caused by the precipitation of paraffins can be prevented by using polymeric additives. This article evaluates the use of polymeric nanocomposites as pour point reducers in different types of crude oil and finds that they are more efficient than pure poly(ethylene-covinyl acetate) (EVA) in reducing the pour point. The nanocomposites also modify the wax crystals and reduce the viscosity of the oil samples.

APPLIED CLAY SCIENCE (2024)

Article Engineering, Chemical

Study on segregation-impacted hindered settling of fine copper tailings using a modified Kynch's approach

Yuan Li, Dirk van Zyl

Summary: This paper presents a modified Kynch's approach to explain the hindered settling behavior of suspensions impacted by segregation. The experimental data and predicted results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method.

MINERALS ENGINEERING (2024)

Article Geochemistry & Geophysics

Buchan-type metamorphic decarbonation during the upward expansion of the South Tibetan Detachment System: A new carbon source in the Himalaya

Jia-Min Wang, Kyle Patrick Larson, Jin-Jiang Zhang, Liang Zhao, Fu-Yuan Wu

Summary: The role of collisional belts in the global carbon budget is controversial. This study reveals a previously unrecognized carbon source in the collisional orogen of the Himalayas, where metamorphism of carbonate-bearing rocks in the hanging wall resulted in significant CO2 degassing.

LITHOS (2024)

Article Chemistry, Physical

In-depth descriptive investigation of composite sorbent based self-assembled magnetic halloysite nanotube-graphene oxide: Actual use case study for rutin

Pierre Dramou, Yiyang Sun, Xu Ni, Fangqi Wang, Hua He

Summary: In this study, a magnetic nanocomposite was prepared and used for the separation of rutin from real samples through magnetic solid phase extraction (MSPE). The nanocomposite exhibited high specific surface area, chemical and thermal stability, water solubility, and easy separation in aqueous solution. Characterization and experiments confirmed the successful synthesis and efficient enrichment ability of the nanocomposite.

APPLIED CLAY SCIENCE (2024)

Article Engineering, Chemical

In-situ study of texture-breakage coupling in a copper ore using X-ray micro-CT

Yulai Zhang, Nicolas Francois, Richard W. Henley, Lydia Knuefing, Michael Turner, Mohammad Saadatfar, Frank Brink, Mark Knackstedt

Summary: This study presents a quantitative method for the 3D characterization of ore texture and breakage using X-ray micro-CT and in-situ micromechanical test. The research focuses on a porphyry copper ore and demonstrates the dominant role of internal breakage in grain boundary fracturing. The study also discusses the influence of microporous regions, size reduction, ore texture, and breakage characteristics on the degree of liberation of copper minerals.

MINERALS ENGINEERING (2024)

Article Chemistry, Physical

Environmental significance of kaolinite variability over the last centuries in crater lake sediments from Central Mexico

Nathalie Fagel, Isabel Israde-Alcantara, Reza Safaierad, Marttiina Rantala, Sabine Schmidt, Gilles Lepoint, Pierre Pellenard, Nadine Mattielli, Sarah Metcalfe

Summary: Environmental conditions significantly influence clay minerals, and studying clay sediments in tropical lakes can provide valuable insights into past environmental conditions. In this study, multiproxy records from sediment cores of three crater lakes in central Mexico were analyzed. The results showed that disordered kaolinite, formed through hydrolysis and hydrothermal alteration, was the predominant mineral in the sediments. The abundance of kaolinite varied in relation to organic carbon and organic matter-related elements, and showed opposite trends with lithogenic elements. Geochemical data suggested that the increase in kaolinite abundance is linked to the formation of organo-mineral aggregates and lake level changes in closed basins.

APPLIED CLAY SCIENCE (2024)

Article Engineering, Chemical

A high productivity bioprocess for obtaining metallic copper from printed circuit boards (PCBs)

Nieves Iglesias-Gonzalez, Antonio D. Dorado, Pablo Ramirez, Alfonso Mazuelos

Summary: A global process for recovering copper from end-of-life mobile phones is proposed, which combines bioleaching and solvent extraction and electrowinning to achieve efficient and sustainable copper recovery.

MINERALS ENGINEERING (2024)

Article Engineering, Chemical

Short-long temporal graph convolution network for grade monitoring in a first zinc rougher

Yuze Zhong, Zhaohui Tang, Hu Zhang, Yongfang Xie, Juncen Guo

Summary: Utilizing a short-long temporal graph convolution network (SLTGCN) trained with multiple froth videos, this study successfully monitors the tailings grade of the first rougher layer in a zinc flotation circuit. By treating visual features and similarity graphs as nodes and edges in a graph respectively, the proposed model makes full use of temporal information to predict the tailings grade with improved accuracy compared to existing methods.

MINERALS ENGINEERING (2024)

Article Geochemistry & Geophysics

Partial melting of multiple mantle domains underneath the Paleo-Tethyan cold subduction zone triggered by slab rollback

Xiguang Huang, Jun He, Jingxin Zhao, Jingzhao Dou, Weiyong Li, Aimin Hu, Ge Liu, Yiru Ji, Fukun Chen, Shuangqing Li

Summary: This study investigates the zircon ages and whole-rock geochemical data of Late Paleozoic magmatic rocks in the Western Yunnan Tethyan belt to identify the origin and mechanism of mantle melting. The results suggest that these magmatic rocks may originate from different mantle domains that were metasomatized by slab-derived fluids and sediment-derived melts.

LITHOS (2024)

Article Engineering, Chemical

The effects of indigenous microorganisms and water treatment with ion exchange resin on Cu-Ni flotation performance

Hanna Miettinen, Malin Bomberg, Ozlem Bicak, Zafir Ekmekci, Paivi Kinnunen

Summary: Mineral processing requires large amounts of water, and reducing water consumption through recirculation and closing water loops is important. However, this can lead to the accumulation of contaminants in the process water, which can negatively affect the process performance. In this study, the impact of microorganisms on flotation performance was investigated, and ion exchange was evaluated for removing dissolved sulfur species and microorganisms from water. The results showed that adding microorganisms had a positive effect on flotation selectivity, especially for nickel. Different water types, process water and final tailings water, behaved slightly differently. Ion exchange proved to be effective in removing sulfur species and microorganisms, and dissolved air flotation was a successful pretreatment for ion exchange in removing microorganisms.

MINERALS ENGINEERING (2024)

Article Chemistry, Physical

Coating of silk sutures by Halloysite/wax Pickering emulsions for controlled delivery of eosin

Lorenzo Lisuzzo, Giuseppe Cavallaro, Stefana Milioto, Giuseppe Lazzara

Summary: This study proposes Pickering emulsions based on wax and halloysite clay nanotubes for coating silk sutures to increase their loading capacity towards eosin. The presence of halloysite/wax microspheres on the surface of silk sutures has also been explored for controlled release of hydrophobic drugs. The influence of the coating on the thermal and mechanical properties of the sutures has been studied using various techniques. In conclusion, the wax/halloysite Pickering emulsions can successfully generate hydrophobic microdomains on the surface of silk sutures, leading to enhanced flexibility and improved loading capacity towards eosin.

APPLIED CLAY SCIENCE (2024)