Boletín de Geología

Vol. 46 No. 2 (2024): Boletín de Geología
Artículos científicos

Process mineralogy of monazite concentrate from gold mining (El Bagre, Colombia)

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  • Verónica Correa-Rodríguez,
  • Jorge Oneal Pinto-Molina,
  • Sebastián Barrientos-Benjumea,
  • Luz Marina Ocampo-Carmona,
  • Marco Antonio Márquez-Godoy
Verónica Correa-Rodríguez
Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Jorge Oneal Pinto-Molina
Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Sebastián Barrientos-Benjumea
Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Luz Marina Ocampo-Carmona
Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Marco Antonio Márquez-Godoy
Universidad Nacional de Colombia
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18273/revbol.v46n2-2024004

Published 2024-06-14

Keywords

  • Black sands,
  • Mineralogical characterization,
  • Monazite,
  • Rare earth elements

How to Cite

Correa-Rodríguez, V., Pinto-Molina, J. O., Barrientos-Benjumea, S., Ocampo-Carmona, L. M., & Márquez-Godoy, M. A. (2024). Process mineralogy of monazite concentrate from gold mining (El Bagre, Colombia). Boletín De Geología, 46(2), 65–82. https://doi.org/10.18273/revbol.v46n2-2024004

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Abstract

In alluvial gold beneficiation, processes of heavy mineral concentration take place, many of which are of great economic interest. Among these, monazite is one of the most valuable, since it is an anhydrous orthophosphate of rare earth elements (ETRs), known for possessing extraordinary catalytic, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties. For this study, concentrate samples from the process tails of an alluvial gold operation, in El Bagre-Antioquia were used. The sample was subjected to gravimetric concentration, magnetic and electrostatic separation, in order to obtain monazite concentrate as pure as possible. To optimize the mineralogical characterization, the concentrate was separated into several granulometric fractions, from which grains from the coarsest fractions were selected using a binocular loupe, to be subsequently analyzed by FTIR and SEM, as support, for interpreting XRD results. Six main mineral phases were found: monazite, clinochlore, almandine, clinozoisite, zircon and ferroactinolite. Additionally, other minerals were identified in smaller quantities such as calcite, phlogopite, siderite, dolomite, quartz, ferrosilite and chromite, indicating that the concentration process was not efficient and could have negative effects on the extraction processes of ETRs, resulting in impure products. In this regard, improvements to the current monazite concentration process are proposed, based on the results of process mineralogy and the differences in their gravimetric, magnetic, and electrostatic susceptibilities.

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