Hydrometallurgy 147148 (2014) 178182

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Hydrometallurgy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/hydromet

Technical note

Metal recovery from the copper sulde tailing with leaching and
fractional precipitation technology
Tao Chen a,b, Chang Lei a,b, Bo Yan a,, Xianming Xiao a
a
State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
b
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: A study was conducted for metal recovery from low-grade copper sulde tailings using the leaching and fractional
Received 15 November 2013 precipitation methodology. Mineralogical characterization of the materials shows that the primary weight
Received in revised form 14 May 2014 proportions of pyrite minerals, silicate minerals, and quartz in tailing are 31.50%, 38.85%, and 15.06%, respectively.
Accepted 17 May 2014
Based on the optimum conditions, the achieved leaching efciencies for Cu, Zn, Mn, and Fe are 98.45%, 21.41%,
Available online 6 June 2014
56.13%, and 17.25%, respectively. Fractional precipitation technology was then employed for the Fe, Cu, Zn, and
Keywords:
Mn recovery from the leachate. Sludge generated in sequential step contained 49.13% Fe, 19.53% Cu, 33.48% Zn,
Copper sulde tailing and 14.10% Mn. These results show how the metals can be recycled for environmentally friendly disposal of
Metal leaching tailings and reveal their resource value.
Fractional precipitation 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Copper sulde tailings (CuS tailings) present a serious environ-
mental problem in many regions worldwide (Ardau et al., 2009; Lu
and Wang, 2012). When exposed to natural weathering and chemical
percolation, heavy metals, including Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn,
become more soluble and mobile (Anju and Banerjee, 2010; Garca
et al., 2005). Once leached, heavy metals would become the major
sources of contamination, which seriously damage not only stream
water and groundwater, but also the soil environment (Kim et al.,
2009; Zhao et al., 2012; Zhuang et al., 2009). Meanwhile, the large
amount of tailings presents a signicant metal resource. In order to
solve these problems, metal recovery through the separation method
has been studied, the separation depends on independent mineral fea-
tures, such as magnetism (Li et al., 2010; Yang et al., 2011), gravity
(Srivastava and Pathak, 2000), and oatability (Alam and Shang,
2012). However, it is impossible to achieve a comprehensive recovery.
On the other hand, with leaching methodology, metals such as Cu, Zn,
Fe, Ni, and Mg could be recycled and the recovery efciencies were
much higher than that for the separation process. Although methods
of hydrometallurgical leaching for sulde ores (Gok and Anderson,
2013; Vraar et al., 2003), as well as for some wastes, such as batteries
(Rabah et al., 2008), have been reported, few studies have been report-
ed of its application for the CuS tailing. Recycled metals using the
leaching process have to be puried for further reuse. It has been report-
ed that the precipitation was an effective method for it is operationally
simple and economical. With the precipitation process, the metals were
Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 20 85290335; fax: +86 20 85290706.
E-mail address: yanbo2007@gig.ac.cn (B. Yan).
enriched as a mixture in the sludge, while the metal content of the
sludge was too low for reuse (Xie et al., 2005). However, the metal con-
tent of the sludge would be promoted by the fractional precipitation
process (Innocenzi and Vegli, 2012). Thus, an effective leaching with
a fractional precipitation method for recovery of valuable metals from
CuS tailing is still highly desired. As a typical poly-metallic mine in
Southern China, the Dabaoshan Mine region is one of the largest open-
cast copper mining bases. The amount of CuS tailing generated is ap-
proximately 480,000 tons per year, and the amount of tailings stored
in the tailing reservoir is approximately 800 million tons. The reservoir
becomes a source of acid mine drainage (AMD), contaminating the well
water around the Dabaoshan Mine region (Chen et al., 2007). Therefore,
a comprehensive reuse of the tailing would improve economic efcien-
cy and lessen environmental damage as well. Such comprehensive
reuse could be promoted by the leaching process. The objective of this
work is to recover Cu, Fe, Zn, and Mn from low-grade CuS tailing effec-
tively using an environment-friendly and economical leaching method.
2. Experimental
2.1. Materials and analysis method
The source of the CuS tailing used in this study is from the
Dabaoshan Mine region, and the tailings are obtained during the end
of the otation process. To determine metal contents, the solid samples
were digested by microwave digestion equipment (WX-8000, EU
Microwave Chemistry Technology Co., Ltd.) according to method 3052
(US EPA, 1996). Major metals are determined using an AAS (Shimadzu
AA6300, made in Japan), whereas minor metals at signicantly low con-
centrations were determined through ICP-MS (Agilent 7500, made in

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.hydromet.2014.05.018
0304-386X/ 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
 T. Chen et al. / Hydrometallurgy 147148 (2014) 178182 179

Tailing sample for the leaching tests, the experiments were performed at a constant
stirring speed of 400 rmin-1 (Antonijevi et al., 2008). Fractional pre-
cipitation was used for the metal separation recovery from the leachate,
Leaching
whose principle is the solubility discrepancy of different metals. A series
of tests were conducted using the procedure shown in Fig. 1. Precipita-
Leaching
S/L seperation tion tests were performed within a 500 mL beaker, and the actual liquor
volume was 300 mL. A homothermal magnetic stirrer (85-2, AoHua)
was used for the precipitation chemical reaction, the agitation rate
Solution1 Residue1
was 50 rpm and the temperature was controlled as 35 C. Each precip-
itation test was replicated 3 times. After each precipitation step, the so-
Fe Precipitation lution was ltered with a 0.45 m lter membrane, and the resulting
Step 1
ltrate was used for the next precipitation process until the last of the
Filtrate 1 Fe sludge targeted metals was recovered. The sludge was air dried for further
disposal.
Cu Precipitation
Step 2
2.3. Characteristics of tailings
Filtrate 2 Cu sludge
Fractional Analytical determination of the tailing contents is shown in Table 1.
Precipitation The total metal content (determined as free metal) amounts to approx-
Zn Precipitation Step 3 imately 18 wt.%. The contents of the targeted major metals, including
Cu, Zn, Fe, and Mn, are 2923.15, 1638.21, 108671.20, and 590.80 g/t,
Filtrate 3 Zn sludge respectively. The mineral composition is listed in Table 2. The tailing
primarily contains pyrite minerals, silicate minerals, and quartz, with
Mn Precipitation proportions of 31.50%, 38.85%, and 15.06%, respectively. The oxide of
Step 4 Fe is approximately 4.43%, whereas the sulde and oxide of Cu are
31.62% and 68.34%, respectively. Meanwhile, 100% of the Zn is in the
Filtrate 4 Mn sludge ZnS formula.

Fig. 1. Flow chart of Fe, Cu, Zn and Mn recovery from the tailing.
3. Results and discussion

America). The discovery efciencies of the targeted elements through
the addition of standard materials were between 95% and 108%. All
given results are the averages of three repetitions of all experiments.
The mineral composition was investigated by SEMEDX and was ana-
lyzed through the SIP system of QEMSCAN. The bound moisture content
was determined through the method of specic gravity.
2.2. Leaching and the leachate metal recovery process
Parameters affecting on the recovery efciency, such as leaching
temperature, amount of added leaching reagent, leaching time, and
leaching solid-to-liquid ratio (S:L, weight to volume) were investigated.
The sulfuric acid concentration is 98%. To obtain the optimal conditions
3.1. Leaching analysis
3.1.1. Effect of leaching temperature
The main agent chosen here for tailing leaching was H2SO4 due to its
attractive properties, including low cost and easily available. The
leaching results obtained at various temperatures (30, 40, 50, 60, and
80 C) are shown in Fig. 2 with the addition of 0.24 mL/g of concentrat-
ed H2SO4. The S:L was 1:2, and leaching was conducted for 2 h. As
shown in Fig. 2, a negligible effect of temperature on the leaching
efciencies of the metals is noted. The leaching efciencies at 30 C
are 97.47%, 26.56%, 54.45%, and 15.47% for Cu, Zn, Mn, and Fe, respec-
tively. However, the lower the leaching temperature, the lower the
leaching cost. Hence, leaching temperature of 30 C could be suggested
to be the best temperature in this present experiment condition. To

Table 1
Metal contents of the copper sulde tailing (g/t).

Element Mg Al Ca Ti Cr Mn Fe Co Ni

Content 25279.89 33619.19 4810.5 1636.48 73.11 590.80 108671.20 8.81 15.41

Element Cu Zn As Y Zr Cd Sb Ba Pb

Content 2923.15 1638.21 175.37 16.10 96.50 8.48 9.45 473.13 179.07

Table 2
Mineral composition of the copper sulde tailing (%).

Pyrite Pyrrhotite Sericite Biotite Quartz Orthoclase Chlorite

17.11 14.39 8.05 12.35 15.06 5.51 4.78

Limonite Tremolite Reichite Garnet Steatite Dolomite Siderite

3.80 2.97 2.86 1.85 1.82 1.84 0.48

Chalcopyrite Tenorite Tetrahedrite Sphalerite Magnetite Anorthose Albite

0.34 0.32 0.02 0.24 0.16 0.14 0.04

180 T. Chen et al. / Hydrometallurgy 147148 (2014) 178182

100 100
Metal leaching efficiencies (%)

Metal leaching efficiencies (%)

Cu Cu
Zn 80 Zn
80
Mn Mn
Fe Fe
60
60

40
40

20
20
0
30 40 50 60 70 80 0 0.5 1 2 4 12
o
Leaching temperature ( C) Leaching time (h)

Fig. 2. Effect of temperature on the metal leaching efciencies. Fig. 4. Effect of leaching time on the metal leaching efciencies.

further investigate other experimental effect on leaching efciencies,
the leaching temperature was xed at 30 C.
3.1.2. Effect of different H2SO4 addition
The effect of the different H2SO4 addition was investigated under a
xed S:L of 1:2. The leaching temperature was set to 30 C, and leaching
occurred for 2 h. As presented in Fig. 3, the leaching efciency of the
metals increased gradually with an increasing amount of H2SO4. A near-
ly complete leaching efciency of 97.75% for Cu was obtained with the
addition of 0.24 mL/g of H2SO4. For Zn and Mn, leaching efciencies of
27.04% and 56.25% were obtained with the addition of 0.18 mL/g of
H2SO4. However, only 17.39% for Fe was leached when 0.29 mL/g of
H2SO4 was added. The low amount of leached Fe may be attributed to
reprecipitation, for Fe(OH)3 precipitate emerged below a pH of 2, the
pH value of the leachate with 0.29 mL/g H2SO4 addition was 2.18, and
even with the addition of 0.40 mL/g of H2SO4 the pH value was 1.92.
Thus, the recovery efciency of Fe is relatively low although Fe is
more apt to be leached during the H2SO4 leaching process.
3.1.3. Effect of leaching time
The effect of leaching time was further investigated with the addi-
tion of 0.24 mL/g concentrated H2SO4. S:L was 1:2, and leaching temper-
ature was set at 30 C. The effects of leaching time are illustrated in
Fig. 4. Under the above leaching conditions, the leaching yields of Cu,
Zn, and Mn increased steadily within the 2 h leaching process, that of
Fe increased within 1 h. A leaching time of 2 h is found to be optimal
time for reducing the amount of acid consumed and increasing the
amount of metals recovered. Leaching low-grade CuS tailing for 2 h
at ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure resulted in the effec-
tive leaching of valuable metals Cu, Zn, Mn, and Fe at 98.40%, 27.31%,
55.61%, and 17.03%, respectively.
3.1.4. Effect of leaching solid to liquid ratio
To shed light on the effect of S:L, the reaction process was monitored
by examining the products prepared at different S:L with the addition of
0.24 mL/g of concentrated H2SO4. Leaching temperature was set as
30 C, and leaching lasted for 2 h. The tailing contents in the pulp
were 10%, 17%, 25%, 33%, 40%, and 50%, corresponding to S:L of 1:9,
1:5, 1:3, 1:2, 1:1.5, and 1:1, respectively, as shown in Fig. 5. Under the
above leaching conditions, the leaching efciencies of Cu and Mn
increased and Fe leaching decreased slightly as the pulp density de-
creased. The maximum leaching efciencies of Cu and Mn reached
98.40% and 56.85%, respectively, at an S:L of 1:2. The leaching efciency
of Zn increased with decreasing pulp density, the increased volume of
leaching reagent would promote the mass transfer process of the
solidliquid interface (Aydogan et al., 2005; Zhang et al., 2005). A great-
er volume of leaching reagent results in lower concentrations of the
metals leached from the tailings, which would affect the recovery of

100 100
Metal leaching efficiencies(%)

Cu Cu
Metal leaching efficiencies (%)

80 Zn Zn
Mn 80 Mn
60 Fe Fe

60
40

40
20

0 20

0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4

H2SO4/Ore (ml/g) 1:1 1:1.5 1:2 1:3 1:5 1:9
S:L
Fig. 3. Effect of the addition of different amounts of H2SO4 on the metal leaching
efciencies. Fig. 5. Effect of S:L on the metal leaching efciencies.
 T. Chen et al. / Hydrometallurgy 147148 (2014) 178182 181

Table 3 0.45 m lter membrane. The metals contained in the ltrate are illus-
Metal leaching efciencies and concentration of the leaching ltrate. trated in Table 3. The leaching efciencies of Cu, Zn, Mn, and Fe were
Metals Cu Zn Mn Fe 98.45%, 21.41%, 56.13%, and 17.25%, respectively. The concentrations
of Cu, Zn, Mn, and Fe were 1.45, 0.18, 0.20, and 9.31 g/L, respectively,
Metal contents of tailing (mg/kg) 2923.15 1638.21 590.80 108671.20
Metal contents in ltrate (g/L) 1.45 0.17 0.17 9.31 which are signicantly greater than those published in previous reports
Leaching efciencies (%) 98.45 21.41 56.13 17.25 (Pepe et al., 2007). The metal recovery from the leaching ltrate was
preceded by fractional precipitation with the addition of different
chemical agents (Barrnitt et al., 1992; Xie et al., 2005). At rst, the pH
Table 4 of the leaching ltrate was adjusted to 3.0 with the addition of
Metal recovery from the leaching ltrate. Ca(OH)2 to recover Fe as hydroxide. Thereafter, Cu and Zn were recov-
Step 1 2 3 4 ered as their metal suldes through the dropwise addition of a
Chemical agent addition Type Ca(OH)2 Na2S Na2S Ca(OH)2
0.5 wt.% aqueous Na2S solution in sequence. The pH value of the solution
Quantity (g/L) 0.57 1.45 0.22 0.25 after Cu and Zn precipitations are 3.6 and 3.8 respectively. Finally, Mn
Recovery efciencies (%) Fe 95.45 95.47 95.82 99.92 was recovered by adjusting the pH to 9.0 in the leaching ltrate. As
Cu 7.21 97.95 100.00 100.00 shown in Table 4, the recovery efciencies of metals from the ltrate
Zn 1.31 7.23 98.24 99.82
are 95.45%, 93.74%, 89.7%, and 93.29%, respectively. The sludge generat-
Mn 0.06 1.86 3.51 98.72
ed in every step contained 49.13% Fe, 19.53% Cu, 33.48% Zn, and 14.10%
Mn (Table 5). With the UV conversion of the Fe sludge, magnetite parti-
cles could be obtained and it can be applied for the paint industry (Silva
Table 5
Metal contents and the bound moisture content of the precipitate (%).
et al., 2012), while the Fe2O3 content of the magnetite particles should be
higher than 75%. It has been found that mostly Cu and Zn sludges and
Fe precipitate Cu precipitate Zn precipitate Mn precipitate those generated in the sulde precipitation process were covellite and
BMCa 5.17 /b / 14.82 spharelite (Sampaio et al., 2010), and those could be rened and sold
Fe 49.13 1.07 0.71 0.3 to smelters to recover the metals (Cibati et al., 2013). Generally, the Cu
Cu 0.15 19.53 1.11 ndc
and Zn contents of the sludge are about 0.5% and 2% for their otation re-
Ni nd 4.87 0.01 nd
Zn 0.06 0.52 33.48 0.65 nement respectively. While the Cu and Zn contents of the sludge were
Mn 0.21 0.01 0.76 14.10 19.5% and 33.5% respectively. The metal contents of the sludge are
Al 1.61 9.49 5.64 5.71 higher than these specications, therefore, the sludge could be rened
Ca 4.93 0.35 2.90 8.12 with the otation process. Furthermore, Cu and Zn could be obtained
Mg 2.22 1.35 2.64 9.81
through the smelting process of the otation concentrates. The Mn
a
Bound moisture content. sludge can be used as cement material and the leaching of heavy metals
b
Not detected.
c from the solidied blocks would be negligible (Petal and Pandy, 2012).
Indicate that the metal concentration was under detection.

3.3. Mass balance analysis and the preliminary economic analysis

metals from the leaching ltrate. An S:L of 1:2 is required to achieve
satisfactory leaching results.
3.2. Metal recovery from the leachate
Tailings were leached with the addition of 0.24 mL/g of strong
H2SO4. Leaching temperature was set as 30 C, and leaching lasted for
2 h. The leaching S:L was 1:2. The leachate was ltrated through a
The mass balance of the metal recovery process was illustrated in
Fig. 6, with 1 kg tailing disposed, about 0.84 kg leaching residue was
left and the yield of the Fe sludge, Cu sludge, and Zn sludge are about
23.4 g, 7.15 g, and 0.95 g respectively. The leaching residue could be
recycled as the cement materials. The metals contained in the ltrate
after the fractional precipitation process would meet the Chinese inte-
grated wastewater discharge standard.

Tailing 1kg
Fe 108671 g/t, Cu 2923 g/t, Zn 1638 g/t, Mn 591 g/t

Leaching H2SO4 (98%) used, 0.24L/kg

Leaching filtrate 2L; Fe 9.31g/L, Cu 1.45g/L, Zn Leaching Residue 0.84kg; Fe 108671 g/t, Cu
0.17g/L, Mn 0.17g/L 2923 g/t, Zn 1638 g/t, Mn 591 g/t

Fractional Precipitation Ca(OH)2 used 16.8 g/L ;Na2S used 1.8 g/L

Fe sludge 23.4g, Cu sludge 7.15g Zn sludge 0.95g Mn sludge 1.98g

Fe 49.13% Cu 19.53% Zn 33.48% Mn 14.10%

Filtrate 2L; Fe 7.4mg/L,Cu 0 mg/L, Zn 0.3mg/L, Mn 2.2mg/L

Fig. 6. Mass balance of the metal recovery process.

182 T. Chen et al. / Hydrometallurgy 147148 (2014) 178182
4. Conclusions
Fe, Cu, Zn, and Mn from the low grade CuS tailing are successfully
recycled via a H2SO4 leaching and subsequent fractional precipitation
technology. Based on the mineral composition analysis results, leaching
temperature, the amount of H2SO4 added, leaching time, and S:L have
been evaluated for the leaching efciencies. The amount of H2SO4
added and S:L have strongly inuenced the leaching efciencies.
Under the optimum conditions of ambient temperature and atmospher-
ic pressure, 0.24 mL/g of H2SO4, S:L of 1:2, stirring speed of 400 rpm, and
leaching time of 2 h, leaching efciencies achieved for Cu, Zn, Mn, and Fe
are 98.45%, 21.41%, 56.13%, and 17.25%, respectively. With the fractional
precipitation process, Fe and Mn were enriched as hydroxide, whereas
Cu and Zn were enriched as suldes. The sludge generated in every
step contained 49.13% Fe, 19.53% Cu, 33.48% Zn, and 14.10% Mn; the
recovery efciencies of these metals from the ltrate are 95.45%,
93.74%, 89.7%, and 93.29%, respectively. The Fe, Cu, and Zn sludges
could be further rened and sold to the paint industry or the smelters
to recover the metals, and with the recycle disposal, the environment
problems caused by the tailing could be relieved. While, the leaching
residue reuse needs further consideration for its environment impact.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the Key Project of the Chinese Academy
of Sciences Comprehensive Strategic Cooperation with Guangdong
Province (No. 2012B090400030), Guangdong Natural Science Funds
for Distinguished Young Scholar (No. S2013050014122), and the
GIGCAS 135 Project Y234021001. This is a contribution NO. 1916 from
GIGCAS.
References
Alam, R., Shang, J.Q., 2012. Effect of operating parameters on desulphurization of mine
tailings by froth otation. J. Environ. Manag. 97 (30), 122130.
Anju, M., Banerjee, D.K., 2010. Comparison of two sequential extraction procedures for
heavy metal partitioning in mine tailings. Chemosphere 78 (11), 13931402.
Antonijevi, M.M., Dimitrijevi, M.D., Stevanovi, Z.O., Serbula, S.M., Bogdanovic, G.D.,
2008. Investigation of the possibility of copper recovery from the otation tailings
by acid leaching. J. Hazard. Mater. 158 (1), 2334.
Ardau, C., Blowes, D.W., Ptacek, C.J., 2009. Comparison of laboratory testing protocols to
eld observations of the weathering of sulde-bearing mine tailings. J. Geochem.
Explor. 100 (23), 182191.
Aydogan, S., Aras, A., Canbazoglu, M., 2005. Dissolution kinetics of sphalerite in acidic
ferric chloride leaching. Chem. Eng. J. 114 (13), 6772.
Barrnitt, E.C., Nenniger, E.H., Ziewinski, D., 1992. A hydrometallurgical process to treat
carbon steel electric arc furnace dust. Hydrometallurgy 30 (13), 5968.
Chen, A., Lin, C., Lu, W., Wu, Y., Ma, Y., Li, J., Zhu, L., 2007. Well water contaminated by
acidic mine water from the Dabaoshan Mine, South China: chemistry and toxicity.
Chemosphere 70 (2), 248255.
Cibati, A., Cheng, K.Y., Morris, C., Ginige, P.M., Sahinkaya, E., Pagnanelli, F., Kaksonen, H.A.,
2013. Selective precipitation of metals from synthetic spent renery catalyst leach
liquor with biogenic H2S produced in a lactate-fed anaerobic bafed reactor. Hydro-
metallurgy 139, 154161.
Garca, C., Ballester, A., Gonzlez, F., Blzquez, M.L., 2005. Pyrite behaviour in a tailings
pond. Hydrometallurgy 76 (12), 2536.
Gok, O., Anderson, C.G., 2013. Dissolution of low-grade chalcopyrite concentrate in
acidied nitrite electrolyte. Hydrometallugy 134135, 4046.
Innocenzi, V., Vegli, F., 2012. Recovery of rare earths and base metals from spent nickel
metal hydride batteries by sequential sulphuric acid leaching and selective precipita-
tions. J. Power Sources 211 (1), 184191.
Kim, J., Koo, S.Y., Kim, J.Y., Lee, E.H., Lee, S.D., Ko, K.S., Ko, D.C., Cho, K.S., 2009. Inuence of
acid mine drainage on microbial communities in stream and groundwater samples at
Guryong Mine, South Korea. Environ. Geol. 58 (7), 15671574.
Li, C., Sun, H., Bai, J., Li, L., 2010. Innovative methodology for comprehensive utilization of
iron ore tailings: part 1. The recovery of iron from iron ore tailings using magnetic
separation after magnetizing roasting. J. Hazard. Mater. 174 (3), 7177.
Lu, X.C., Wang, H.M., 2012. Minerals, microbes, and remediation: microbial oxidation of
sulde tailings and the environmental consequences. Elements 8 (2), 119124.
Pepe, H.S., Hiroyuki, U., Igarashi, T., Asakura, K., Ochi, Y., Ishizuka, F., Kawada, S., 2007. Acid
mine drainage treatment through a two-step neutralization ferrite-formation process
in northern Japan: physical and chemical characterization of the sludge. Miner. Eng.
20 (14), 13091314.
Petal, H., Pandy, S., 2012. Evaluation of physical stability and leachability of Portland
pozzolona cement (PPC) solidied chemical sludge generated from textile wastewa-
ter treatment plants. J. Hazard. Mater. 207208, 5664.
Rabah, M.A., Farghaly, F.E., Abd-El, M.M.A., 2008. Recovery of nickel, cobalt and some salts
from spent NiMH batteries. Waste Manag. 28 (7), 11591167.
Sampaio, R.M.M., Timmers, R.A., Kocks, N., Andrb, V., Duarteb, M.T., Hullebuschc, E.D.,
Fargesd, F., Lens, P.N.L., 2010. ZnNi sulde selective precipitation: the role of
supersaturation. Sep. Purif. Technol. 74 (1), 108118.
Silva, R.A., Castro, C.D., Vignico, E.M., Petter, C.O., Schneider, I.A.H., 2012. Selective precip-
itation/UV production of magnetite particles obtained from the iron recovered from
acid mine drainage. Miner. Eng. 29, 2227.
Srivastava, J.P., Pathak, P.N., 2000. Pre-concentration: a necessary step for upgrading
tungsten ore. Int. J. Miner. Process. 60 (1), 18.
US EPA, 1996. Method 3052: Microwave Assisted and Digestion of Siliceous and Organi-
cally Based Matrices, Washington, DC, USA.
Vraar, R.Z., Vukovi, N., Kamberovi, Z., 2003. Leaching of copper(I) sulde by sulphuric
acid solution with addition of sodium nitrate. Hydrometallurgy 70 (13), 143151.
Xie, Y.T., Xu, Y.B., Yan, L., Yang, R.D., 2005. Recovery of nickel, copper and cobalt from low-
grade NiCu sulde tailings. Hydrometallurgy 80 (12), 5458.
Yang, H.F., Jing, L.L., Zhang, B.G., 2011. Recovery of iron from vanadium tailings with coal-
based direct reduction followed by magnetic separation. J. Hazard. Mater. 185 (23),
14051411.
Zhang, S.H., Li, T., Zhu, B.C., Zhu, Z.B., 2005. Gasliquid mass transfer in three-phase
mechanical agitated reactor. J. Chem. Ind. Eng. 56 (2), 200226.
Zhao, H.R., Xia, B.C., Chen, F., Zhao, P., Shen, S.L., 2012. Human health risk from soil heavy
metal contamination under different land uses near Dabaoshan Mine, Southern
China. Sci. Total Environ. 417418, 4554.
Zhuang, P., McBride, M.B., Xia, H.P., Li, N.Y., Li, Z.A., 2009. Health risk from heavy metals
via consumption of food crops in the vicinity of Dabaoshan mine, South China. Sci.
Total Environ. 407 (5), 15511561.