Processing Tests, Adjusted Cost Models and the Economies of Reprocessing Copper Mine Tailings in Chile

To increase resource efficiency, mining residues–especially tailings–have come into the focus of research, companies, and politics. Tailings still contain varying amounts unextracted elements value minerals that were not economic interest during production. As for primary mineral deposits, only a small share tailings offers possibility an reprocessing. minimize exploration expenditure, stepwise process is followed exploration, to estimate likelihood project become mine or in this case reprocessing facility. During process, costs are continuously estimated at least order magnitude. Reprocessing flowsheets copper Chile developed revenues possible products from examined rough assessment. Standard cost models with capex opex flotation, leaching, magnetic separation adopted needs A tailing (around 2 M t) also contains magnetite was chosen as study. combination leaching gave best results magnetite. The showed positive early stage investigation (semi-technical scale processing tests).