Tin and Silver Recovery from Coal Creek, AK
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lrl C~ RI 9356 REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS/1991 Tin and Silver Recovery From Coal Creek, AK By J. L. Johnson and T. Parker UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR BUREAU OF MINES ..., \LS p."r!'::ll( of Mines $, :.'s~2r:::h Center t, .. ' i ~·:t:::iO:i1ery Ave. \.c,' I ,t-',!fI ~ 11 C:9207v L~ ~ l{f:~f{Y Mission: Asthe Nation's principal conservation agency, the Department of the Interior has respon sibility for most of our nationally-owned public lands and natural and cultural resources. This includes fostering wise use of our land and water resources, protecting our fish and wildlife, pre serving the environmental and cultural values of our national parks and historical places, and pro viding for the enjoyment of life through outdoor recreation. The Department assesses our energy and mineral resources and works to assure that their development is in the best interests of all our people. The Department also promotes the goals of the Take Pride in America campaign by encouraging stewardship and citizen respohsibil ity for the public lands and promoting citizen par ticipation in their care. The Department also has a major responsibility for American Indian reser vation communities and for people who live in Island Territories under U.S. Administration. Report of Investigations 9356 Tin and Silver Recovery From Coal Creek, AK By J. L Johnson and T. Parker UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Manuel Lujan, Jr., Secretary BUREAU OF MINES T S Ary, Director Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data: Johnson, J. L. Tin and silver recovery from Coal Creek, AK / by J.L. Johnson and T. Parker. p. cm. - (Report of investigations / U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Mines; 9356) Includes bibliographical references (p. 21). 1. Tin-Metallurgy. 2. Silver-Metallurgy. 3. Tin ores-Alaska-Chulitna River Region. 4. Silver ores-Alaska-Chulitna River Region. I. Parker, T. II. Title. III. Series: Report of investigations (United States. Bureau of Mines); 9356. TN796.J65 1991 669' .6-dc20 90-22808 elP CONTENTS Page Abstract. • . • • . • . • . • • • • • . • • • • • • . 1 Introduction • . • . • • . • . • . • . • . 2 Ore sample characterization .........••....................•.•.......••............ ,.... 2 Beneficiation feasibility study ....................................•...................... 4 Mineral liberation size .................................................••........... 4 Exploratory gravity concentration tests ...................................•.......•...•.. 5 Tin recovery flowsheet development ...............................•....••.....••.•.....•• 7 Primary concentration .........................................•.........•••........ 7 Humphrey's spiral versus Deister table ......................•.••••••.•.•.•.•..••...... 7 Humphrey's spiral versus Reichert LG-7 spiral ...................•...•....•.......•..... 8 Secondary concentration . • • . • . • . 8 Cleaning of gravity concentrate • • . • . • • . • . • . 9 Cassiterite flotation .........••..•.......................•.•...................... 11 Nonsulfide gangue flotation ................••..........•..................•........ 12 Sulfide mineral flotation . • . 12 Sulfide mineral leaching .......................................••...•.............. 14 Magnetic separation . • . 14 Tabling .......................................•................................ 15 Combined tabling-sulfide flotation method ............................................. 15 Slimes beneficiation ................................................................ 15 Cassiterite flotation .............................................................. 16 Vanning . • . • . • . • . • . • . 17 Sulfide flotation ...............•........................ 18 Secondary concentration by fuming . 18 Design of 1,OOO-st/d process flowsheet ..........•...•................................... 18 Conclusions ......................................•.............. ;.................. 21 References . 21 ILLUSTRATIONS 1. Map of Alaska showing Coal Creek location .......................... ; ; . 3 2. Cross section of Coal Creek mineralization zone . 3 3. Cumulative tin distribution of screened DH 1 table products 2 through 5 . 6 4. Primary concentration test on DH 3 by Deister table •..................................... 7 5. F10wsheet of locked-cycle secondary concentration tests ..............................•..... 9 6. Microflotation cell used in concentrate cleaning tests ....•................................. 11 7. Effect of particle size on cassiterite flotation . • . 11 8. Nonmagnetic fraction assay from wet magnetic separation of gravity concentrate .•................ 15 9. Effect of pulp density in the Bartles-Mozley separator feed. • . 17 10. F10wsheet and mass flow rate for 1,OOO-st/ d mill . • . 20 TABLES 1. Mineral content of pan concentrates from Coal Creek drill-hole composites, in order of occurrence 4 2. Head assays for Coal Creek drill-hole composites. .. • . • . 4 3. Analysis of hand-panned products from composite sample screen fractions ...................... 5 4. Grade and tin distribution of products from single shaking table pass ....•.•................... 6 5. Elements lost to 80-wt-pct tailing in primary concentration .............•.................... 8 6. Effect of feed size on distribution and grade of table products . 9 7. Locked-cycle test of secondary concentration flow scheme for DH 2, DH 3, and composite .......... 10 8. Collector screening test for nonsulfide gangue flotation . 12 ii TABLES-Continued Page 9. Effect of particle size on sulfide flotation of gravity concentrate. • . 13 10. Effect of surface oxidation and acid scrubbing on sulfide flotation ............................. 13 11. Gravity concentrate cleaning by two-stage sulfide flotation . • . • . 13 12. Nitric acid leaching of gravity concentrate. 14 13. Dry magnetic separation of gravity concentrate ..•............................. , . 14 14. Tabling-sulfide flotation method for cleaning gravity concentrate . 16 15. Cassiterite flotation collector screen test on DH 3 slimes ................................... 16 16. Flotation of DH 2 slimes with Aero 845 collector ................................ , . 17 17. Three-stage flotation cleaning of cassiterite flotation concentrate from DH 2 slimes . 17 18. Bartles-Mozley separator concentrates from DH 2 and 3 slimes .............................. 18 19. Equipment list for a 1,000-st/d plant .................................................. 19 20. Reagent usage for a 1,000-st/d plant .................................................. 19 UNIT OF MEASURE ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THIS REPORT A ampere min minute °c degree Celsius mL milliliter em centimeter I'm micrometer ft foot mt metric ton ft;3 cubic foot pct percent g gram ppm part per million h hour psi pound per square inch hp horsepower rpm revolution per minute in inch s second kW'h/st kilowatt hour per short ton st short ton Ib pound st/d short ton per day Ibjh pound per hour st/h short ton per hour Ib/st pound per short ton tr oz/st troy ounce per short ton m meter wt pct weight percent m2 square meter TIN AND SILVER RECOVERY FROM COAL CREEK, AK By J. L. Johnson 1 and T. Parker2 ABSTRACT The U.S. Bureau of Mines investigated the recovery of tin and silver from the Coal Creek deposit in the Talkeetna Mountains, AK. Approximately 5 million st of reserves grading 0.2 pct Sn with silver credits of 0.2 tr oz/st have been delineated by drilling. A 10- to 25-pct Sn gravity concentrate was produced by treating the minus 20-mesh ore with a spiral, then regrinding to minus 65 mesh and tabling. Sulfide contamination in the gravity concentrate was as high as 60 pet. Sulfide flotation of this concentrate produced tailings containing 40 to 50 pet Sn. Overall recovery was 76 pct for tin but only 5 to 10 pct for silver because of losses during sulfide flotation. Other methods tested to clean the concentrate included cassiterite flotation, gangue flotation, nitric acid leaching, and wet and dry magnetic separation. Tin beneficiation tests on the minus 325-mesh fraction included cassiterite flotation, vanning, sulfide flotation, and fuming. The bench-scale and locked-cycle tests were used to estimate the mass flows for a 1,000-st/d plant. 10lemicai engineer, Salt Lake City Research Center, U.S. Bureau of Mines, Salt Lake City, UT. 2Graduate student, Department of Geology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK. 2 INTRODUCTION The U.S. Bureau of Mines is investigating the mineral ensures an immediate supply, but a long-range source potential of Alaska and the Pacific Northwest in order to would be in question. reduce the dependence of the United States on imports, The Coal Creek prospect is located in the north . particularly for materials that are critical to the Nation's westernmost portion of the Talkeetna Mountains, AK economy and strategic capabilities. The United States (fig. 1). Approximately 5 million st of geologically inferred currently imports 75 pct of the tin consumed each year; reserves grading 0.2 pct Sn with silver credits of 0.2 tr the other 25 pct is derived from recycled scrap, solder, oz/st have been delineated by drilling. brass and bronze, and secondary tin-bearing materials (1).3 This report describes the response of Coal Creek ore To guarantee the availability of tin during national samples to different concentration apparatus. Bench-scale emergencies, the Department of Defense maintains a and locked-cycle tests were used to develop a preferred stockpile of 190,000 mt (209,400 st) of tin metal, the flowsheet,