Siberian Federal University, Krasnoyarsk, Russia:

A. M. Sazonov, Professor, Doctor of Geologo-Mineralogical Sciences, sazonov_am@mail.ru
E. A. Zvyagina, Professor, Candidate of Geologo-Mineralogical Sciences
S. A. Silyanov, Engineer

Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Russia:
D. E. Babenkov, Assistant

Subsoil users take practical interest in tailings piles of gold mines. The composition the Olimpiada processing plant tailings was tested in order to determine feasibility of secondary gold recovery. Mineral associations of oxidized ore, primary ore and tailings are described. It is found that both ore and tailings have analogous qualitative composition of minerals. Supergene minerals of iron, arsenic, antimony and tungsten are widely spread over tailings ponds. Gold content is lower in tailings than in ore by an order of magnitude. Native gold is detected in the form of free particles in classes -0.07+0.045 and -0.045+0 mm after additional milling of tailings. Splintered grains of gold-bearing minerals—aurostibite and johnasonite—are also found in coarser size grades of tailings without pre-milling. As compared with ore, tailings contain mobile gold (water-soluble, adsorbed and ferri-form) of about 15–20%. It is recommended to carry out re-extraction of gold from tailings after pre-milling down to size grade -0.071 mm at the content up to 90%. It is possible that the precious metal accumulates in the water solution of the tailings ponds with time; for this reason, it is advised to undertake monitoring of gold content in the liquid phase of tailings ponds and to find efficient technologies of gold recovery. Images in Figs. 1 and 2 and mineral diagnostics accomplished in the mode of back-scattered electrons on the scanning electron microscope Hitachi S-3400N with the energy dispersion spectrometer Bruker XFlash 5010 by the Assistant–Operator S. S. Ilienok, Geoecology and Geochemistry Chair, Tomsk Polytechnic University.
The study was supported in the framework of the state contract with the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, Project No. 5.2352.2017/RSN.

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