José Corchado-Albelo, a doctoral candidate in mining engineering, will defend their dissertation titled “Tellurium Enrichment Potential Within a Copper Concentrator’s Processing Streams.” Their advisor, Dr. Lana Alagha, is an associate professor and the associate chair for research in the mining and explosives engineering department. The dissertation abstract is provided below.

This research aims to develop a novel flowsheet for the enrichment of tellurium (Te) minerals from existing copper porphyry supply chains through the implementation of three research phases. Phase I examined the deportment of Te, copper (Cu), gold (Au), and silver (Ag) minerals in different processing streams during the froth flotation process of CP ores. Phase I revealed that over 90% of Te minerals were lost to flotation tailings, with >93% of Te minerals hosted in pyrite. Phase II involved bench-scale froth flotation studies to enrich Te minerals, utilizing various collector chemistries. Phase II tests resulted in ~ 92% recovery of Te minerals with xanthate collectors but a low enrichment ratio. Further enhancement was achieved using gravity separation prior to flotation, resulting in a ~78% Te recovery and an enrichment ratio of 13. Phase III focused on fundamental studies to optimize the collector’s chemistry to promote selective adsorption on the Te minerals’ host for enhanced recovery of tellurides in pyrite. In summary, this research has significant impacts spanning scientific knowledge and industrial applications. The project addresses the growing demand for critical minerals by offering practical approaches for recovering these commodities from unconventional sources. Methodologies developed in this study provide a fundamental basis for better and more sustainable utilization of low-grade mineral resources.

  • Patrick Nonguin
  • Cyrus Addy
  • Jose Corchado
  • Maritza albelo

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