Three Methods For Lead-Zinc Tailings Treatment

2022-09-16

The discharge of lead-zinc tailings increases year by year, which inevitably brings a series of problems and further stimulates the development of the treatment and comprehensive utilization of lead-zinc tailings. The common treatment methods of lead-zinc tailings mainly include tailings reconcentration recovery, tailings dry discharge, goaf backfilling, and production of building materials.

1. Dry discharge of lead-zinc tailings

The dehydration process of hydrocyclone + dehydration screen + filter press is usually used in dry discharge of lead-zinc tailings. The tailings are pumped into a hydrocyclone. The underflow of the cyclone is self-flowing to the dehydration screen. The finished product is carried out of the workshop by a belt for storage, and the filtrate is transported to the thickener by the pump. The cyclone overflow flows to the thickener, and after concentration, the filter cake is pressed into the filter press by the feed pump of the filter press and is transported out of the workshop with the belt for storage. The filtrate from the filter press and the thickening machine overflow flow to the return pool, and then be sent back to the concentrator for use by the pump after clarification.

2. Lead-zinc mine tailings goaf backfilling

Filling a mined-out area with tailings is one of the effective ways to utilize lead-zinc tailings directly. It is of great environmental and economic significance to backfill the goaf by the whole tailings cemented filling technology or the high water consolidated full tailings filling technology. As a kind of better backfill, tailings can avoid the cost of collecting, crushing, and transporting the backfill gravel. For the high-value lead-zinc ore body, tailings can improve the pillar mining conditions and reduce dilution loss. Usually, an appropriate amount of cement or other cementing material is added to the backfill to condense loose tailings into a whole with certain strength.

3. Lead-zinc tailings produce building materials

The recovery of valuable elements from tailings can only realize the comprehensive recovery of a small number of valuable elements in tailings, but can not greatly reduce the amount of tailings. The lead-zinc tailings can be considered building materials. The composition of lead-zinc tailings is similar to raw cement material, which can partially replace clay, iron powder and aluminum raw materials to be mixed into cement ingredients. And the trace elements contained in the tailings have good mineralization and melting effect on the calcination of raw materials, which can make the flammability of raw materials better. The particle size of lead-zinc tailings is fine, which can reduce the power consumption of cement grinding and save energy.