Every productive process, whether organic or inorganic, generates large quantities of tailings, which are disposed in large and costly storage units; such as the mining and metals industry, these are: dams, sedimentation ponds or simple piles. However, they are no longer looked as only dumps, but as sources of raw material, that is, new deposits and mines. In the case of cassiterite mining in Pitinga-AM, which has lasted for more than 40 years, it is well known that these rocks are not only rich in tin, niobium and tantalum, but also in rare earth elements (REE), rubidium, uranium, among others. In this context, we aim to evaluate the potential metallurgical source of Pitinga-AM cassiteritic waste by means of a chemical (XRF) and mineralogical characterization (XRD), and FTIR. The results showed that the wastes present minerals bearing rare earth elements and/or uranium, such as xenotime. It was detected contents ranging from 0.1% to 1.35% of REE, where the most present: Y, Yb and Ce. The levels of uranium were found ranging from 0.22% to 0.61% where these values are above the crustal mean. These results reveal the potential of these wastes as sources of both REE and U, which means a good prospect for investment and technological innovation in the Amazon region in respect of the implantation of metallurgical extraction processes.
|
