Gold and silver mineralogy of the Liikavaara Cu-(W-Au) deposit, northern Sweden

• The Liikavaara Cu-(W-Au) deposit in northern Sweden is scheduled for production by the mining company Boliden AB in 2023. The ore will be processed in the plant of the nearby Aitik Cu-Au deposit. Copper will be the primary product and the trace metals Au andAg will be byproducts.The trace mineralogy of Liikavaara, however, differs from that of Aitik and this might have implications on the mineral processing and recovery efficiency. Gold occurs mostly as free <10μm-sized grains of native Au and electrum. Some Au is associated with native Bi, typically in <5μm Bi-melt drops. Gold grains commonly form inclusions in quartz and sulfide minerals. Silver is found in electrum, hessite and acanthite. Hessite is the most abundant Ag mineral and it is commonly intergrown with pilsenite. Similar to Au, inclusions and crack-fillings of Ag in sulfides and quartz are most prominent. The small grain size, the diverse mineralogy, the association with Bi-phases, and the occurrence as inclusions in quartz may lower the recovery of Au and Ag in Liikavaara compared to Aitik, where Au and Ag phases are mostly bound in sulfides. Hence, adaptation of the processing parameters may be necessary in order to increase recovery of Au and Ag from the Liikavaara ore.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Geologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Geology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

gold

silver

trace metals

northern sweden

Ore Geology

Malmgeologi

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