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    Finding solutions to the world's pending critical minerals supply crisis: developing new geochemical analytical methods and evaluating the potential for Te and Bi extraction from existing Au mines

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    Name:
    Spaleta_K_2022.pdf
    Embargo:
    2024-12-19
    Size:
    21.61Mb
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    Author
    Spaleta, Karen Joy
    Chair
    Newberry, Rainer J.
    Hayes, Sarah M.
    Committee
    Keskinen, Mary J.
    Piatak, Nadine M.
    Trainor, Thomas P.
    Keyword
    Bismuth ores
    Bismuth mines and mining
    Tellurium ores
    Tellurium
    Bismuth
    Delta Junction
    Montana
    Gold
    Gold ores
    Pogo Gold Mine
    Golden Sunlight Mines, Inc.
    X-ray spectroscopy
    Industrial minerals
    Industrial minerals industry
    Strategic materials
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    Metadata
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    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/11122/13130
    Abstract
    Bismuth (Bi) and tellurium (Te) are technologically critical elements (TCEs), also known as critical minerals, primarily recovered as byproducts in the extraction of lead (Pb) and copper (Cu), respectively. Global demand for Bi and Te is expected to rise signicantly in the coming decades as energy production becomes carbon neutral. In order to meet this demand, alternative sources of Bi and Te must be identifed. Bismuth and Te are commonly enriched in granitoid-related gold (Au) deposits and epithermal Au-Ag-Te deposits but are not presently recovered. Identifying which Bi and Te minerals are present throughout the Au extraction process is essential to determining where these elements might be recovered and in what quantities. Concurrent with the need to identify potential sources of TCEs is the need to validate advancements in analytical geochemical methods. Energy Dispersive Spectrometry (EDS) methods have become a go-to mineralogical identication tool in the mineral exploration and mining industries due to their rapid automated analysis. However, little cross-validation has been done to verify the results and determine the limitations of these tools. Here I present the results of three studies: 1) an EDS bulk mineralogy phase mapping method validation study on Au and Cu mill processing samples; 2) a detailed elemental composition and mineralogical analysis of samples from the Pogo Mine Mill (Interior Alaska, USA) identifying potential annual byproduct recovery of 13.5 and 7.5 metric tonnes of Bi and Te, respectively; and 3) a detailed elemental composition and mineralogical analysis of mill samples from the Golden Sunlight Mine Mill (Whitehall, Montana, USA) identifying Te primarily hosted in pyrite. Using this approach for similar metallurgical studies at other Au mines with known signicant Bi and Te could yield additional targets for recovery and provide a framework for identifying other potential TCEs/critical minerals in other deposits.
    Description
    Dissertation (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2022
    Table of Contents
    Chapter 1: Introduction -- Chapter 2: To COMPASS minerals but by help of devils: evaluating the utility of principal component analysis on EDS x-ray maps to determine bulk mineralogy -- Chapter 3: The Bi Te of Au: A geometallurgical assessment of Bi and Te deportment in the mill of the Pogo Au deposit, Alaska, USA -- Chapter 4: A geometallurgical assessment of Te in the Golden Sunlight Mill, Montana, USA -- Chapter 5: Conclusions.
    Date
    2022-12
    Type
    Dissertation
    Collections
    Geosciences

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