Profitable opportunities in mining tailings : high returns from silver, zinc and others

• Autor: Instituto Geológico Minero y Metalúrgico
• Formato: otro
• Fecha de Publicación: 2025
• Institución: Instituto Geológico, Minero y Metalúrgico
• Repositorio: INGEMMET-Institucional
• Lenguaje: inglés
• OAI Identifier: oai:repositorio.ingemmet.gob.pe:20.500.12544/5154
• Enlace del recurso: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12544/5154
• Nivel de acceso: acceso abierto
• Materia: Minería; Relaves mineros; http://purl.org/pe-repo/ocde/ford#1.05.01

Tailings from the Former Mining Unit (FMU) Halcón: The tailings from the Former Mining Unit (FMU) Halcón, located in the Ancash region, contain metallic elements of interest with average grades of 3.14% Zn, 0.63% Cu, 1.04% Pb, 2.44 oz/t MT Ag, and 0.04 oz/t MT Au. An economic analysis estimated a net benefit of USD 3 million, factoring in operating expenses and associated penalties. Among the metals, silver (Ag) offers the greatest economic potential, with a value of USD 5.19 million, followed by zinc (Zn) at USD 4.5 million. Grade-tonnage curves indicate that approximately 68% of the tailing’s tonnage is profitable for Zn, 86% for Ag, 14% for Au, 9% for Cu, and 1% for Pb. These findings highlight the value recovery potential of the FMU Halcón tailings. Tailings from the Former Mining Unit (FMU) Cecilia: The tailings from the Former Mining Unit (FMU) Cecilia, located in the Puno region, contain economically valuable metals. The CEC3363 tailings have an average zinc grade of 2.17%, while the CEC3364 tailings contain zinc, lead, and silver with average grades of 2.46%, 1.30%, and 1.13 oz/ton, respectively. Economic analysis indicates that reprocessing the CEC3363 tailings would not be profitable. However, the CEC3364 tailings could yield a net benefit of $96,000, factoring in operational