To enhance comprehensively recovery efficiency of zirconium resources from polymetallic deposits, and support the development of clean energy, a systematic analysis was conducted on the raw ore, zircon concentrate, tailings, and hydrometallurgical products at different stages from an alkaline granite porphyry-type polymetallic deposit in Inner Mongolia. Multi-techniques, including optical microscopy, SEM-EDS, XRD, and AMICS was used to systematically reveal the occurrence forms and liberation characteristics of zirconium throughout the entire beneficiation and metallurgical process. The research results show that zirconium mainly occurs as independent zircon in the raw ore and processing products, with minor amounts occurring in the form of isomorphic, substituting for Th4+ and U4+ ions and dispersing in carrier minerals such as thorite, pyrochlore, and monazite. Zircon is progressively enriched and liberated during beneficiation, although fine-grained zircon particles are still lost in gravity tailings due to encapsulation or intergrowth. During hydrometallurgical treatment, zircon is converted into Zr compounds via alkali fusion, but some particles remain incompletely reacted or are encapsulated by newly formed siliceous materials, leading to residual zirconium in the acid-leaching residue, either as zircon or zirconium-bearing siliceous compounds. Based on these findings, an improved process of "stage grinding-stage seperation optimization dissolution-enhanced alkali fusion pretreatment" is proposed, providing mineralogical support for optimizing the ore beneficiation and metallurgical process.
| 科 Family | 属数 Number of genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) | 属 Genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 鹅膏菌科Amanitaceae | 2 | 11 | 5.26 | 鹅膏菌属 Amanita | 10 | 4.78 |
| 小菇科 Mycenaceae | 2 | 12 | 5.74 | 丝盖伞属 Inocybe | 5 | 2.39 |
| 多孔菌科 Polyporaceae | 8 | 14 | 6.70 | 蜡蘑属 Laccaria | 5 | 2.39 |
| 红菇科 Russulaceae | 3 | 23 | 11.00 | 小皮伞属 Marasmius | 6 | 2.87 |
| 小菇属 Mycena | 11 | 5.26 | ||||
| 光柄菇属 Pluteus | 5 | 2.39 | ||||
| 红菇属 Russula | 17 | 8.13 | ||||
| 栓菌属 Trametes | 5 | 2.39 |