Advanced discrimination of In-bearing minerals by automated mineralogy

The identification and accurate characterization of discrete Indium minerals is usually a very cumbersome procedure due to their small grain size (typically below 10 μm) and complex mineral assemblage in massive sulfide mineralizations. A novel strategy for finding discrete In minerals and quantifying their composition was developed by using a mineral liberation analyzer (MLA) and an electron microprobe analysis (EPMA). The method was successfully applied to polymetallic massive sulfide ores with an incompletely known mineralogical composition from the Neves-Corvo deposit in Portugal. The occurrence of roquesite and sakuraiite could be systematically detected, their concentration quantified by MLA measurements, and their identity later confirmed by EPMA analyses. Based on the results obtained, an almost complete deportment of In was obtained for the six samples studied. This supports the approach taken, combining automated mineralogical data with electron microprobe analysis. A similar approach can be easily applied to other common minor and trace elements in complex base-metal sulfide ores, e.g. Se, Ge, Sb, or Ag, thus permitting targeted development of resource technologies suitable for by-product recovery.