Mineralogical Characterization of Iron Ore Tailings from the Quadrilatero Ferrifero, Brazil, by Eletronic Quantitative Mineralogy

The mineralogical characterization studies search for the best processing route, with the lowest environmental impact, aiming to improve the use of mineral resources. The electronic quantitative mineralogy (EQM) provides quickly and accurately great information about the characteristics of these materials. This work aims to characterize iron ore tailings by EQM as the main tool. It has selected seven samples of itabirite ores flotation tailings from the main mining regions of the Quadrilatero Ferrifero, Brazil. All samples were mostly composed by quartz and iron minerals, with a low presence o...