The strategic importance of tantalum and its scarcity in Europe makes its recovery from low grade deposits and tailings interesting. In Penouta, the contents of Ta and Sn in old tailings from an Sn mine are of economic interest. Due to the relatively low grade of Ta of around 100 ppm, a detailed study of the mineralogy and liberation conditions is necessary. In this study, the mineralogy and the liberation characteristics of Sn and Ta ores of the Penouta tailings were investigated and compared with the current leucogranite outcropping ores. The characterization was conducted through X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and electron microprobe. In addition, automated mineralogy techniques were used to determine the mineral associations and liberation characteristics of ore minerals. The grade of the leucogranite outcropping was found to be about 80 ppm for Ta and 400 ppm for Sn, and in the tailings used for the liberation study, the concentrations of Ta and Sn were about 100 ppm Ta and 500 ppm Sn, respectively. In both, the leucogranite outcropping and tailings, the major minerals found were quartz, albite, K-feldspar, and white mica. Ore minerals identified were columbite-group minerals (CGM), microlite, and cassiterite. The majority of CGM examined were associated with cassiterite, quartz, and muscovite particle compositions and cassiterite was mainly associated with CGM, quartz, and muscovite. The liberation size was 180 µm for CGM.

中文翻译：

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西班牙西北部Penouta的Ta-Sn矿石的解放特征

钽的战略重要性及其在欧洲的稀缺性使其从低品位矿床和尾矿中的回收变得有趣。在Penouta，锡矿中旧尾矿中Ta和Sn的含量具有经济意义。由于Ta的相对较低的含量约为100 ppm，因此有必要对矿物学和释放条件进行详细研究。在这项研究中，对Penouta尾矿中Sn和Ta矿石的矿物学和释放特征进行了研究，并将其与目前的白云石露头矿石进行了比较。通过X射线衍射，扫描电子显微镜和电子显微探针进行表征。另外，使用自动矿物学技术确定矿石的矿物组成和释放特征。发现白云母露头的品位对于Ta约为80 ppm，对于Sn约为400 ppm，在用于释放研究的尾矿中，Ta和Sn的浓度分别约为100 ppm Ta和500 ppm Sn。在白云石露头和尾矿中，发现的主要矿物是石英，钠长石，钾长石和白云母。确定的矿石矿物为mineral钴族矿物（CGM），微晶石和锡石。检查的大多数CGM与锡石，石英和白云母颗粒成分有关，而锡石主要与CGM，石英和白云母有关。CGM的释放尺寸为180μm。白云母露头和尾矿，发现的主要矿物是石英，钠长石，钾长石和白云母。确定的矿石矿物为mineral钴族矿物（CGM），微晶石和锡石。检查的大多数CGM与锡石，石英和白云母颗粒成分有关，而锡石主要与CGM，石英和白云母有关。CGM的释放尺寸为180μm。白云母露头和尾矿，发现的主要矿物是石英，钠长石，钾长石和白云母。确定的矿石矿物是co钴族矿物（CGM），微晶石和锡石。检查的大多数CGM与锡石，石英和白云母颗粒成分有关，而锡石主要与CGM，石英和白云母有关。CGM的释放尺寸为180μm。