Mineralogical Assessment of Ashashire Gold Ore to Investigate Its Beneficiation Potential by Flotation Method, In Benshangul Gumuz Western Ethiopia
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Date
2023-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Primary and placer gold deposits are found in the Ashashire area, which is an orogenic gold prospect area. These resources are a source of income for both companies and artisanal gold miners. It is located in the Western Greenstone belt of the Precambrian volcano-sedimentary belt, at Kurmuk Woreda, in the western Ethiopian region of Benshangul Gumuz. The region is near to the Sudanese border and is referred to as Ashashire informally. Gold is the most valuable commodity in the world. Due to the significant study that experts from all around the world have done on the history of gold, namely its birth. Ethiopia is a developing country, but it has not yet reached its full potential. Some claims and exploratory activities claim that Ethiopia is rich in precious metals, including gold, which are processed using incredibly archaic methods in many different regions of the country. As a result, the main objective of this research project is to investigate the mineral makeup of Ashashire gold ore in order to assess its potential for flotation-based beneficiation. The geochemistry was validated by both inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and fire assay. The petrographic analysis includes a description of the host rock and ore deposit. The host rock mostly consists of chlorite, carbonate, sericite, and quartz, with minor amounts of greenschist to amphibolite facies metamorphic minerals. Pyrite, pyrrhotite, magnetite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, galena, and gold are found in the ore after petrographic investigation. According to ore microscopic and geochemical study, gold mineralization has strong spatial connections with alteration traits as carbonitization, silicification, sulfidation, and sercitization. The concentration of gold increases with host rocks that have been sericitized, carbonitized, silicified, and sulfurized. According to the ore geochemical data, the gold deposit contains up to 10.3ppm and is contained in chlorite-sericite-carbonate schist in carbonate-quartz veins. This gold deposit's target region is the Ashashire region. It is possible that gold is precipitated from hydrothermal solutions due to the intense wall rock alteration and the strong relationship between carbonate-quartz veins and gold. Every experimental mineralogical examination conducted by organizations and individuals in Ashashire ore mineralogy produces comparable results. It is not economically feasible to concentrate Ashashire gold for the reported gangue minerals using the flotation method. Due to the possibility of large recovery losses and increased chemical reagent consumption from such gangues. Then, prospective approaches for recovering gold from the Ashashire gold deposit include combining processing technologies like gravity separation, flotation processes, and leaching.
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Keywords
flotation method, Ashashire gold, Mineralogical assessment, Benshangul Gumuz western Ethiopia.