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Volume 15
Issue 12
10.3390/min15121287
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Article

Preliminary Study of Geochemical, Mineralogical and Magnetic Susceptibility Properties of Flotation Tailings from the Pb-Zn-Cu-Ag Rudnik Mine, Serbia

by
Stefan Petrović
1,*,
Nenad Nikolić
2,
Jovica Stojanović
3,
Vesna Cvetkov
1,
Vladimir Simić
1,
Jovana Malbašić
1,
Ljiljana Obrenović
4 and
Dragana Životić
1,*
1
University of Belgrade, Faculty of Mining and Geology, Đušina 7, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
2
University of Belgrade, Institute for Multidisciplinary Research, Kneza Višeslava 1, 11030 Belgrade, Serbia
3
Institute for Technology of Nuclear and Other Mineral Raw Materials, Bulevar Franš d’Eperea 86, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
4
Rudnik and Flotation Rudnik doo, Miše Mihajlovića 2, 32313 Rudnik, Serbia
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Minerals 2025, 15(12), 1287; https://doi.org/10.3390/min15121287 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 13 October 2025 / Revised: 2 December 2025 / Accepted: 5 December 2025 / Published: 7 December 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Waste Valorization: Recycling and Recovery of Critical and Strategic Metals)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Samples of flotation tailings generated during the exploitation and processing of Zn–Pb–Cu–Ag ore from the Rudnik mine (Serbia) were investigated for their mineralogical, geochemical, and magnetic susceptibility properties. The flotation tailings consist of a complex mineral assemblage, including silicates, carbonates, sulfides, phosphates, sulfates, oxides, hydroxides, and native elements. Quartz, calcite, and orthoclase dominate the coarse fraction (>400 µm), accompanied by epidote, Ca-garnet, and Ca-clinopyroxene. Sulfide minerals are concentrated in finer fractions (<400 µm), with pyrite and arsenopyrite being the most abundant, followed by pyrrhotite, sphalerite, galena, and chalcopyrite. These sulfides occur as dispersed grains within a silicate–carbonate matrix. Post-depositional oxidative alteration is moderately developed, with pyrite replaced by hematite, galena by cerussite, and chalcopyrite by malachite. Geochemical analyses reveal that SiO2 (avg. 38.98 wt%), Fe2O3 (avg. 23.68 wt%), Al2O3 (avg. 8.95 wt%), CaO (avg. 9.03 wt%) and MgO (avg. 1.50 wt%) dominate the composition. Economically significant metals include Zn (avg. 0.47 wt%), Pb (avg. 0.20 wt%), Cu (avg. 0.11 wt%), Ag (max. 19 µg/g), and Bi (max. 130 µg/g). Mass magnetic susceptibility shows a strong correlation with S (r = 0.92), Co (r = 0.90), and Bi (r = 0.87); moderate correlation with Fe2O3, Al2O3, and As; and negative correlation with Mn, TiO2, Zn, and Pb. The ferromagnetic phase most likely originates from pyrrhotite, as well as hematite formed during pyrite alteration and goethite.
Keywords: flotation tailings; Rudnik mine; mineralogy; geochemistry; magnetic susceptibility flotation tailings; Rudnik mine; mineralogy; geochemistry; magnetic susceptibility

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MDPI and ACS Style

Petrović, S.; Nikolić, N.; Stojanović, J.; Cvetkov, V.; Simić, V.; Malbašić, J.; Obrenović, L.; Životić, D. Preliminary Study of Geochemical, Mineralogical and Magnetic Susceptibility Properties of Flotation Tailings from the Pb-Zn-Cu-Ag Rudnik Mine, Serbia. Minerals 2025, 15, 1287. https://doi.org/10.3390/min15121287

AMA Style

Petrović S, Nikolić N, Stojanović J, Cvetkov V, Simić V, Malbašić J, Obrenović L, Životić D. Preliminary Study of Geochemical, Mineralogical and Magnetic Susceptibility Properties of Flotation Tailings from the Pb-Zn-Cu-Ag Rudnik Mine, Serbia. Minerals. 2025; 15(12):1287. https://doi.org/10.3390/min15121287

Chicago/Turabian Style

Petrović, Stefan, Nenad Nikolić, Jovica Stojanović, Vesna Cvetkov, Vladimir Simić, Jovana Malbašić, Ljiljana Obrenović, and Dragana Životić. 2025. "Preliminary Study of Geochemical, Mineralogical and Magnetic Susceptibility Properties of Flotation Tailings from the Pb-Zn-Cu-Ag Rudnik Mine, Serbia" Minerals 15, no. 12: 1287. https://doi.org/10.3390/min15121287

APA Style

Petrović, S., Nikolić, N., Stojanović, J., Cvetkov, V., Simić, V., Malbašić, J., Obrenović, L., & Životić, D. (2025). Preliminary Study of Geochemical, Mineralogical and Magnetic Susceptibility Properties of Flotation Tailings from the Pb-Zn-Cu-Ag Rudnik Mine, Serbia. Minerals, 15(12), 1287. https://doi.org/10.3390/min15121287

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