Chemical and Mineralogical Characterization of a Cuprite–Miargyrite Ore and Proposal of Elimination of Semimetals by Alkaline Bath

Complex sulfides such as pyrargyrite and miargyrite contain important concentrations of silver. However, the presence of semimetals in its structure hinders recovery by traditional methods. The present study shows the characterization of a cuprite mineral with miargyrite inclusions, with the purpose of proposing the oxidation and elimination of the antimony contained in the sulfosalt by means of an alkaline bath. The chemical characterization of the mineral sample reported the presence of Cu (58.6% Wt), Ag (4.4% Wt), Sb (3.8% Wt), As (1.1% Wt), and Zn (0.2% Wt). The composition of the majority species was identified by the X-ray Diffraction (XRD) technique, whereby it was confirmed that ore matrix corresponds to Cu2O [96-900-5770] and AgSbS2 [96-900-2734]. Both species were identified using the Polarizing Light Microscopy (PLM) technique, and the elemental relation presented in the mapping was obtained by Scanning Electron Microscopy-Dispersive Energy Analysis (SEM-EDS). Both the metallic content and the trace species were corroborated by the X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technique.