Tailings are a Reliable Source of Mineral Reserves (Kazakhstan)

Kazakhstan, until recently, in the production of copper was among the top ten countries in the world. However, as the reserves of traditional ores are exhausted, the volume of copper produced has noticeably decreased. Currently, one of the reliable sources for the development of the resource base of processing enterprises is the tailings of the processing plants, which can be considered as technogenic deposits. According to a forecast, more than 1.5 billion tons of reserves of technogenic mineral raw materials are concentrated in the tails of only the Jeskazgan and Balkhash enrichment factories, when the content of the main component of ores, for example, copper is of the order of 0.1–0.3%, the total reserves of metals may be more than three million tons. The primary metals associated in tailings composition are (1) copper, lead and zinc; (2) gold and silver; (3) rare and scattered elements Zr, Se, Y and Yb. The content of Ni, Co, Mo, Bi, Sb, Be in tailings is of interest. According to the completed research works, results were obtained that ensure technological research related to the practical development of tailings as technogenic ore raw materials. The cost of processing tailings is usually 2–3 times less than the processing of natural raw materials. In the context of a growing shortage of raw materials, the stocked tailings of the processing plants can be an essential source of mineral resources replenishment.