Ultrafine particles derived from mineral processing: A case study of the Pb–Zn sulfide ore with emphasis on lead-bearing colloids

• The yield of (sub)micrometer particles of the ground ore was determined.
• Aqueous supernatant from the ore contains colloidal aggregates depleted in Si, Al, Fe.
• Colloidal PbS nanoparticles are associated with lead sulfate and thiosulfate.
• Metal sulfide colloids are more stable than the mineral aggregates.
• PbS nanoparticles can be well mobilize from ore sediments with water.

Although mining and mineral processing industry is a vast source of heavy metal pollutants, the formation and behavior of micrometer- and nanometer-sized particles and their aqueous colloids entered the environment from the technological media has received insufficient attention to date. Here, the yield and characteristics of ultrafine mineral entities produced by routine grinding of the Pb–Zn sulfide ore (Gorevskoe ore deposit, Russia) were studied using laser diffraction analysis (LDA), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and zeta potential measurement, microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, with most attention given to toxic lead species. It was revealed, in particular, that the fraction of particles less that 1 μm in the ground ore typical reaches 0.4 vol. %. The aquatic particles in supernatants were micrometer size aggregates with increased content of zinc, sulfur, calcium as compared with the bulk ore concentrations. The hydrodynamic diameter of the colloidal species decreased with time, with their zeta potentials remaining about −12 mV. The colloids produced from galena were composed of 20–50 nm PbS nanoparticles associated with lead sulfate and thiosulfate, while the surface oxidation products at precipitated galena were largely lead oxyhydroxides. The size and zeta potential of the lead-bearing colloids decreased with time down to about 100 nm and from −15 mV to −30 mV, respectively. And, conversely, lead sulfide nanoparticles were mobilized before the aggregates during redispersion of the precipitates in fresh portions of water. The potential environmental impact of the metal-bearing colloids, which is due to the large-scale production and relative stability, is discussed.