Purpose is prediction of the prospective areas within the Syrymbet deposit basing on the systematization and complementing of the ore-controlling factors of ore localization and predictive-prospecting criteria. Methods. The methodology of carrying out the research in terms of the indicated problem involves complex application of empiric, theoretical, and logical techniques of a general-purpose method of scientific knowledge. To model the ore bodies and distribution of ore content in them in the 3D format, the computer modelling (GIS-Micromine) methods were used; 2D modelling of a temperature field of the ore-bearing Syrymbet mass involved methods of mathematical modelling (Maple 10). The main conclusions were drawn by means of analysis and synthesis of the results obtained by the indicated methods. Findings.. The ore-controlling factors of the localization of rare metal ores were systematized and complemented by synthesizing the results of the analysis of 3D models of the deposit under consideration with the visualization of ore component contents within the ore bodies and their 2D sections in terms of the survey profiles where spatial distribution of tin content in the vertical section of this deposit was obtained. The factors were also updated by analyzing the thermodynamic conditions of the formation of ore stockworks where temperature conditions of the enclosing media in the area of ore formation were considered along with the intervals of the ore deposition temperatures. Originality. The results of scientific studies (computer and mathematical modelling) based on the empiric geological data helped solve not only the problems of ore formation theory but also the practical tasks concerning the improvement of methods for predicting the prospective areas within the deposit. Practical implications. The methodology of scientific study dealing with systematization of ore-controlling factors can be also used for other endogenous ore objects.

Rare earth elements deposited in ion-adsorption clay-type deposits in Northern Kazakhstan were recognised using mineralogical and geochemical methods. The diversity and mineralogical properties of the Shok-Karagay deposit and Syrymbet ore fields under investigation in this study are closely related to the process of the formation of the deposits as well as the deposits’ architecture. A combination of mineralogical research and digital technology (GIS) was used to characterise the deposits. Rare earth elements from the cerium series were found in the following quantities: La (in ppm), 43–200; Ce, 57–206; Sm, 100–300; Eu, 22–100. Yttrium-series elements were found in the following quantities: Y, 31–106; Gd, 100–200; Tb, 100–200; Dy, 0–300; Ho, 0–20; Er, 0–364; Tm, 0.28–0.85; Yb, 2.2–39; Lu, 0–200. The wireframe and block models indicated that the bodies’ forms were 1800 m wide, 3500 m long, and 20–40 m thick. The major REE group minerals in both bodies were monazite and xenotime, whereas the minor minerals included yttrium parisite, silicorabdophanite, thorite, and orangite; moreover, ilmenite and titanomagnetite were found. The 3D models that were constructed indicated that the mineralogy and geochemistry of the ore bodies played a determining role in the deposits’ architecture.

This paper presents a comparative determination of rare earth elements (REEs) in sandstone-type uranium ore samples from Kazakhstan using a proposed rapid ICP-MS method following microwave digestion in a MARS 6 system with a mixed acid solution of HNO₃, HCl, and HF. To validate the rapid REE determination method, comparative measurements were performed using a certified uranium ore reference material provided by Ore Research & Exploration, representing sandstone-hosted uranium mineralization from a Tanzanian deposit (OREAS 120). Fractionation patterns of chondrite-normalized REEs in uranium ores from Kazakhstan were evaluated. Comparative data on REE distribution in sandstone- and magmatic-type uranium deposits from Australia and Tanzania are presented. Uranium ores of magmatic- and sandstone-hosted types exhibit distinct REE distribution patterns, reflecting differences in the nature of ore-forming processes. This study provides chondrite-normalized REE distribution profiles for major uranium deposit types from three countries, which are subsequently used to assess uranium ore paragenesis through simple linear regression analysis. This study is intended as an applied comparative synthesis of REE fractionation patterns in genetically contrasting uranium deposits, with particular relevance to deposit classification.

Comprehensive mineralogical and technological investigations of tin-bearing weathering crusts from the Syrymbet deposit (Northern Kazakhstan), characterized by low tin grades and a high degree of mineral dispersion, are presented. The particle-size distribution, mineralogical composition, chemical composition, and the distribution of tin among size fractions and processing products were studied. The results show that the majority of tin is associated with the fine-grained clay fraction, which contains up to 70%–74% of the total metal inventory. Conventional hydrocycloning and gravity concentration methods were found to be ineffective due to the fine dissemination and encapsulation of tin mineralization, with more than 99% of the tin reporting to gravity separation tailings. In the untreated material, tin mineralization is predominantly represented by cassiterite, as confirmed by electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis. Thermal activation at 450 °C under oxygen-free conditions was shown to induce profound transformation of the original cassiterite mineralization. Cassiterite was not detected in the thermally activated products; instead, newly formed multiphase aggregates containing tin, bismuth, iron, silicon, aluminum, carbon, and oxygen were identified. These aggregates exhibit characteristic film-globular morphologies ranging in size from 1–3 to 100–200 μm. As a result of thermal treatment, tin concentrations in the thermal products increased to 1500–1864 g/t, corresponding to ore-grade levels. The obtained results demonstrate the potential of thermal activation as an effective approach for the utilization of previously low-grade tin-bearing weathering crusts and for expanding the tin mineral resource base of Kazakhstan.

New+Geology +https://doi.org/10.33271/nvngu/2023-5 +/jdownloads/pdf/2023/5/05_2023_contents-en-GB.pdf

Complex Sn-W ores require size-resolved characterization because metal grade and target-mineral liberation may respond differently to comminution. A composite designated Comp 1 Sulphide from the Syrymbet deposit, Kazakhstan, was stage-ground to a reported P80 of 127 µm and divided into +150, −150/+75, −75/+20, and −20 µm fractions. Size-by-assay chemistry was integrated with qualitative X-ray diffraction, QEMSCAN particle mineral analysis and specific mineral search, SEM-BSE/EDS, and electron-probe microanalysis. The −75/+20 µm fraction contained the highest Sn and W grades, 0.96 and 0.08 wt.%, and the highest modal abundances of cassiterite and W minerals, 1.18 and 0.21 wt.%. Its free plus liberated proportions were 76.0% for cassiterite and 97.1% for W minerals. The −20 µm fraction showed higher cassiterite liberation, 82.7%, but lower Sn and W grades, 0.56 and 0.04 wt.%, as micas, chlorite, and clays increased to 54.3 wt.%. Cassiterite hosted 95.5%–98.1% of Sn. A theoretical 20–150 µm product represented 52.6% of feed mass and contained 61.7% of Sn and 65.7% of W, but As was enriched by a factor of 1.28. The results provide an internally reconciled, size-resolved process-mineralogy case study of a primary Sn-W polymetallic ore and indicate that size-dependent divergence between grade and liberation and concurrent As co-enrichment constrain the interpretation of size-based classification scenarios.