Lead-zinc ore refers to minerals rich in metallic elements lead and zinc. Lead and zinc have a common source of ore-forming materials and very similar geochemical behaviors, as well as similar electronic structures and properties, so they are closely associated in primary deposits.
The main types of lead-zinc ore are sulfide ores, while oxide ores are relatively rare. The primary minerals composing sulfide lead-zinc ores are galena, sphalerite, or marmatite; while those of oxide lead-zinc ores are cerussite, anglesite, and smithsonite. Gangue minerals mainly include calcite, quartz, dolomite, sericite, fluorite, and barite. Lead-zinc ores are often associated with elements such as cadmium, germanium, thallium, indium, gallium, gold, and silver.
Lead-zinc ore generally needs to be enriched into concentrates before use. The mineral processing method varies depending on the type of lead-zinc ore. In general, flotation is commonly used for sulfide ores, while flotation or a combination of gravity separation and flotation is used for oxide ores. For lead-zinc ores containing multiple metals, combined mineral processing methods such as magnetic separation-flotation, gravity separation-flotation, and gravity separation-magnetic separation-flotation are often employed.
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