Figure 5 – Horizontal distribution of iron within the Gelado tailings dam At depth, along the east–west section, it is possible to observe that iron occurrence is very similar to the horizontal distribution (Figure 6). Figure 6 – Vertical distribution of iron within the Gelado tailings dam 3.4 Occurrence of silica (SiO₂) and phosphorus (P) At the Gelado dam, the SiO₂ component occurs at an average grade of 1.97%, inversely to Fe—that is, the higher the Fe grade, the lower the SiO₂ grade. Using the SiO₂/Fe ratio, it can be seen that in the high-Fe areas this ratio ranges from 1/64 to 1/66, increasing to 1/22 and finally 1/15. This behavior is related to the density and particle size of Fe, which have average values of 2.6 g/cm³ and 0.075 mm, respectively, and of SiO₂, with 2.0 g/cm³ and 10 to 100 nm, respectively (Figure 7). With respect to the phosphorus contaminant, which occurs at an average grade of 0.06%, when P reaches 0.06% the Fe grade is low, with values on the order of 61%. For Fe grades close to 65%, P grades remain with little variability (Figure 8). Fe Density: 2,5 – 2,7 g/cm 3 Size: 0,075 mm
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