Tag Archives: recycling

Sandvik looks to transform drill bit recycling with new ‘opt-out’ program

Sandvik is introducing what it believes is an industry-first ‘opt-out’ recycling program for customers of carbide drill bits, aiming to transform the use of a material expected to run out within 40 to 100 years if consumption rates continue unabated.

Tungsten, a key component in cemented carbide, is a scarce and finite material. Making tools from recycled carbide requires 70% less energy and emits 64% less CO2. It also reduces nitrous oxide emissions, according to the OEM.

Sandvik aims to collect 90% of its own used bits by 2025, while other manufacturers’ used bits can also be recycled within the scope of the new initiative.

Jens Holmberg, President of Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions’ Rock Tools division, said: “Our breakthrough opt-out program supports our customers’ drive to mine more sustainably and demonstrates our commitment to delivering on Sandvik’s ambitious sustainability goals to halve CO2 emissions by 2030. We are determined to lead the industry into a new era, fully committed to embed circularity across an essential component of mining.”

The recycling of drill bits is an important part of making the mining industry more sustainable, yet, historically, carbide recycling has faced several challenges. Collection of used products has been limited while carbide extraction has been cumbersome, inefficient and involved hazardous ways of working, Sandvik says. The zinc recycling process has not returned the same quality of carbide performance, either.

Sandvik says it is now able to help customers overcome these challenges through its new opt-out program.

“Customer response has been overwhelmingly positive,” Holmberg said. “We need to transition our industry at an unprecedented speed. Our recycling program is one of many new initiatives you will see from Sandvik’s Rock Tools division moving forward. We are an industry leading supplier in mining globally, and we need to do everything in our power to support and push the industry forward.”

To further underline the importance of cemented carbide recycling, Sandvik is offering its customers an industry-first extraction support. This will make it easier, faster and safer to recycle dull drill bits with a new patent-pending method that will reduce emissions from transportation by 93%, it says.

BQE Water sorts SART plant for China’s Shandong Zhongkuang Group

BQE Water says it has been awarded its first contract to deliver a sulphidisation, acidification, recycling and thickening (SART) plant in China.

The contract, at a gold metallurgical facility owned and operated by Shandong Zhongkuang Group Co in eastern China, was awarded following the positive outcome of the engineering feasibility study and on-site testing completed by BQE Water earlier in the year, the company said.

The contract consists of two project phases. In the first phase, BQE Water will provide all aspects of the plant design, engineering support during procurement and construction, and plant commissioning, it said. This initial phase is to be completed within the next 12 months.

In the second phase, BQE Water will provide ongoing operations support services for a period of five years and will be paid a quarterly service fee based on plant performance.

David Kratochvil, President & CEO of BQE Water, said: “We are very excited about this project which enables BQE Water to demonstrate our leadership in SART technology in China and to execute the project using a business model that generates recurring revenues from technological know-how and services without the need for capital investment.

“I would also like to acknowledge the positive role that funding and advisory services from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) has played in allowing us to accelerate research in clean Canadian technologies such as SART in China.”

Songlin Ye, Vice President for Asia at BQE Water, said: “The success of our operations at the Guoda gold smelter some 20 km away from the Zhongkuang site and our partnership with MWT Water Treatment Project Limited Co, were both instrumental in establishing the commercial framework for this project.

“SART implementation is the first step in the bigger picture of modernising cyanide management and waste treatment at the Zhongkuang metallurgical processing facility. The success of SART may open new opportunities to help us develop a long-term relationship with Zhongkuang.”

BQE Water calls itself a global leader in the SART process which enables cyanide consumed by base metals to be recovered and recycled, lowering the cost of gold extraction and reducing the environmental footprint of gold mining projects. The company also provides solutions to manage the by-products of cyanidation and cyanide destruction such as ammonia, nitrite and thiocyanate removal.