Tag Archives: tailings management

Repair, Reuse, Recycle: ERG’s critical minerals reprocessing journey

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The Musonoi River Valley in the Katanga region in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has, for some decades, been the site of land degradation resulting from inadequate and ineffective tailings and other waste management systems.

The local water system and surrounding land has been subjected to pollution from more than 83.2 Mt of legacy tailings spread over an area 11-km long and up to 2.5-km wide. Additionally, 41.1 Mt of tailings have accumulated at the Kingamyambo Tailings Dam.

Remediating and mitigating this damage is now a primary goal of Eurasian Resources Group’s Metalkol Roan Tailings Reclamation (RTR), a reprocessing facility dedicated to cleaning up the historic tailings left by previous mining operators in the Kolwezi area of the DRC. By reclaiming and reprocessing copper and cobalt tailings in the region, the company says its approach goes beyond ‘do no harm’, actively addressing a history of environmental degradation and pollution.

The legacy tailings are extracted through hydraulic mining and dredging, reprocessed and then re-deposited into a modern, closely managed and centralised tailings storage facility. This is subject to regular inspection, monitoring and reporting, supported by a dedicated Engineer of Record and an independent laboratory. Currently Metalkol RTR can produce 21,000 t/y of cobalt, which is says is sufficient for three million electric vehicle batteries, alongside around 100,000 t/y of copper, the company says.

ERG also has reprocessing operations outside of Africa, including at Kazchrome in Kazakhstan, which, it says, is the world’s largest high-carbon ferrochrome producer by chrome content.

Established in 2019, ERG Recycling – ERG’s specialised company aiming to become the largest entity to reprocess industrial waste into commercial products in Kazakhstan – has already implemented many projects including the commissioning of a new workshop that reprocesses slag, dust and other fine waste into high-quality briquettes. This program to reprocess Kazchrome’s 14.7 Mt of slag stockpiles has been expanded, now processing over 100,000 t/y of slag.

These operations have been enhanced by the development of new technology. Having completed the first trial in 2020, the Slimes 2 Tailings Reprocessing project at Donskoy GOK has the potential to enhance Kazchrome’s output of chrome concentrate by recovering 55% of the chromium oxide in chrome-oxide bearing tailings using innovative flotation technology, the company says.

In Brazil, at ERG’s integrated project, BAMIN, which produces a premium 67% Fe grade iron ore and is ramping up to become one of the country’s largest standalone iron ore exporters, the company’s transition from an upstream to a downstream tailings model ensured continued compliance with both local regulations and international standards, it said. The group continues to study additional technological enhancements to ensure the construction and operation of a world-class facility.

The environmental benefits of reprocessing projects like these are very significant for the business and critical to local communities, according to the company.

“As more attention rightly turns towards environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, it is crucial that tailings are dealt with and stored properly,” ERG said. “Aside from preventing significant issues, such as dam collapses, by reprocessing and responsibly storing these tailings, we are reducing local pollution risks more generally, increasing air quality and decreasing the likelihood of leaching toxic substances into surrounding habitats and water systems.”

Given the legacy of environmental degradation and serious consequences it poses, it is also necessary for mining companies to explore novel ways of rehabilitating the environment.

For example, ERG has been working with a team of agronomists from the University of Lubumbashi in the DRC to look into the experimental planting of trees and their growing potential at the Kingamyambo tailings dam.

Looking forward, these operations will support the sustainable development of affordable batteries and other clean energy technologies.

By producing critical raw materials, such as cobalt, without the risk and cost of needing to develop new mining projects, ERG says it can help make electric vehicles and other renewable technologies more accessible, helping facilitating the net-zero transition.

Pictured above is Metalkol RTR, ERG’s reprocessing facility in the DRC: the world’s second largest standalone cobalt producer

SNC-Lavalin to expand tailings and water management business with appointment of Trevor Sparks

Environmental, Mining people, Sustainable mining, Water management, , , , ,

SNC-Lavalin has appointed Dr Trevor Sparks as Global Vice-President of Tailings and Water Management for the company’s Mining & Metallurgy business.

Trevor is based in the UK and will lead the expansion of the company’s tailings and water management global business in the mining industry, working in collaboration with teams around the world.

Cesar Inostroza, Mining & Metallurgy Senior Vice-President, SNC-Lavalin, said: “We are excited to welcome Trevor to the team. He brings a wealth of proficiency and knowledge and will play an important role in leading and deploying our world-class expertise aimed at helping our clients solve their tailings and water challenges in a sustainable manner.”

Dr Sparks has 30 years of experience in fluid engineering, solid-liquid filtration and mineral processing, as well as project execution, sales & marketing and consultancy. This includes roles with Outotec and, most recently, Metso Outotec.

He has a recognised track record of delivering operational excellence in leading the expansion of businesses and markets, according to SNC-Lavalin. He has guided and delivered numerous international projects, working with multidisciplinary teams to achieve significant increases in business performance.

TAKRAF’s first Dry Stack Tailings system commissioned in Brazil

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The first DELKOR Dry Stack Tailings (DST) system to be supplied by TAKRAF Group in Brazil is being commissioned for one of the largest steel producers in the Americas, the company says.

The order for the key equipment for the DST system was awarded in January 2019 and was followed shortly by an order being placed for the supply of a TAKRAF stacker.

The project comprises the following equipment to process iron ore tailings:

  • Flocculant plant;
  • Coagulant plant;
  • 35 m diameter DELKOR high rate thickener;
  • 300 sq.m slurry tank with agitator;
  • Four double-stage centrifugal slurry pumps;
  • Four DELKOR overhead beam filter presses (FP OH): 2 m x 2 m plates;
  • Four compressors with tanks (process and instrument air); and
  • Four TAKRAF belt feeders.

As part of the client’s initiative to improve the sustainability of its operations, the DST system is being built to enable the filtering and stacking of tailings as the deposit area of the existing tailings dam reaches full capacity by year-end.

In addition, by removing most of the water present in the tailing slurry, enabling the material to be safely stacked, the client can benefit from a secure and environmentally friendly approach to tailings disposal.

“Not only does it obviate the risk of catastrophic tailings dam failures, but also maximises the water recovered for return to and re-use by the beneficiation plant,” the company said.

DST will be applied following beneficiation to treat the tailings generated during the iron ore concentration process by flotation. The raw tailings slurry will be first fed to the thickener where part of the water is already recovered. In the next process step, more water is recovered by the filter press to achieve a moisture level of about 14% (dry basis), thus creating a dry filter cake ready to be deposited.

DELKOR’s equipment is built to withstand harsh mining environmental conditions, with the filter presses designed as an overhead beam type suitable for the prevailing operational conditions, it said. These require, among other features, large volumes of material to be processed and easy access to the filter plates and filter cloths for maintenance.

In line with DELKOR’s holistic solutions approach, the DST system was designed as a fully-integrated dewatering process through sedimentation and filtration, with the material being tested in the lab prior to sizing the equipment.

Tiago Carvalho, TAKRAF Brazil Managing Director, said: “TAKRAF and DELKOR’s world-leading technology and expertise to offer a complete DST solution, together with our outstanding technical proposal, based on comprehensive DELKOR testing during the bid stage and collaboration with specialised partners, were undoubtedly convincing factors in the project award.

“All colleagues involved in this project should be commended for successfully bringing this important DST reference to commissioning. This project serves to reinforce TAKRAF Group as a leading global solutions provider and we look forward to successfully delivering future DST projects.”

OZ Minerals set to deploy mDetect’s ‘space particle’ tailings dam safety device

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Australian start-up, mDetect, a spin-out company from Swinburne University of Technology, is using particles from space, known as muons, to, it says, help mining companies detect weaknesses in dams that secure highly toxic mining waste by-products, making them environmentally safer.

The hazardous waste early warning system, using muon technology, will revolutionise how mining companies monitor the stability of tailings dams, thanks to mDetect’s technology and a A$1.5 million ($1.09 million) co-investment grant from the Federal Government’s Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC) Commercialisation Fund and partners to fast track its commercial production, the university says.

Swinburne University of Technology’s Vice-Chancellor Professor, Pascale Quester, said research and education into space technologies and their terrestrial applications have extraordinary potential for positive economic and social impact.

“Swinburne is focused on ensuring that the vital research we do has significant positive impact,” Quester says. “The important work of mDetect, led by Swinburne’s Professor Alan Duffy, is emblematic of Swinburne’s cutting-edge research and our ability to market innovative ideas. This is paving the way for successful research commercialisation that provides real solutions for industries.”

OZ Minerals, as a key industry partner, has been integral to the development of the technology. The miner is expected to deploy the device at its tailings dam at the Carrapateena operation in South Australia.

Myles Johnston, General Manager of OZ Minerals Carrapateena Province, said: “OZ Minerals recognises our responsibility to meaningfully contribute to regional economic and social wellbeing as stronger communities create value for all stakeholders. By ethically and responsibly exploring for and mining copper, we contribute to a low carbon future and economic wellbeing, which helps us achieve our purpose and contribute to a better future.

“We congratulate mDetect on being awarded the AMGC grant, and the team at Carrapateena is excited to be collaborating with mDetect on the development of a fully supported, flexible 3D muon monitoring system.”

Professor Duffy said: “Muons are heavier versions of electrons that are made when cosmic rays slam into atoms in Earth’s atmosphere. We have patented new detectors, that, combined with powerful artificial intelligence techniques, take an X-ray style scan through solid rock revealing different density structures.”

This patented technology can provide intelligence on the internal structures and substances of buildings, infrastructure, and subterranean and aquatic features, opening up a range of commercial opportunities for the construction and mining industries, Swinburne University says.

“Simply put, muon technology can look through rock to create underground images and detect abnormalities which will provide the early warning signs needed to prevent potential structural failures.”

mDetect will work with local manufacturing company Elgee Industries and Swinburne’s Factory of the Future to produce the muon devices at scale. Connecting these devices and turning detections into underground images will be undertaken by Swinburne’s Astronomy Data and Computing Services software development team.

Cora Gold adds SENET, CSA Global and Epoch Resources to Sanankoro DFS team

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Cora Gold Ltd has made key appointments related to the definitive feasibility study (DFS) it is carrying out on the Sanankoro gold project in southern Mali, bringing SENET, CSA Global and Epoch Resources into the study team, as well as naming Russell Bradford as Project Manager.

SENET, a DRA Global group company, has been appointed as independent project manager to oversee the critical elements of the DFS, while CSA Global, a member of the ERM group of companies, will be the geological and mining consultant, tasked with managing the updated mineral resource estimate and mining study. Epoch Resources has been appointed to oversee the tailings storage facility of the DFS.

The DFS will build upon the January 2020 scoping study, which outlined average annual production from Sanankoro of 45,632 oz.

Following positive metallurgical test work results in the second half of 2020, in addition to more recent positive drilling results, the company says it is likely it will look to focus on a conventional gravity/carbon in leach processing route at Sanankoro to allow higher recoveries.

Bert Monro, CEO of Cora Gold, said: “2021 has seen significant activity at Sanankoro with exceptional results reported from our largest ever drill campaign at the project. These results will support an updated mineral resource estimate in the coming months, which, in turn, will be used as the basis for our DFS aimed at outlining the optimum route to develop Sanankoro into a new gold mine in Mali.

“Last year’s scoping study highlighted the potential high returns for Sanankoro and fuelled our confidence in Sanankoro’s strong fundamentals, and the company looks forward to publishing the DFS in the first half of 2022.”

GroundProbe offers Brazilian customers dedicated geotechnical monitoring option

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GroundProbe has opened a dedicated Geotechnical Support Service (GSS) monitoring centre in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, to, it says, better serve its growing customer base in the country.

The centre will provide 24/7 real-time remote radar and laser monitoring services for mine slopes and tailings dams.

The centre joins GroundProbe’s two existing high-tech monitoring centres in Santiago, Chile, and Balikpapan, Indonesia, to provide support in four languages – Portuguese, Spanish, English and Bahasa.

Monitoring live stability data and reacting to alarms to ensure the maximum safety of people and communities, the centre connects remote sites with geotechnical industry experts in real time, GroundProbe says. The centres are crewed by more than 100 highly experienced engineers and radar operators with extensive radar knowledge and experience.

GroundProbe, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Orica, is widely accepted as a global leader in real-time technologies used to detect instabilities and predict when mine and dam collapses will occur.

GroundProbe CEO, David Noon, said that the company had witnessed a huge increase in demand for remote geotechnical expertise in Brazil.

“We saw it as an absolute necessity to bolster our offering and extend our support services to the region,” he said.

“The state-of-the-art centre provides the most technologically advanced solution for remote monitoring in the region and shows our level of commitment to our customers there.

“It leans on our five-and-a-half years of remote monitoring experience, our recognised systems and processes and our established resourcing model, all of which ensures the highest level of data integrity and service availability.”

GroundProbe Head of Geotechnical, Peter Saunders, explained how the service’s positive results and statistics speak for themselves.

“Together, our GSS team have detected and provided early notification to site of 1,440 slope failures, validated 3,615 alarms and managed 44,608 unwanted alarms,” Saunders said.

“GroundProbe also has the world’s largest library of wall folders. Our experts have unprecedented access to this data, gaining a unique perspective on geotechnical monitoring borne from analysing thousands of slope failures and assisting with numerous incident investigations.”

This newest monitoring centre in Belo Horizonte will provide the same services to customers, including: GSS-Remote, GroundProbe’s 24-hour remote monitoring solution; GSS-Training, its specialised SSR and laser training service; and GSS-Reporting, the company’s customised analysis and reporting service.

Metso Outotec to help Karara Mining expand tailings filtration at iron ore mine

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Metso Outotec has signed a contract with Karara Mining Limited for the design of its tailings filtration plant expansion project at its iron ore mine in Western Australia.

This agreement includes the delivery of key filtration and material handling equipment and associated services, with the typical value for an order like this is in the range of €15-20 million ($11-15 million) depending on the scope of delivery. The order has been booked in Minerals’ June quarter 2021 orders received.

Karara produces a premium, high-grade (65-68% Fe) magnetite concentrate at a design production rate of 8 Mt/y, Metso Outotec said. With this expansion, the operation will increase the current tailings filtration capacity from 30,000 t/d to over 45,000 t/d enabling safe and sustainable storage of the process mine waste, with improved utilisation and recovery of water.

Kai Rönnberg, Vice President, Minerals Sales − Asia Pacific, said: “The Karara mine represents one of the largest filtered tailings facilities in the world. We are very proud that Karara Mining Limited has chosen Metso Outotec to deliver the plant design and key equipment in this expansion project. This is a continuation of earlier delivered proprietary key process equipment and long-term on-site maintenance service agreements.”

Metso Outotec’s scope in this expansion will include the Larox® FFP3512 filter press as primary filtration equipment, material handling conveyor systems and peripheral items. Additionally, spare parts and supervisory services will be supplied to support commissioning and plant ramp-up. Delivery will take place during 2022, and the plant is expected to start production late in the December quarter of 2022.

Weir Minerals pairs Multiflo, Warman and ESCO technology in latest slurry pump

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Weir Minerals has launched the new Multiflo® Mudflo™ hydraulic submersible slurry pump, engineering the pump to, it says, tackle abrasive applications and large particle handling.

The Multiflo Mudflo pump features a hydraulically driven wet-end specifically designed to efficiently and safely reprocess and relocate tailings ponds, maintain water retention dams and manage slimes and sludge ponds.

It combines the Warman® MGS pump-end, Multiflo CB32 hydraulic cutters and ESCO® excavation teeth to provide efficient pumping of highly charged and abrasive slurries, the company claims.

Weir Minerals’ Ultrachrome® A05 chrome alloy impeller ensures high wear resistance and the specially engineered suction strainer minimises the risk of clogging by preventing large solids and debris from entering the pump. Drawing on decades of Warman pump design experience, the Multiflo Mudflo pump is capable of pumping between 150 cu.m/h and 1,200 cu.m/h, up to 82 m head.

The Multiflo CB32 hydraulic cutters feature the ESCO Ultralok® tooth system to prevent premature breakage, avoid tooth loss and protect the integral locking system to ensure the continuous operation of the pump, it says.

Engineered by the Weir Minerals dewatering pump experts in Australia, it is available for global customers from July 2021.

Cameron Murphy, Director of Dewatering Weir Minerals APAC, said: “The Multiflo brand is synonymous with high quality and long-lasting equipment. In designing the Mudflo pump, our dewatering experts drew from the very best Multiflo, Warman and ESCO technology and used advanced hydraulics to create an innovative and cost-effective new solution for mine dredging applications.”

The product was developed following close customer collaboration and a mutual commitment to safety and technical excellence, Weir Minerals said.

Geoff Way, Weir Minerals Dewatering Specialist, said: “It is not uncommon for sites to use a combination of pumps, shovels, excavators and trucks for dredging applications. When one of our long-time partners in Indonesia contacted us about developing a custom solution for the slurry build-up in their sumps, we knew we could provide a better solution. We are problem solvers. We considered our customer’s pain points and engineered a new solution to efficiently and safely manage their site processes.”

The Multiflo Mudflo pump can also be retrofitted to competitor OEM equipment, Weir Minerals says, with the quick-hitch plate attachment ensuring convenient installation and removal from hydraulic excavators.

The Multiflo Mudflo pump can be assembled on land, eliminating the safety risks associated with assembling pumps over water. Furthermore, the new hydraulic hose management system reduces the risk of hose entanglement and trip hazards, all the while providing a reliable hose bend radius to ensure smooth oil flow.

ANDRITZ ups the filtration ante with new ME2500 filter press

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ANDRITZ has introduced a new filter press, the ME2500, to complete its range of “proven” A4F and the SE series filter presses for the mining and minerals industry.

The ME2500 is the best-fit for fast processing of tailings (also with high clay content) or mining concentrates like iron, copper, lead or zinc, the company says. The new model has an hourly processing capacity of up to 450 kg/sq.m, a filtration area of up to 840 sq.m, and features chained plates for faster filter cake discharge. These attributes enable the highest throughputs without compromising on safety, while reflecting a customer focus on saving water, ANDRITZ says.

The innovative closure system on the ME2500 largely replaces hydraulic components with electrical ones and further reduces cycle times, thus increasing capacity and operating availability.

“The increased use of electrical components enables highly sustainable operation of the filter press by reducing the amount of hydraulic oil needed, as well as improving safety thanks to more precise control and less reliance on high-pressure lines that are susceptible to leaks,” the company said.

In addition, and to further optimise the productivity of single machines or plants with multiple filter presses, all modules of the ANDRITZ intelligent filter press – controlled by the Metris addIQ control system – are also available for the ME2500 filter press and can be provided with the full range of options. This draws on smart sensors, data analytics and augmented reality, including multiple sensors to allow for online safety monitoring of the plate package and moveable parts.

The company concluded: “The safe disposal of tailings generated by the mining and minerals sector is a significant cost factor for the industry. ANDRITZ is known for its innovative range of overhead and sidebar filter presses that meet the industry’s most stringent requirements with regard to fast cake discharge and saving water and costs. The maintenance-friendly equipment from ANDRITZ is easily upgradeable, with a modular design for customised process solutions.”

Metso Outotec and FAM to collaborate on IPCC, tailings projects

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Metso Outotec and FAM GmbH have signed a global non-exclusive co-operation agreement on the delivery of integrated end-to-end solutions for in-pit crush and convey (IPCC) and tailings management plants to the mining industry.

The combination of the companies’ leading expertise in their respective fields will allow the parties to form the market’s strongest offering for IPCC and tailings management plants, they said.

“Mine electrification, reduction in power and water consumption, as well as de-risking tailings disposal, are common goals for the mining industry and Metso Outotec to improve sustainability,” Metso Outotec said. “State-of-the-art IPCC and tailings management plants cater for these requirements.”

Markku Teräsvasara, President of the Minerals business area at Metso Outotec, said sustainability is a top priority for Metso Outotec.

“In addition to our investments to develop our IPCC and tailings management plant offering, we are pleased to be able to announce our cooperation with FAM,” he said. “This will allow us to meet our customers’ growing demand in such plants, where spreaders or conveyor bridges are required.”

Torsten Gerlach, CEO of FAM, added: “FAM’s leading technology in dry tail stacking systems and spreaders ties well in with Metso Outotec’s hard-rock crushing and minerals processing portfolio. Where end-to-end systems are required, we are glad teaming up with a strong partner.”