US20080184847A1 - Method for Processing Ore to Minimize the Production of Acidic Wastes - Google Patents

Method for Processing Ore to Minimize the Production of Acidic Wastes Download PDF

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Publication number
US20080184847A1
US20080184847A1 US11/795,964 US79596406A US2008184847A1 US 20080184847 A1 US20080184847 A1 US 20080184847A1 US 79596406 A US79596406 A US 79596406A US 2008184847 A1 US2008184847 A1 US 2008184847A1
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United States
Prior art keywords
ore
carbonates
acid
potential
neutralizing
Prior art date
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Abandoned
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US11/795,964
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English (en)
Inventor
Gilles Fiset
Edmond St-Jean
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Individual
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Individual
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Publication of US20080184847A1 publication Critical patent/US20080184847A1/en
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    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C22—METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
    • C22B—PRODUCTION AND REFINING OF METALS; PRETREATMENT OF RAW MATERIALS
    • C22B1/00—Preliminary treatment of ores or scrap
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A62—LIFE-SAVING; FIRE-FIGHTING
    • A62D—CHEMICAL MEANS FOR EXTINGUISHING FIRES OR FOR COMBATING OR PROTECTING AGAINST HARMFUL CHEMICAL AGENTS; CHEMICAL MATERIALS FOR USE IN BREATHING APPARATUS
    • A62D3/00—Processes for making harmful chemical substances harmless or less harmful, by effecting a chemical change in the substances
    • A62D3/30—Processes for making harmful chemical substances harmless or less harmful, by effecting a chemical change in the substances by reacting with chemical agents
    • A62D3/36—Detoxification by using acid or alkaline reagents
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C22—METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
    • C22B—PRODUCTION AND REFINING OF METALS; PRETREATMENT OF RAW MATERIALS
    • C22B3/00—Extraction of metal compounds from ores or concentrates by wet processes
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A62—LIFE-SAVING; FIRE-FIGHTING
    • A62D—CHEMICAL MEANS FOR EXTINGUISHING FIRES OR FOR COMBATING OR PROTECTING AGAINST HARMFUL CHEMICAL AGENTS; CHEMICAL MATERIALS FOR USE IN BREATHING APPARATUS
    • A62D2101/00—Harmful chemical substances made harmless, or less harmful, by effecting chemical change
    • A62D2101/40—Inorganic substances
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
    • Y02P10/00—Technologies related to metal processing
    • Y02P10/20—Recycling

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to the general field of mining and is particularly concerned with a method for processing ore to minimize the production of acidic wastes.
  • the oxidation of sulphur-bearing compounds indeed produces acidic solutions.
  • the chemical reactions involve the oxidation of sulphur-bearing compounds in the presence of oxygen and water to form iron hydroxide and sulphuric acid.
  • the acidic solutions are commonly called acid rock drainage or acid mine drainage. These acidic solutions dissolve and mobilize several metals, in particular, iron and manganese, which, under neutral or basic conditions, remain relatively insoluble.
  • the immersion of sulphides requires the creation of a setting pond and maintenance thereof in order to prevent drainage of the pond which if such is the case would eventually lead to sulphides oxidization and, hence, acid generation. Furthermore, with some ores, it is simply not yet feasible to recover enough sulphides to turn the waste into non-acid generating material.
  • the invention provides a method for processing ore using carbonates so as to minimize the production of acidic wastes.
  • the method includes adding the carbonates to the ore and, after the carbonates have been added to the ore, substantially jointly grinding the ore and the carbonates to produce a treated ore mixture.
  • substantially jointly grinding the ore and the carbonates substantially mixes and homogenizes the ore and the carbonates so that acids subsequently created within the treated ore mixture are substantially neutralized within the treated ore mixture by the carbonates.
  • Advantages of the present invention include that the proposed method allows for the production of non-acid generating mine wastes at relatively low costs. Also, the method is relatively easily incorporated to existing ore treatment processes.
  • the proposed method addresses the root of the problem associated with the creation of acidic wastes and, hence, is relatively efficient.
  • the resulting mine wastes may be stored in conditions that require only minimal or no maintenance. Therefore, this method allows for an inherently relatively safe manner of storing the wastes that is not affected by socio-economic disturbances such as armed conflicts and bankruptcies that would prevent a necessary maintenance of a waste containing site.
  • the carbonates are added in the form of minerals that are advantageously mined in proximity to an ore processing facility, thereby improving the cost-effectiveness of the proposed method.
  • the invention provides a method for processing ore using carbonates so as to minimize the production of acidic wastes.
  • the method includes grinding the carbonates and the ore so that the carbonates and the ore have a substantially similar granulometry and mixing the ground carbonates and the ground ore to produce a treated ore mixture. Mixing the carbonates and the ore produces a treated ore mixture such that acids subsequently created within the treated ore mixture are substantially neutralized within the treated ore mixture by the carbonates.
  • FIGURE in a flow chart, illustrates a method for processing ore using carbonates so as to minimize the production of acidic wastes in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
  • the proposed method is based on an observation that the difference between acid-generating ores and non-acid generating ores often resides in that the former does not contain enough naturally occurring carbonates to consume all of the acid that may be produced.
  • the amount of generated acid is mainly linked to the difference between the quantity of acid that sulphides contained in the ore can generate and the quantity acid the carbonates contained in the ore can neutralize.
  • the proposed method relies on adding carbonates such as, for example, dolomite, calcite, a combination of dolomite and calcite, or any other suitable carbonates to an ore.
  • carbonates such as, for example, dolomite, calcite, a combination of dolomite and calcite, or any other suitable carbonates.
  • the carbonates are added to a grinding circuit of a processing plant in a predetermined proportion.
  • the carbonates after being added to the ore, the carbonates remain mixed with the ore during most processes currently performed on such ores. Also, in embodiments of the invention wherein the carbonates are substantially water-insoluble, the carbonates may remain contained within the ore for relatively long period of time even when the ore is stored exposed to rain.
  • the above suggests a method 100 for processing ore using carbonates so as to minimize the production of acidic wastes illustrated in FIG. 1 .
  • the method 100 starts at step 105 .
  • the ore is crushed.
  • an acid generating potential and a neutralizing potential of the ore are assessed.
  • carbonates are added to the ore and the carbonates and the ore are substantially jointly ground at step 125 to produce a treated ore mixture.
  • Substantially jointly grinding the ore and the carbonates substantially mixes and homogenizes the ore and the carbonates so that acids subsequently created within the treated ore mixture are substantially neutralized within the treated ore mixture by the carbonates.
  • the method 100 then ends at step 130 .
  • the treated ore mixture may be processed substantially similarly to the manner in which the ore is conventionally processed.
  • Step 115 of assessing the acid generating potential and neutralizing potential of the ore may be performed at any suitable stage. In some embodiments of the invention, step 115 is omitted and the carbonates are added to the ore in a predetermined quantity. In other embodiments of the invention, the neutralizing potential of the ore is not assessed and only the acid generating potential of the ore is assessed.
  • the carbonates are added to the ore.
  • the carbonates are substantially insoluble in water, which weather proofs the treated ore mixture.
  • the carbonates are added in the form of dolomite, calcite, a combination of calcite and dolomite or any other suitable carbonates.
  • dolomite dolomite
  • calcite calcite
  • dolomite any other suitable carbonates.
  • the carbonates are at least partially soluble in water.
  • the carbonates are added to the ore in an amount having an acid neutralizing potential sufficient for neutralizing at least the acid generating potential of the ore so as to ensure that there is at least a potential to neutralize all the acid that the ore may produce.
  • the carbonates are added to the ore in an amount having an acid neutralizing potential sufficient for neutralizing about twice the acid generating potential of the ore.
  • Such a quantity of added ore has been found useful as it provides a safety margin in case some of the carbonates become unavailable for neutralizing acids generated within the ore, while remaining relatively inexpensive.
  • the carbonates are added in a quantity considering only the acid generating potential of the ore. In these embodiments, there is no need to assess the neutralizing potential of the ore. In other embodiments of the invention, the carbonates are added in a quantity sufficient to complement the naturally occurring neutralizing potential of the ore.
  • the ore and the carbonates are ground in a manner such as to obtain a treated ore mixture in which the ore and the carbonates have a substantially similar granulometry. This facilitates the homogenisation and mixing of the ore and carbonates.
  • the carbonates and the ore are ground substantially jointly, it is within the scope of the invention to mix the carbonates and the ore in any other suitable manner to produce the treated ore mixture.
  • the carbonates and the ore are ground so that the carbonates and the ore have a substantially similar granulometry and afterwards mixed.
  • the carbonates and the ore are ground separately from each other before being mixed together.
  • the carbonates may be added at any stage before being ground, such as for example during the crushing step 110 .
  • the method 100 includes a step 110 of crushing the ore
  • the ore processed has a granulometry that make step 110 unnecessary and this step may then be omitted.
  • the carbonates are added in the grinding circuit of the processing plant in such a manner that the granular size of the added carbonates is substantially similar to that of the carbonates contained in the ore. Hence, the addition of the carbonates forms a homogeneous mixture wherein indigenous and added carbonates are substantially indistinguishable.
  • carbonate is used throughout the text, the reader skilled in the art will readily understand that calcium carbonate (calcite), calcium carbonate-magnesium (dolomite) or any other suitable substance may be used without departing from the scope of the present invention.
  • Carbonates can also be blended into barren ore when sent to a barren paddock. Again, the carbonates and barren ore must be similar in granular size.
  • the proposed method acts on the quantity of sulphuric acid generated by sulphites contained in the rejects by turning acid dissolved into water and sulphur in the form of sulphite into gypsum, as shown in the following equation:

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  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Metallurgy (AREA)
  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Geology (AREA)
  • General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
  • Materials Engineering (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Geochemistry & Mineralogy (AREA)
  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Toxicology (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • General Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • Emergency Management (AREA)
  • Compounds Of Alkaline-Earth Elements, Aluminum Or Rare-Earth Metals (AREA)
  • Manufacture And Refinement Of Metals (AREA)
  • Processing Of Solid Wastes (AREA)
US11/795,964 2005-08-18 2006-08-17 Method for Processing Ore to Minimize the Production of Acidic Wastes Abandoned US20080184847A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB0516915.6 2005-08-18
GBGB0516915.6A GB0516915D0 (en) 2005-08-18 2005-08-18 Acidic mine waste decontamination method
PCT/CA2006/001354 WO2007019701A1 (en) 2005-08-18 2006-08-17 Method for processing ore to minimize the production of acidic wastes

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US20080184847A1 true US20080184847A1 (en) 2008-08-07

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US11/795,964 Abandoned US20080184847A1 (en) 2005-08-18 2006-08-17 Method for Processing Ore to Minimize the Production of Acidic Wastes

Country Status (11)

Country Link
US (1) US20080184847A1 (xx)
EP (1) EP1937855A4 (xx)
CN (1) CN101258251A (xx)
AP (1) AP1906A (xx)
AU (1) AU2006281890A1 (xx)
CA (1) CA2633811C (xx)
GB (1) GB0516915D0 (xx)
NO (1) NO20080883L (xx)
RU (1) RU2416653C2 (xx)
WO (1) WO2007019701A1 (xx)
ZA (1) ZA200802162B (xx)

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN103547690A (zh) * 2011-01-27 2014-01-29 嘉能可昆士兰有限公司 从溶液中沉淀锌

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3667690A (en) * 1969-11-03 1972-06-06 David Weston Flotation of copper-nickel sulfide ores
US20060133974A1 (en) * 2004-12-22 2006-06-22 Placer Dome Technical Services Limited Reduction of lime consumption when treating refractory gold ores or concentrates

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5846179A (en) * 1996-07-11 1998-12-08 Price; Charles Thomas Treatment of acid generating sulfide bearing material
CA2452496A1 (en) * 2001-07-10 2003-01-23 The Board Of Regents Of The University And Community College System Of N Evada On Behalf Of The University Of Nevada, Reno Process for passivating sulfidic iron-containing rock
CA2466541A1 (en) * 2003-05-06 2004-11-06 Maurice C. Fuerstenau Passivation of sulfidic iron-containing rock

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3667690A (en) * 1969-11-03 1972-06-06 David Weston Flotation of copper-nickel sulfide ores
US20060133974A1 (en) * 2004-12-22 2006-06-22 Placer Dome Technical Services Limited Reduction of lime consumption when treating refractory gold ores or concentrates

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
AP1906A (en) 2008-10-24
CA2633811A1 (en) 2007-02-22
RU2008108615A (ru) 2009-09-27
NO20080883L (no) 2008-02-20
CN101258251A (zh) 2008-09-03
RU2416653C2 (ru) 2011-04-20
AP2007004028A0 (en) 2007-06-30
EP1937855A4 (en) 2009-11-04
AU2006281890A1 (en) 2007-02-22
WO2007019701A1 (en) 2007-02-22
CA2633811C (en) 2013-07-09
EP1937855A1 (en) 2008-07-02
ZA200802162B (en) 2008-12-31
GB0516915D0 (en) 2005-09-28

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