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From geometallurgy to ecometallurgy:Building mines for the future
Pirard, Eric
2014IMA2014 International Mineralogical Association
 

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Keywords :
automated mineralogy; geometallurgy; mineral processing
Abstract :
[en] geometallurgy will become the central pivot of a successful mining operation. Recently, Europe has awakened from a long period of lethargy in the raw materials sector. A series of important initiatives inspired by the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) have paved the way for more intense cooperation between industry, research centres and universities. Among these, the establishment of a Knowledge Innovation Community (KIC) in 2015 will definitely boost innovation and education in the sector. Interestingly, EIP addresses the whole value chain and considers mining, recycling and substitution as essential pillars of the raw materials policy. This vision strengthens the role of geometallurgy but also brings up the need for a close dialogue between mineralogists, metallurgists and product designers. Microelectronics and nanotechnologies are ubiquitous in our technologies and have greatly improved their functionality, but they have also made recycling and efficient recovery of metals a tough technical challenge. Our urban mines formed by the accumulation of end-of-life products should be scrutinized from now on using an ecometallurgical approach whereby important questions should be addressed such as: 1. Metal concentrations: Is the metal grade high enough to pay for recycling? Does the manufacturer help to maintain grades above a technological cut-off? 2. Metal speciation: Under which form (alloy, salt, organic compound,…) is the metal present? Is there a processing technology available to separate these species? 3. Metal paragenesis: What are the metal assemblages found in the product? Will it be feasible to separate those metals and at what costs? Are there penalty or contaminating elements associated? 4. Textural assemblage: How will the product behave during dismantling? Is it realistic to liberate a given component? What comminution strategy will be needed to achieve phase liberation? 5. Reserve estimation: What are the tonnages expected for this kind of product? Can selective collection be organised? 6. Homogeneity: What will the next generation of products look like? Should one expect strong differences in concentration, speciation, paragenesis, etc.? Will this kind of product be blended with others during collection? How will this impact on downstream recycling? Ecometallurgy, as introduced here, is essentially about establishing a dialogue with product designers and material scientists to make sure that, once unearthed, metals will remain easily and sustainably available for the future generations. Geologists and mineralogists, even though generally kept away from the synthetic materials, could greatly contribute to this progress by bringing their expertise in dealing with complex and variable orebodies of the future.
Disciplines :
Geological, petroleum & mining engineering
Author, co-author :
Pirard, Eric  ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Département ArGEnCo > Géoressources minérales & Imagerie géologique
Language :
English
Title :
From geometallurgy to ecometallurgy:Building mines for the future
Alternative titles :
[en] De la géométallurgie à l'écométallurgie : assembler les mines du futur
Publication date :
02 September 2014
Event name :
IMA2014 International Mineralogical Association
Event organizer :
IMA
Event place :
Johannesburg, South Africa
Event date :
Sep 1-6 2014
By request :
Yes
Audience :
International
Available on ORBi :
since 10 September 2014

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