REPROCESSING & RETREATMENT
EnviroGold Global has entered into an agreement to purchase an integrated metal processing plant developed at the CSIRO Australian Minerals Research Centre in Perth , Western Australia , that , it says , is ideally suited , with minor modification , to demonstrate the NVRO Clean Leach Process at scale
filtration , acid recovery , and iron hydrolysis to enable production of magnetite co-product . The CCD system is used to separate post leach slurry from the fully encapsulated pipe reactor into pregnant leach solution and washed acid insoluble residue . It was originally developed by the CSIRO for research into the recovery of high purity nickel and cobalt battery metals via solvent extraction .
This plant will now be relocated and installed at the EnviroGold Clean Leach demonstration facility in Brisbane , Australia .
The plant is now surplus to CSIRO requirements , can process up to 15 t / d of mine tailings , milled ore or smelter waste , and is ideal to showcase the NVRO Clean Leach Process on a small commercial scale with multiple customers already expressing interest to move from lab scale to pilot scale trials , the company said .
The cost and time savings in acquiring a proven demonstration plant will significantly accelerate the EnviroGold go to market strategy , with commercial demonstrations expected by the end of the year .
The company intends to transport tailings from the mine sites of its customers to the EnviroGold Clean Leach demonstration facility , where it will process the tailings and provide independent analysis of the technical and economic outcomes . The company expects that the availability of operating data will be sufficient for customers to complete bankable feasibility studies and enter into commercial licence agreements with EnviroGold for full scale production .
EnviroGold CEO , David Cam , said : “ The procurement of the demonstration plant is coming together at a time of heightened interest in mine closure liabilities , tailings reprocessing and environmental remediation . As demand for strategic and precious metals continues to increase , EnviroGold is now well positioned to accelerate the monetisation of its Clean Leach
Process and leverage its expertise to expand its customer base .”
The NVRO Clean Leach Process uses a weak acid leach technology that operates at atmospheric pressure , relatively low temperature using an exothermic reaction , with a short onehour residency time . It does not necessarily require fine grinding to optimise metal recovery from complex ores , and the acid acts as a catalyst in a self-sustaining chain reaction , and little of it is consumed . An acid recycling circuit serves to further control costs .
Vale , MIRARCO cleaning up tailings
Just over a year ago at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada 2023 Convention , in Toronto , Canada , Vale Energy Transition Metals and the Mining Innovation , Rehabilitation and Applied Research Corporation ( MIRARCO ) at Laurentian University , in Canada , signed an agreement that both parties said would accelerate commercial recovery of critical minerals from mine waste .
As part of efforts to reduce mine waste and capture additional value from mined material , Vale committed C $ 875,000 ($ 637,340 ) over five years to MIRARCO to support a new industrial research chair program in biomining and bioremediation .
The industrial research chair program , led by Dr Nadia Mykytczuk , is developing , piloting and working towards commercialising bioleaching and bioremediation processes including efforts to recover nickel and cobalt from low-grade pyrrhotite tailings and other waste .
Luke Mahony , Chief Technical Officer at Vale Energy Transition Metals , said during the PDAC announcement : “ This builds on our extensive R & D history and proven track record of lab-toplant process development and represents a significant opportunity for waste-stream reprocessing here in Ontario . We see this as a triple-win , with potential to reduce liabilities , accelerate commercial recovery of critical minerals and capture additional value from mined material .”
The Government of Ontario will also contribute C $ 750,000 through the Northern Ontario
Heritage Fund Corp . to support this industrial research chair program .
Greg Rickford , Minister of Northern Development , said : “ The new and improved Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation is supporting innovative solutions in the resource extraction sector that will change the way we see mining traditionally . By partnering with Vale and Laurentian University , we are committing to Made in Ontario solutions that will reduce mine waste and enhance value for materials already involved in the mining process .”
Dr Mykytczuk , President and CEO of MIRARCO , said : “ This funding and collaboration will accelerate the development of new tools to help us extract value from wastes , producing the metals we need in an environmentally sustainable way .”
KCA teams up with Starcore for Xali reprocessing project
Xali Gold Corp has announced that Kappes , Cassiday & Associates ( KCA ) has advised that it has teamed up with Starcore International Mines Ltd to put into production our environmental rehabilitation project to clean up mine tailings from Xali Gold ' s Mexican mine tailings reprocessing project at El Oro in Mexico . Starcore and KCA have entered into a joint venture , with KCA contributing its expertise and services for the project aimed at rehabilitating the environment , while Starcore assumes the role of operator and financier for the joint venture .
“ We are very pleased with the strategy that KCA has brought to our Tailings Reprocessing project ,” says Joanne Freeze , President and CEO of Xali Gold . “ We received the change of soil usage permit almost a year ago , which allows the tailings to be moved out of the historical deposition site from within the town of El Oro . KCA has now teamed up with Starcore to use their already permitted mine plant site for the Reprocessing which is expected to significantly shorten the timeline to production .”
Recent test work by KCA on the El Oro Tailings Project indicates excellent potential for 72 % recovery of gold and 80 % recovery of silver using a process being introduced to Xali Gold by KCA . This process would allow the gold and silver to be produced in the form of Dore , which enhances the value of the royalty stream agreed to with Xali Gold . Overall recoveries will need further testing to establish a better estimate for overall recoveries of gold and silver , but KCA is very optimistic about the process . KCA will oversee all metallurgical and engineering studies and designs , for the Tailings Reprocessing Project , and recovery of the precious metal from the project . Starcore will cover the capital costs for plant construction and take on the role of operator .
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30 International Mining | JUNE 2024