AUSTRALIAN METS
through reduced consumption of energy , water and reagents , and reduced fine tailings generation .”
Higher and more consistent feed grades result in higher metal recoveries and increased product for the same plant capacity , generating major increases in revenue and reductions in costs . GHG emissions can also be significantly reduced by processing less waste unnecessarily .
Primary crushed conveyed ore can be continuously measured in real time using high specification Prompt Gamma Neutron Activation Analysis ( PGNAA ).
The GEOSCAN platform leverages PGNAA and is already proven in many challenging bulk ore sorting applications in base metals , industrial minerals and platinum group metals , according to the company .
GEOSCAN GOLD measures a suite of elements over each 30 seconds of conveyed flow , including proxies for gold where available , as well as direct measurement of gold over 5-10 minute increments at precisions suitable for decision making ( as low as 0.2 parts per million Au ).
“ Decisions are made for ore blending changes , bulk increment diversion and feed forward control ,” the company says . “ Measurement data is used for metal accounting and ore reconciliation . The analyser measures elements in primary crushed rock in conveyed flows at < 100 t / h to > 10,000 t / h irrespective of belt speed , particle size , mineralogy , dust , moisture , or segregation / layering .”
In the field of tailings processing , Clean TeQ ’ s recently signed 50 / 50 joint venture with Future Element Pty Ltd ( FE ) is globally significant .
Called the Future Element Joint Venture , the JV is being embedded with licences for Clean Teq ’ s proprietary ATA ® accelerated dewatering technology and its suite of Clean-IX ® ion exchange technologies , with immediate access to both Clean TeQ ’ s and FE ’ s opportunity pipeline .
A GEOSCAN GOLD unit at a copper-gold operation
Clean TeQ ’ s CEO , Peter Voigt , said : “ The JV with Future Element combines years of technical innovation and development with highly credentialled and commercially-orientated executives to deliver solutions to the mining industry for its most critical problems . We aim to transform the industry and lead with environmentally-sound tailings rehabilitation while generating material cashflows from what were previously considered waste management liabilities .”
The global inventory of mine tailings is estimated at 282 billion tonnes , with 16 billion tonnes of new mine tailings being produced every year , representing a significant opportunity to use Clean TeQ technologies to convert liabilities into valuable assets , Clean TeQ says . The mining industry ’ s social licence to operate depends on environmentally-sound tailings rehabilitation . Clean TeQ ’ s strategy is to raise environmental standards and reduce tailings management costs via sustainable metal production and enhanced water management .
Earlier this year , the Future Element Joint Venture announced that it had joined Unearthed ’ s Think and Act Differently ( TAD )
With the licensing of Clean TeQ ’ s proprietary ATA and Clean-IX technologies to the Future Element JV , Clean TeQ says it has established a business that can offer the mining industry a holistic , endto-end mine tailings rehabilitation solution
program . The TAD program is powered by BHP and allows innovators to engage in short experiments designed to de-risk ideas and fasttrack technological breakthroughs . Future Element has joined the Essentials Minerals Cohort and will receive funding , mentoring , access to subject experts and samples needed to undertake the testing .
As part of this , Future Element , together with Clean TeQ Water , will be participating in a threemonth program of test work to prepare conceptual flowsheets , which can be applied to BHP ’ s existing and future operations , for tailings dewatering based on the ATA technology . The test work aims to rapidly dewater slurries to produce dry stack tailings , while making the critical minerals contained immediately available for recovery . The successful completion of the program would lead to on-site piloting and eventual commercial-scale demonstrations .
With the licensing of Clean TeQ ’ s proprietary ATA and Clean-IX technologies to the Future Element JV , Clean TeQ says it has established a business that can offer the mining industry a holistic , end-to-end mine tailings rehabilitation solution that : n Transforms tailings into benign and / or valuable products via separation of solids and water to allow solid materials to be rehabilitated or repurposed and water to be recycled or released ; n Unlocks tailings value , via recovery and monetisation of metals and minerals , providing new profit streams and the ability to offset rehabilitation costs and liabilities ; and n Encompasses development , funding and operation using best-in-class tailings management by an experienced team with a track record in asset delivery . IM
20 International Mining | OCTOBER 2024