The use of seawater in mining

Cisternas, Luís A.; Gálvez, Edelmira D.

doi:10.1080/08827508.2017.1389729

Cited by 122 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 100 publications

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“…The flocculation of mineral particles is a critical treatment step for mining tailings in thickening operations, where the goal is to recover water through gravity thickeners and recycle it to upstream operations [1,2]. Water recovery is especially important in arid regions, far from the coast or at high altitudes, where there is decreased water availability or when the production of freshwater requires the construction of reverse osmosis plants to desalinate seawater [3][4][5]. The direct use of seawater in dewatering circuits may be an attractive option, but particle flocculation in a saline environment remains a challenge.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of Kaolin Flocculation in Seawater by Optical Backscattering Measurements: Effect of Flocculant Management and Liquor Conditions

Jeldres

MacIver

et al. 2020

Minerals

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Optical backscattering (OBS) signal values were used to evaluate the flocculation of kaolin slurries and seek the implications of using seawater. Two anionic flocculants were applied to kaolin suspensions at several dosages and in water of varying pH and electrolyte concentration. An OBS height scan method was used to estimate the degree of aggregation, supernatant quality, and solids concentration of the sediments. The residual solids of the supernatant depended of the extent of particle coagulation before flocculant was added, where the pH and salinity displayed a significant impact on flocculation. The OBS results were highly sensitive to the presence of fine particles, which was estimated in parallel from the focused beam reflectance measurements (FBRM.) In seawater, without flocculant added, the samples had increased root-mean-square scattering (Frms) values and larger final sediment volume than samples prepared in water with lower electrolyte concentration. This indicates a higher initial state of aggregation of the particles in seawater. Then, the aggregation degree was best linked to the square-weighted chord length distribution of the FBRM data, which intensifies the sensitivity to coarse aggregates.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of Kaolin Flocculation in Seawater by Optical Backscattering Measurements: Effect of Flocculant Management and Liquor Conditions

Jeldres

MacIver

et al. 2020

Minerals

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“…This porous layer facilitates the diffusion of reagents that improves the leaching kinetics [15,16]. A chloride medium can be provided by seawater or processing brines, such as waste solution from reverse osmosis [17][18][19][20][21][22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accelerating Copper Leaching from Sulfide Ores in Acid-Nitrate-Chloride Media Using Agglomeration and Curing as Pretreatment

et al. 2019

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This work investigates the effect of an agglomeration and curing pretreatment on leaching of a copper sulfide ore, mainly chalcopyrite, using mini-columns in acid-nitrate-chloride media. Ten pretreatment tests were conducted to evaluate different variables, namely the addition of nitrate as NaNO 3 (11.7 and 23.3 kg/ton), chloride as NaCl (2.1 and 19.8 kg/ton), curing time (20 and 30 days) and repose temperature (25 and 45 • C). The optimum copper extraction of 58.6% was achieved with the addition of 23.3 kg of NaNO 3 /ton, 19.8 kg of NaCl/ton, and after 30 days of curing at 45 • C. Under these pretreatment conditions, three samples of ore were leached in mini-columns. The studied parameters were temperature (25 and 45 • C) and chloride concentration (20 and 40 g/L). The optimum copper extraction of 63.9% was obtained in the mini-column leaching test at 25 • C, with the use of 20 g/L of chloride. A higher temperature (45 • C) and a higher chloride concentration (40 g/L) negatively affected the extraction. The pretreatment stage had favorable effects, in terms of accelerating copper dissolution and improving leaching of copper sulfide ore in acid-nitrate-chloride media. Waste salts from caliche industry and waste brine from reverse osmosis can be used for providing the nitrate and chloride media.

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“…In these regions, water availability may be a serious challenge and is the primary purpose for plants to reduce their water demand while avoiding significant alterations in production. A current strategy implemented in several plants is the use of seawater (see Table 1), either through prior desalination treatment by reverse osmosis, where all salts are eliminated, or by simply applying it directly, without altering the salinity [3][4][5]. The direct use of seawater entails advantages associated with environmental impact and operational costs that involve the building of a desalination plant [6]; however, the complexity of such an undertaking is the subject of constant discussion and research for engineers and scientists [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A current strategy implemented in several plants is the use of seawater (see Table 1), either through prior desalination treatment by reverse osmosis, where all salts are eliminated, or by simply applying it directly, without altering the salinity [3][4][5]. The direct use of seawater entails advantages associated with environmental impact and operational costs that involve the building of a desalination plant [6]; however, the complexity of such an undertaking is the subject of constant discussion and research for engineers and scientists [3]. For example, there is the issue of the location of The high concentration of electrolytes in solution can hinder distinct stages of mineral processing, such as flotation and tailings management [8,9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Viscoelasticity of Quartz and Kaolin Slurries in Seawater: Importance of Magnesium Precipitates

Jeldres

Fuentes

Robles

et al. 2019

Metals

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In this study, the viscoelastic properties of quartz and kaolin suspensions in seawater were analysed considering two distinct conditions: pH 8 and 10.7. Creep and oscillatory sweep tests provided the rheological parameters. An Anton Paar MCR 102 rheometer (ANAMIN Group, Santiago, Chile) was used with a vane-in-cup configuration, and the data were processed with RheoCompassTM Light software (ANAMIN Group, Santiago, Chile). The outcomes were associated with the formation of solid species principally composed of magnesium precipitates. The magnesium in solution reduced in the presence of quartz (68 wt %), from 1380 to 1280 mg/L. Since the difference was not large regarding the solid-free seawater, the disposition of solid complexes at pH 10.7 was expected to be similar. The jump in pH caused both yield stress and viscoelastic moduli to drop, suggesting that the solid precipitates diminished the strength of the particle networks that made up the suspension. For the kaolin slurries (37 wt %), the yield stress raised when the pH increased, but unlike quartz, there was significant adsorption of magnesium cations. In fact, the concentration of magnesium in solution fell from 1380 to 658 mg/L. Dynamic oscillatory assays revealed structural changes in both pulps; in particular, the phase angle was greater at pH 8 than at pH 10.7, which indicates that at more alkaline conditions, the suspension exhibits a more solid-like character.

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The use of seawater in mining

Cited by 122 publications

References 100 publications

Analysis of Kaolin Flocculation in Seawater by Optical Backscattering Measurements: Effect of Flocculant Management and Liquor Conditions

Analysis of Kaolin Flocculation in Seawater by Optical Backscattering Measurements: Effect of Flocculant Management and Liquor Conditions

Accelerating Copper Leaching from Sulfide Ores in Acid-Nitrate-Chloride Media Using Agglomeration and Curing as Pretreatment

Viscoelasticity of Quartz and Kaolin Slurries in Seawater: Importance of Magnesium Precipitates

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