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Scientists have developed a new ‘key-hole surgery’ technique to extract metals from the Earth which could revolutionize the future of metal mining.
A team of international researchers, including Dr. Rich Crane from the Camborne School of Mines, University of Exeter, have developed a new method to extract metals, such as copper, from their parent ore body.
The research team have provided a proof of concept for the application of an electric field to control the movement of an acid within a low permeability copper-bearing ore deposit to selectively dissolve and recover the metal in situ.
This is in contrast to the conventional approach for the mining of such deposits where the material must be physically excavated, which requires removal of both overburden and any impurities within the ore (known as gangue material).
5,360
1 TREO – total rare earth oxides
The ongoing feasibility study envisages doubling the scale of the mining and processing operations at Songwe to one million tonnes per year of RoM feed to the mill. Due to the higher flotation concentrate grade, there would be 36% less tonnes of concentrate entering the hydrometallurgy plant, containing approximately double the quantity of rare earths, versus the pre-feasibility study. The results of the pilot programme, together with variability and other batch scale flotation test work, will be used to determine the flotation parameters over the life of the mine.
The development of the optimised flotation regime is underpinned by a significant amount of mineralogy, comminution and flotation test work undertaken at commercial laboratories in Australia, South Africa, Canada and the United Kingdom, as well as three PhD research projects undertaken at Camborne School of Mines, United Kingdom. Not only has this international effort delivered a
4th May 2021 9:49 am 4th May 2021 9:49 am
A UK-led innovation in energy storage could make it easier and cheaper to roll out grid – balancing pumped hydro schemes writes David Fowler
A new system based on pumped hydro generation promises to vastly increase capacity to store and release energy generated from renewables, providing a more environmentally-friendly alternative to batteries.
The breakthrough in the system being developed by start-up RheEnergise is a bespoke fluid with a density 2.5 times that of water. The company says this opens up a huge number of potentially suitable sites.
Schematic contrasting conventional hydro with HD Hydro. Image: RheEnergise