Toward a more sustainable mining future with electrokinetic in situ leaching

Metals are currently almost exclusively extracted from their ore via physical excavation. This energy-intensive process dictates that metal mining remains among the foremost CO(2) emitters and mine waste is the single largest waste form by mass. We propose a new approach, electrokinetic in situ leac...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Martens, Evelien, Prommer, Henning, Sprocati, Riccardo, Sun, Jing, Dai, Xianwen, Crane, Rich, Jamieson, James, Tong, Pablo Ortega, Rolle, Massimo, Fourie, Andy
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: American Association for the Advancement of Science 2021
Materias:
Research Articles
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8087414/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33931456
http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abf9971
Descripción
Sumario:Metals are currently almost exclusively extracted from their ore via physical excavation. This energy-intensive process dictates that metal mining remains among the foremost CO(2) emitters and mine waste is the single largest waste form by mass. We propose a new approach, electrokinetic in situ leaching (EK-ISL), and demonstrate its applicability for a Cu-bearing sulfidic porphyry ore. In laboratory-scale experiments, Cu recovery was rapid (up to 57 weight % after 94 days) despite low ore hydraulic conductivity (permeability = 6.1 mD; porosity = 10.6%). Multiphysics numerical model simulations confirm the feasibility of EK-ISL at the field scale. This new approach to mining is therefore poised to spearhead a new paradigm of metal recovery from currently inaccessible ore bodies with a markedly reduced environmental footprint.

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