by Dallas Kachan
GLOBE-Net, February 20, 2012 - Few
industries have got the black eye, literally and metaphorically, of
mining.
After centuries of environmental effects ranging from toxic
emissions to unsightly tailings ponds, acid mine drainage, massive
energy consumption and other impacts, mining is slowly cleaning up
its act.
Why? Mostly because new clean technologies are increasing
industrial efficiencies. They're lowering mining companies' power
needs. And they're even helping reduce water requirements, and/or
remediating the produced water and mines of years past that are now
leaching toxins.
And that's translating into cost savings for mining companies,
which are being held increasingly accountable for their
environmental impacts and are looking for ways to minimize the
expenses of both the production phase of their operations, and
reclamation (i.e. the mandated end-of-life cleanup expenses
associated with mining in many jurisdictions, now).
In other words, now that it's starting to be less expensive on
net for mining companies to be clean, they're starting to move in
that direction.
Here's a look at some selected companies at the forefront of
new, clean processes in mining today.
New production
Mining project developer American Manganese is preparing to produce
electrolytic manganese, used in everything from steel to batteries,
from low-grade ore in Arizona.
And it plans to do so at vastly lower costs than the Chinese
companies that currently dominate its industry.
How is the company hoping to do so? A lower-power production
process intended to use only about six percent of the energy
required by the high temperature roasting of conventional
electrolytic manganese production.
It also plans to produce power onsite from heat exchangers
harvesting energy from the production of sulfur dioxide-performed
by burning elemental sulfur. And it intends to reduce its water
requirements by using precipitation to remove contaminants, with
closed-loop water techniques that also involve nanofiltration.
The company also claims its tailings (the output of the process)
will be solid and inert, benign enough to be placed right back into
the ground with no further processing. No open pool tailing
ponds.
Too good to be true? Kachan & Co.
just published a report probing the American Manganese process,
assessing its potential market impact and what other mining
companies might learn from the company.
Toxin remediation and resource recovery
Sister companies BacTech Environmental and REBgold of
Toronto, Canada are using a patented biological process to
remediate toxins and recover gold, respectively, at a number of
sites around the world.
The companies' BACOX process uses vast amounts of naturally
occurring bacteria-which the companies claim are harmless to humans
and the environment-in bioreactors to liberate precious and base
metals from difficult to treat ores, concentrates and tailings.
By providing the bacteria with optimal conditions in closed
reactors, BacTech and REBgold say they're capable of oxidizing
sulphides in as little as 5-6 days, as opposed to the many years it
normally takes in their natural habitat. The process is also used
to free gold and other metals like copper, nickel, zinc, cobalt and
molybdenum, according to the company.
The recovery of such valuable materials allows BacTech to offer
mine tailing remediation services at no charge to governments, and
for REBgold to pursue acquiring and developing economic interests
in gold mines, including existing operations in Australia, Tasmania
and China.
AMD cleanup
Historically, at the end of production, many mines were
abandoned with little environmental consideration. Today, heavy
metals remain in tailings piles and in runoff from abandoned mines.
Metals such as copper, lead, zinc, and mercury can seep into
groundwater. Precipitation percolating through rocks can react with
sulfur, forming sulfuric acid and leaching out heavy metals and
significantly changing the pH of the water.
Water draining from these tailings piles is referred to as acid
mine drainage (AMD). The acidity of the water plus the high metal
concentrations can be deadly to animals and plants. Acid mine
drainage coats waterways with iron hydroxide, giving impacted
bodies of water an orange color.
Streams affected by acid mine drainage (AMD), also
known as acid rock drainage (ARD). One of the most visible, but
certainly not the only, toxin escaping from abandoned and
production mining sites. Arsenic is another large
problem.
BioteQ Environmental
Technologies of Vancouver, Canada is one of a handful of
companies specializing in remediation of AMD. It has built 14
industrial water treatment plants ranging in size up to 25,000
m3/day at mine sites in Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Australia, and
China. It uses sulfide precipitation processes for metal removal
and recovery, as well as lime treatment.
Lime is sometimes criticized for creating solid waste sludge,
but it works. Other companies pursue reverse osmosis filtration or
other techniques, usually at higher costs and lower rates. Still
others attempt to fill in abandoned mines with water, clay slurry
or other compounds to eliminate the source of AMD in the first
place.
There are scores of new companies forming globally in water
treatment, commercially inspired by opportunities associated with
the problem of AMD and other mining-related produced water issues.
The water-intensive oil sands refining in Northern Canada is also
driving important innovation in water technology, as described in a
Kachan & Co. report in conjunction with the Artemis Group that
introduces corporate executives to the water industry. More details
on that report here.
To many, cleantech is still synonymous with renewable energy.
But air & environment and clean industry, where clean mining
technologies are categorized, remain two important
sub-categories of the over-arching cleantech sector. And few
industries could benefit from clean technology innovation more than
mining. We at Kachan & Co., with offices in Vancouver,
Canada-one of the hotbeds of global mining-are encouraged by what
we see going on behind the scenes.
After hundreds of years of poor environmental stewardship, and
in a world with more watchful eyes than ever, one could argue the
mining industry has nowhere to go but up.
This article was originally published here.
Reposted by permission
A former managing director of the Cleantech Group, Dallas
Kachan is now managing partner of Kachan & Co., a
cleantech research and advisory firm that does business worldwide
from San Francisco, Toronto and Vancouver. Kachan & Co. staff
have been covering, publishing about and helping propel clean
technology since 2006. Kachan & Co. offers cleantech research reports, consulting
and other services that help accelerate its clients' success in
clean technology. Details at www.kachan.com. Dallas
is also executive director of the international Clean Mining
Alliance.
Responsible Mining: Does Sustainability Performance
Pay?
The global mining industry has made substantial strides in the
last decade to address environmental and social issues and to
internalize sustainability efforts into operations. Getting
ahead of regulation, mining companies have often worked together to
put in place sustainability programs that demonstrate they are
managing concerns, with the added benefit of improving
reputations. But do these programs really add tangible value
to the companies who participate and to the environment? At
GLOBE 2012, taking place in Vancouver, March 14-16, 2012 mining
industry leaders will address the fundamental question: Does
sustainability performance pay off?
Confirmed Participants:
Pierre Gratton, President & CEO,
The Mining Association of Canada (Moderator)
George Greene, Chair, Stratos Inc.,
Canada (Moderator)
Dina Aloi, Vice President of Corporate
Social Responsibility, Goldcorp Inc., Canada
Craig Ford, Vice President of
Corporate Responsibility, Inmet Mining Corporation,
Canada
David Parker, Vice President Sustainability,
Teck Resources Ltd., Canada
Robert Walker, Vice President of
Environmental, Social & Governance Services and Ethical Funds,
NEI Investments, Canada
Alan Young, Corporate Program
Director, Canadian Boreal Initiative, Canada
Sponsored by
