SUSTAINABLE RECOVERY OF BY-PRODUCTS IN THE MINING INDUSTRY

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) teamed with the National Mining Association (NMA) to select research projects that could significantly benefit the mining industry. This paper describes one such project—By-Product Recovery from Mining Process Residue—that is being conducted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Colorado School of Mines engineers. This project has two objectives: (1) compiling information on the mining industry to identify process residue with by-product recovery opportunities; and (2) engineering development of an innovative by-product recovery system—the SepraDyne ® process—a high vacuum, indirectly heated rotary kiln that operates at temperatures of up to 750EC. This paper describes copper, lead and zinc mining operations in simple terms while identifying major opportunities for by-product recovery. In some cases, these process residues contain higher concentrations of minerals than the raw ore. Process residues with by-product recovery potential include: · Copper: dust and fine particles, tailings, slag waste, and gas cleaning sludge. · Lead: dust and fine particles, tailings, slag