Automated environmental mineralogy; the use of liberation analysis in humidity cell testwork

Brough, C.; Strongman, John; Bowell, R. J.; Warrender, R.; Prestia, A.; Barnes, Arthur K.; Fletcher, John L.

doi:10.1016/j.mineng.2016.10.006

Cited by 20 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 16 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Their carbonate content was lower than 0.2 wt.%, and the calcite liberation degree was around 50%. This meant that the reactive surface of calcite was reduced by half, as suggested by several authors who demonstrated that a mineral's reactivity is influenced by its liberation degree [69][70][71][72]77]. Consequently, the tailings' neutralization potential was likely negligible, assuming that the NP was influenced mainly by its carbonate content [5,11].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Comparing the sulfide content with the carbonate content allows prediction of the acid-generating behavior for the mine tailings, since it is recognized that the balance between acid-forming and acid-consuming minerals can inform on the environmental behavior of mine tailings (acid-generating or not) [13,67,68]. However, the reactivity of these minerals is influenced by several parameters, such as their available reactive surface area [69][70][71][72][73]. Therefore, the degree of liberation for calcite and pyrite was analyzed by MLA, as shown in Figure 1B.…”

Section: Mineralogical Composition Of the Mine Tailingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Laboratory Study on the Effectiveness of Limestone and Cementitious Industrial Products for Acid Mine Drainage Remediation

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Acid mine tailings may affect several environmental matrices. Here, we aimed to stabilize acid-generated mine tailings using several alkaline and cementitious amendments, which were tested in columns for 361 days. The alkaline amendments consisted of 10 and 20 wt.% limestone, while the cementitious amendments consisted of different binders at a total dosage of 5 wt.% binder. The different formulations for the cementitious amendments were: 50% Kruger fly ash and 50% class F fly ash; 20% ordinary Portland cement, 40% Kruger fly ash, and 40% class F fly ash; 80% ordinary Portland cement and 20% Kruger fly ash; and 20% ordinary Portland cement, 40% Kruger fly ash, and 40% fly ash. Kinetic testing on the amendment formulations showed that the pH values increased from <2.5 to circumneutral values (~7.5). The mobility of various chemical species was greatly reduced. Cumulative Fe released from the unamended tailings was ~342.5 mg/kg, and was <22 mg/kg for the amended tailings. The main mechanisms responsible for metal(loid) immobilization were the precipitation of secondary phases, such as Fe-oxyhydroxides, physical trapping, and tailing impermeabilization.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Mineralogical Composition Of the Mine Tailingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Laboratory Study on the Effectiveness of Limestone and Cementitious Industrial Products for Acid Mine Drainage Remediation

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…for waste rock, tailings, and pit highwalls) that will facilitate ARD onset, with many contributions evaluating the efficacy of kinetic test work (e.g. Brough et al 2017;Maest and Nordstrom 2018;Parbhakar-Fox et al 2013;Weber et al 2006) as a predictor of ARD. Comprehensive approaches using multiple tests have also been suggested by Morin and Hutt (1998) and by Parbhakar-Fox and Lottermoser (2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acid–Base Accounting Tests in Combination with Humidity Cells Help to Predict Waste Rock Behavior

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Potentially acid-generating (PAG) waste rock is defined in Nevada, USA as material with an acid-base accounting (ABA) ratio < 1.2, based on the acid neutralizing potential (ANP) to acid generating potential (AGP) ratio. However, waste rock humidity cell tests (HCTs) used to define PAG often fail to release the anticipated acidity. For example, the pH, Fe, and SO 4 data from 150 lithology-specific HCTs run on Robinson Mine material for up to 108 weeks supported an empirical 0.3 ABA ratio PAG cutoff. At Turquoise Ridge, the cutoff for 49 HCTs representing current and prospective waste rock was 0.5; however, at Mine C, the ABA ratio cutoff for 63 HCTs was 1.6, demonstrating the need for a mine-specific analysis. The ABA ratio cutoff works at these three mines due to a wide range of ANP (e.g. 0.3-963 t of CaCO 3 per Kt of waste rock) and AGP (0.3-495 t/Kt waste rock at Robinson). At the Hycroft mine, the 28 HCTs had a much smaller range of ANP (0.3-71 t/Kt waste rock) and AGP (3-147 t/Kt waste rock), so no ABA ratio cutoff can be defined. At the Marigold Mine, 31 HCT and 605 paste pH measurements with an ABA ratio > 0.3 failed to generate sub-pH 6 leachate. In this case, while the ANP ranged from 0.3 to 230 t/Kt waste rock, the AGP was too low to develop a plausible ABA ratio cutoff. Post-mortem HCT mineralogy demonstrated pyrite encapsulation in quartz or calcite in waste rock with sub-1.2 ABA ratios, while the surfaces of the "micro-pyrite" particles exhibited secondary rinds of amorphous iron oxide, which may also thwart acidification.

show abstract

“…Third, utilizing data collected by other mine-site disciplines can cost-effectively assist in geoenvironmental pre-screening. For example, hyperspectral data using short-wave infrared data can be used to characterise drill core and waste materials [14][15][16][17][18][19], assay data can be used to calculate AMD [20,21] and automated mineralogical data can be used for waste characterisation following the methods described in [22][23][24][25]. By adopting a geometallurgical approach to this challenge, whereby proxy tests and methods to extract further information from existing datasets are developed and used as inputs for deposit-scale models, the opportunity is presented to adopt enhanced characterization practices.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forecasting Geoenvironmental Risks: Integrated Applications of Mineralogical and Chemical Data

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Management of solid mine wastes requires detailed material characterisation at the start of a project to minimize opportunities for the generation of acid and metalliferous drainage (AMD). Mine planning must focus on obtaining a thorough understanding of the environmental properties of the future waste rock materials. Using drill core obtained from a porphyry Cu project in Northern Europe, this study demonstrates the integrated application of mineralogical and geochemical data to enable the construction of enviro-geometallurgical models. Geoenvironmental core logging, static chemical testing, bulk- and hyperspectral mineralogical techniques, and calculated mineralogy from assay techniques were used to critically evaluate the potential for AMD formation. These techniques provide value-adding opportunities to existing datasets and provide robust cross-validation methods for each technique. A new geoenvironmental logging code and a new geoenvironmental index using hyperspectral mineralogical data (Hy-GI) were developed and embedded into the geochemistry-mineralogy-texture-geometallurgy (GMTG) approach for waste characterisation. This approach is recommended for new mining projects (i.e., early life-of-mine stages) to ensure accurate geoenvironmental forecasting, therefore facilitating the development of an effective waste management plan that minimizes geoenvironmental risks posed by the mined materials.

show abstract

Automated environmental mineralogy; the use of liberation analysis in humidity cell testwork

Cited by 20 publications

References 16 publications

Laboratory Study on the Effectiveness of Limestone and Cementitious Industrial Products for Acid Mine Drainage Remediation

Laboratory Study on the Effectiveness of Limestone and Cementitious Industrial Products for Acid Mine Drainage Remediation

Acid–Base Accounting Tests in Combination with Humidity Cells Help to Predict Waste Rock Behavior

Forecasting Geoenvironmental Risks: Integrated Applications of Mineralogical and Chemical Data

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About