Effects of bioleaching on the mechanical and chemical properties of waste rocks

Bioleaching processes cause dramatic changes in the mechanical and chemical properties of waste rocks, and play an important role in metal recovery and dump stability. This study focused on the characteristics of waste rocks subjected to bioleaching. A series of ex- periments were conducted to investigate the evolution of rock properties during the bioleaching process. Mechanical behaviors of the leached waste rocks, such as failure patterns, normal stress, shear strength, and cohesion were determined through mechanical tests. The results of SEM imaging show considerable differences in the surface morphology of leached rocks located at different parts of the dump. The minera- logical content of the leached rocks reflects the extent of dissolution and precipitation during bioleaching. The dump porosity and rock size change under the effect of dissolution, precipitation, and clay transportation. The particle size of the leached rocks decreased due to the loss of rock integrity and the conversion of dry precipitation into fine particles.

Effects of caving–mining ratio on the coal and waste rocks gangue flows and the amount of cyclically caved coal in fully mechanized mining of super-thick coal seams

Aimed at determining the appropriate caving–mining ratio for fully mechanized mining of 20 m thick coal seam, this research investigated the effects of caving–mining ratio on the flow fields of coal and waste rocks, amount of cyclically caved coal and top coal loss by means of numerical modeling. The research was based on the geological conditions of panel 8102 in Tashan coal mine. The results indicated the loose coal and waste rocks formed an elliptical zone around the drawpoint. The ellipse enlarged with decreasing caving–mining ratio. And its long axis inclined to the gob gradually became vertical and facilitating the caving and recovery of top coal. The top coal loss showed a cyclical variation; and the loss cycle was shortened with the decreasing in caving–mining ratio. Moreover, the mean squared error(MSE) of the amount of cyclically caved coal went up with increasing caving–mining ratio, indicating a growing imbalance of amount of cyclically caved coal, which could impede the coordinated mining and caving operations. Finally it was found that a caving–mining ratio of 1:2.51 should be reasonable for the conditions.

Safety assessment of waste rock dump built on existing tailings ponds

The construction of waste rock dumps on existing tailing ponds has been put into practice in China to save precious land resources. This work focuses on the safety assessment of the Daheishan molybdenum mine waste rock dump under construction on two adjoining tailings ponds. The consolidation of the tailings foundation and the filling quality of the waste rock are investigated by the transient electromagnetic method through detecting water-rich areas and loose packing areas, from which, the depth of phreatic line is also estimated. With such information and the material parameters, the numerical method based on shear strength reduction is applied to analyzing the overall stability of the waste rock dump and the tailings ponds over a number of typical cross sections under both current and designed conditions, where the complex geological profiles exposed by site investigation are considered. Through numerical experiments, the influence of soft lenses in the tailings and possible loose packing areas in the waste rock is examined. Although large displacements may develop due to the soft tailings foundation, the results show that the waste rock dump satisfies the safety requirements under both present and designed conditions.

A cleaner production strategy for acid mine drainage prevention of waste rock:A porphyry copper case

An in-process technology approach is proposed to identify the source of acid mine drainage(AMD)generation and prevent its formation in a porphyry copper waste rock(WR).Adopting actions before stockpiling the WR enables the establishment of potential contaminants and predicts the more convenient method for AMD prevention.A WR sample was separated into size fractions,and the WR’s net acidgenerating potential was quantified using chemical and mineralogical characterization.The diameter of physical locking of sulfides(DPLS)was determined,and the fractions below the DPLS were desulfurized using flotation.Finally,the WR fractions and tailing from the flotation test were submitted to acid-base accounting and weathering tests to evaluate their acid-generating potential.Results show that the WR’s main sulfide mineral is pyrite,and the DPLS was defined as 850μm.A sulfide recovery of 91%was achieved using a combination of HydroFloat^(®)
and Denver cells for a size fraction lower than DPLS.No grinding was conducted.The results show that size fractions greater than DPLS and the desulfurized WR are unlikely to produce AMD.The outcomes show that in-processing technology can be a more proactive approach and an effective tool for avoiding AMD in a porphyry copper WR.

Effective utilization of dolomitic lead-zinc waste rock by replacing dolomite as flux in iron ore sintering process

With increasingly stringent environmental protection policies,cost-effective and value-added treatment of massive lead-zinc waste rock(LZWR)generated from the preconcentration process has attracted substantial attention.A type of dolomitic LZWR with 18 wt.%MgO,27 wt.%CaO,0.29 wt.%Zn and 1.43 wt.%S was used as a replacement flux in the iron ore sintering process.Traditional sinter pot tests were carried out based on an industrial ore blend.The results show that replacing 0%-60%of dolomite with LZWR does not adversely affect the sintering productivity,fuel consumption rate,and the quality of the sinter products,while the Zn and S elements contained in LZWR can be effectively removed with the residual Zn and S contents of the resultant sinter products being less than 0.02 and 0.055 wt.%,respectively.However,substituting LZWR for dolomite as a flux inevitably increases the SO_(2) concentration in the sintering flue gas due to its high sulfur content.Considering the processing capacity of the sintering flue gas desulfurization system,the replacement ratio of dolomite can reach 40%,equal to LZWR consumption of 24.3 kg per ton of sinter.The SO_(2) in sintering flue gas can be recovered to produce(NH_(4))_(2)SO_(4) or HSO_(4),while the volatilized Zn collected into the zinc-containing dust can be subsequently recycled by the rotary hearth furnace process.Therefore,it is technologically and economically feasible to use the LZWR as a replacement flux in the iron ore sintering process,providing a new way for the safe,large-scale and low-cost treatment of LZWR.

Recovery of Mining Wastes in Building Materials: A Review

The use of materials from waste in buildings compensates for the lack of natural resources, solves the problem of waste management and provides an alternative technique for protection of the environment. There are a large number of industrial wastes that are used for full or partial replacement of raw materials in some construction materials. This review assesses mining waste in concrete as a substitute for aggregates and cement;in fired bricks as a substitute for soil;and in road backfill as a substitute for soil. This paper reviews some mining tailings, mine waste rocks and some slags obtained in the exploitation and/or processing of some ores including iron, gold, lead, phosphate, copper, coal, etc. Different physical properties, mechanical properties, chemical properties, heavy metal content, mineralogic composition, geotechnical properties and environmental properties (leaching test) of the mine wastes were examined. The physical, mechanical and environmental properties of the materials obtained by substitution of raw materials by mine waste were examined and compared to reference materials. Mining waste in cementitious materials offers good compressive strengths, while the porosity of the concrete and/or mortar is a factor influencing its toxicity. As for the waste in fired bricks, fired at a temperature of 900°C or more, it offers convincing compressive and flexural strengths. The few research studies obtained on the use of mining waste in road embankments have shown that mining waste can be used as a sub-base layer and backfill as long as it is not toxic. In addition, several other mining wastes require special attention as substitutes for raw materials in construction materials, such as coltan, cobalt.

Numerical analysis of thermal impact on hydro-mechanical properties of clay

As is known, high-level radioactive waste （HLW） is commonly heat-emitting. Heat output from HLWwilldissipate through the surrounding rocks and induce complex thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical（THMC） processes. In highly consolidated clayey rocks, thermal effects are particularly significantbecause of their very low permeability and water-saturated state. Thermal impact on the integrity of thegeological barriers is of most importance with regard to the long-term safety of repositories. This studyfocuses on numerical analysis of thermal effects on hydro-mechanical properties of clayey rock using acoupled thermo-mechanical multiphase flow （TH2M） model which is implemented in the finite elementprogramme OpenGeoSys （OGS）. The material properties of the numerical model are characterised by atransversal isotropic elastic model based on Hooke＇s law, a non-isothermal multiphase flow model basedon van Genuchten function and Darcy＇s law, and a transversal isotropic heat transport model based onFourier＇s law. In the numerical approaches, special attention has been paid to the thermal expansion ofthree different phases： gas, fluid and solid, which could induce changes in pore pressure and porosity.Furthermore, the strong swelling and shrinkage behaviours of clayey material are also considered in thepresent model. The model has been applied to simulate a laboratory heating experiment on claystone.The numerical model gives a satisfactory representation of the observed material behaviour in thelaboratory experiment. The comparison of the calculated results with the laboratory findings verifies thatthe simulation with the present numerical model could provide a deeper understanding of the observedeffects. 2014 Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Production and hosting byElsevier B.V. All rights reserved.