Electrokinetics enhanced thickening of mine tailings

本研究的目的是评估工业赞助商为准备该技术的商业化而提供的细粒尾矿电动脱水工艺的可行性。创新脱水技术的开发将有利于行业合作伙伴在加拿大发展和壮大，更重要的是，最终有利于加拿大采矿业应对矿山废物管理方面的全球挑战。PI和工业赞助商都认为，如果工程设计得当，EK技术有潜力在稀释尾矿的脱水和浓缩尾矿的进一步脱水方面发挥重要作用。科维特工程有限公司将提供尾矿样本、从矿场及其实验室获得的数据进行分析。在项目期间定期安排会议，讨论进展情况。私隐专员公署会就工程计划的结果与高伟特工程有限公司沟通，并就下一步的发展提出建议。该项目的成果将在国际会议上公布，并在同行评议的工程期刊上发表。加拿大矿业公司因其负责任的采矿做法而受到行业领导者的尊重。拟议项目的成功将导致开发一种管理尾矿的新技术，从而提高尾矿的岩土和地球化学稳定性，减少围堰的规模和成本，并减少向蓄水池输送的水量，这将使尾矿储存更安全，并增加水回收和循环利用。此外，实现更大的脱水将提供额外的环境优势，如减少淡水消耗、减少接触水和减少有毒渗滤液的产生。

The objective of this research is to assess the viability of electrokinetic process for dewatering of fine mine tailings provided by the industrial sponsors for preparation of commercialization of the technology. The development of the innovative dewatering technology will benefit the industry partner to develop and grow in Canada, and more importantly, ultimately benefits the Canadian mining industry in meeting their global challenges in mine waste management. Both the PI and industrial sponsor believe that with proper engineering design, EK technology has potential to play a significant role in dewatering of dilute tailings and further dewatering of thickened tailings. Kovit Engineering Limited will supply tailings sample, data obtained from the mining sites and their lab for analysis. Meetings are scheduled on a regular basis over the project period to discuss the progress. The PI will communicate with Kovit Engineering Limited on findings from the project and make recommendations for the next step development. The results of the project will be presented at international conferences and published in peer reviewed engineering journals. Canadian mining companies receive respect as industry leaders for their responsible mining practices. The success of the proposed project will lead to the development of a new technology for the management of mine tailings, leading to increased geotechnical and geochemical stability of mine tailings, reducing the size and cost of containment dams, and the volume of water sent to the impoundment, which would make the tailings storage safer and increase water recovery and recycle. Furthermore, achieving greater dewatering would offer additional environmental advantages such as reduced fresh water consumption, reduced contact water and reduced toxic leachate generation.