Bioprocessing of nickeliferous sulphidic wastes from mining activities

我们建议研究安大略省萨德伯里的斯特拉塔镍冶炼作业产生的冶金废流，即含镍磁黄铁矿精矿的可生化性。这是一种铁硫矿物(约.化学计量比Fe1-Xs)，因为不适合冶炼而被丢弃。大量的水储存在水下的池塘里。废弃的磁黄铁矿固溶体中含有约1%重量的镍，这部分镍已从斯特拉塔的潜在产能中流失，并因具有巨大的酸性矿山废水潜力而构成环境风险。其概念是开发一种使用工业废渣作为原料来回收有价值的资源(即镍)并降低残渣毒性的工艺。除了饲料是加拿大的资源外，不需要额外的开采。我们建议协助开发新的技术，以低成本的方法处理这一废水。这是基于铜和黄金提取领域生物技术的最新进展，而不是基于镍的生物处理，采用细菌辅助浸出。这种技术将为加拿大广泛的生物浸出作业开辟道路，并通过低成本和对环境负责的工艺重振矿产经济。该项目汇集了五个合作伙伴，即斯特拉塔镍公司、安大略省卓越中心、采矿创新卓越中心和NSERC作为资助机构，多伦多大学作为研究的执行者。多伦多大学的湿法冶金、生物修复和新陈代谢模型小组将联合起来，参与一项跨学科的研究工作。三名MASC学生、一名PDF和至少两名本科生将在为期两年的时间里接受协作环境和最先进的生物处理设施的培训。

We propose to investigate the amenability to bio-processing of a metallurgical waste stream produced by the Xstrata Nickel smelting operations in Sudbury, Ontario, namely nickeliferous pyrrhotite concentrate. This is an iron-sulphur mineral (approx. stoichiometry Fe1-xS) that is rejected because it is unsuitable for smelting. Large quantities are stored in ponds under water. The rejected pyrrhotite contains about 1%wt of nickel in solid solution which is lost from Xstrata's potential production capacity and poses an environmental risk by having an enormous potential for acid mine drainage. The concept is the development of a process using an industrial residue as the feed material to recover a valuable resource (i.e., nickel) and reduce the toxicity of the residue. Apart from the feed being a Canadian resource, no additional mining is required. We propose to assist the development of new technology to treat this waste stream by a low-cost process. That is by bioprocessing based on recent advances in biotechnology in the areas of copper and gold extraction, but not on nickel, by employing bacterially assisted leaching. Such technology will open the road for widespread bio-leach operations in Canada, and revitalize the minerals economy by low-cost and environmentally responsible processes. The project brings together five partners, namely Xstrata Nickel, the Ontario Centers of Excellence, the Center for Excellence in Mining Innovation and NSERC, as funding agencies and the University of Toronto as the executioner of the research. The hydrometallurgy, bioremediation and metabolic modelling groups of the University of Toronto will team-up and engage in an interdisciplinary research effort. Three MASc students, one PDF and at least two undergraduate students will be trained in a collaborative environment and state-of-the-art bioprocessing facilities over a period of two years.