Few weeks ago EPSE treated mine tailings as a part of the Geological Survey of Finland GTK’s ERDF funded SMARTTEST project. Goal of the project is to treat soluble metals in tailings into less leachable, less hazardous form, and conduct long-term testing of the treated product.
SMARTTEST project
GTK’s SMARTTEST project was initiated in 2023 for developing waste management solutions in the extractive sector while promoting circular economy practices. During the project, several pilots for mining process side streams and waste management will be conducted between the years 2024 and 2026. The project is funded by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) by the Regional Council of North-Karelia, Agnico Eagle Finland Oy, EPSE Oy, Fatec Oy, Nordfuel Oy, Kemira Oyj, Mawson Oy, Sokli Oy, and Geological Survey of Finland.1
Mine tailings
Tailings are produced in metal extraction processes in the mining industry, containing residue elements in the processed ore, that have low commercial value. Usually, these elements can include concentrations of environmentally hazardous elements such as arsenic, and other heavy metals. Tailings are stored in large storage facilities that can contain millions of cubic meters of waste. The storage of this type of waste causes a constant environmental risk, and in the past, infrastructure failures have caused serious environmental damage all over the world2.
Turning hazardous waste safe for the environment
EPSE’s goal is to demonstrate the effectiveness of EPSE™ Method for stabilizing soluble metals in tailings into more environmentally friendly form. The process consists of dosing EPSE™ chemical and raising pH of tailings slurry. End-products are metal-free water and tailings with less soluble metals. In the on-site pilot, EPSE’s Technical Specialist Kimmo Hellsten and Process Chemist Sini Vehmaanperä conducted treatment of tailings using specially tailored equipment. Treated and untreated materials were sent for testing to GTK’s SMARTTEST field.
Picture:
Kimmo Hellsten, Technical Specialist (left) and Sini Vehmaanperä, Process Chemist (right) who were in charge of the testing at GTK’s SMARTTEST site.
References:
- GTK. SMARTTEST – Smart Circular Economy Field Testing Facility for Extractive Waste and Side Streams. Available at: https://www.gtk.fi/en/research-project/smarttest-smart-circular-economy-field-testing-facility-for-extractive-waste-and-side-streams/.
- Piciullo et. al. A new look at the statistics of tailings dam failures.2022. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013795222001429.
Text is written by Anna Kivimäki.