2. Measuring evaporation rates to conserve more water
For most mining operations, water is stored in dams to ensure a reliable water supply and to enable the recycling of water. Evaporation losses in our own dams account for 10% to 25% of total water lost at a mine. Not only are we wasting a very scarce and precious resource, this water costs approximately US$200 million annually to replace.
At our Dawson Mine, in Queensland Australia, we have installed a new technology developed by Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) that supports the more accurate measurement of evaporation rates.
Consisting of two floating buoys, the technology quickly calculates (over 3-6 months) the relationship between local meteorological conditions and actual evaporation – producing much more accurate evaporation data. Having accurate evaporation data drives a better understanding of the water balance at the mine site, focusing efficiency efforts in areas where impact can be greatest.
The potential for this technology to feed into other data-rich technologies is exciting. For example, it supports “pervasive sensing”, another innovation that uses fibre optics to measure water flows, not only to conserve water but to support process control and, ultimately, metal recovery. Our mine sites are large and complex so delivering accuracy, automation and real-time monitoring of all mine-wide water and process flows provides the type of control needed to deliver real water savings. Following a successful proof of concept we are now trialing this technology in our open-pit platinum mine in South Africa.
3. Using (Low-cost) Dry tailings disposal to limit water loss
Water sent to tailings disposal often represents the largest water loss at a mine.
Fine particle slurries in particular are difficult to dewater and current dry disposal options have prohibitive capital and operating costs. As part of our pioneering Concentrate the MineTM concept we are exploring low cost methods to minimize the amount of water sent to the tailings pond in the first place.
Our approach combines course particle flotation to concentrate the mineral, and dry stacking technologies to dewater the residual waste, producing dry, stackable tailings. Essentially, it allows us to float particles at sizes two to three times larger than normal making it easier to extract water from the process and leaving a waste stream that is dry and stackable.
But there will always be a portion of ultra-fine particles that also require processing. In partnership with major chemical companies we have done some promising lab work on copper tailings using [Soane] additives that separate interstitial water from fine metal particles – not only making them easier to recover but also resulting in dry, stackable tailings.
4. Innovating with dry separation techniques that use less water
In addition to dry processing, we are also exploring innovative methods for dry separation. Dry separation involves finding innovative methods for dry comminution (the crushing and grinding, usually sequentially, of ore to the required particle size.
More targeted comminution creates a pre-concentrate of the ore, rejecting and dewatering waste far earlier in the process. Early estimates indicate the potential for a 30-40% reduction in water used per unit of mineral production, as well as the other benefits including increased production.
Using less water when separating waste rock from ore
In parallel with our dry separation technologies, we are also laboratory testing a non-aqueous processing technique, again in partnership with a global leader in science innovation, using a bespoke polymer instead of water to separate the valuable ore from the remaining waste rock particles.
Applicable across most of our core assets, we are confident that these dry processing techniques will allow us to reuse 80% of process water, moving us closer to our goal of a waterless mine – while delivering on our sustainability goals.
