Treatment Of Copper Mine Tailings Using A Slurry Approach: A Case Study

A small copper concentrator produced approximately 100,000 cubic yards of tailings. A nearby residential area expressed serious reservations about these tailings and as a result, the mining company plans to move the tailings using a slurry approach to a place where a copper smelter is located. These...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment 1998, Vol.29
Main Authors: Kambhampati, D, Mallapragada, P, K. G. Ragunathan R. K. Bhada, Rockstraw, D A
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
Cadmium
Concentrators
Copper
Groundwater
Groundwater pollution
Heavy metals
Iron oxides
Manganese
Mercury
Mercury (metal)
Mine tailings
Mining
Oxides
Residential areas
Selenium
Slurries
Smelters
Tailings
Water pollution
Zinc
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Summary:A small copper concentrator produced approximately 100,000 cubic yards of tailings. A nearby residential area expressed serious reservations about these tailings and as a result, the mining company plans to move the tailings using a slurry approach to a place where a copper smelter is located. These copper tailings have trace concentrations of Fe, As, Mn, Hg, Zn, Se, and Cd The iron oxides and sulfides cause acid generation and contaminate the surface and ground water. The objective of this study is to design and demonstrate the recovery and transport of mine tailings in a slurry; recover as much of the valuable metals as feasible; treat the tailings to a pH of 7.0 or higher; and design a system to recove
ISSN:1746-448X
1743-3541
DOI:10.2495/ENVMAN980221