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Zero-Footprint Mining
XPRIZE
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XPRIZE recently attended the CESCO conference in Santiago, Chile, and hosted a Zero-Waste Mining Prize Design workshop. There, industry professionals collaborated on potential Prize Designs they would like to see disrupt the mining industry and tackle the problem of waste.
Ultimately, the attendees pitched six Prize Designs, and the majority were focused on developing technologies for use upstream in the mining process. There was considerable excitement around the idea of “Zero-Footprint Mining,” or minimally-invasive mining technologies that do not involve the removal of huge amounts of rock or radically change landscapes.
In order to impact waste globally, such a technology would:
Ultimately, the attendees pitched six Prize Designs, and the majority were focused on developing technologies for use upstream in the mining process. There was considerable excitement around the idea of “Zero-Footprint Mining,” or minimally-invasive mining technologies that do not involve the removal of huge amounts of rock or radically change landscapes.
In order to impact waste globally, such a technology would:
- Reduce or eliminate the creation of waste during operation
- Reduce the need to create and manage waste downstream
- Not increase inputs such as energy and water
- Be economical relative to current technology
- Be scalable enough to be adopted across the industry
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Comments
We have done some work looking for hyperaccumulating plant species that could be used for phytomining of rare earth elements: https://doi.org/10.1002/cjce.23152
Our work was not so successful as we found more phytotoxicity effects than hyperaccumulation. But we are currently collaborating with a group who are searching for naturally occurring rare earth element hyperaccumulators.
We have posted another new thread, Prize Parameters, that we would love to have your feedback on! Starting to really get into the next Design phase now
Tabas Coal Mines Complex (TCMC), as one of the subsidiaries of the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO), established with the objective of providing the required coal for the country and is considered to be of highest priority by the ministry of industry, mine and trade regarding provision of investment, job opportunities technical knowledge and technology transfer and modern industrial and mineral methods.
Absorbing local or foreign investments, improving infrastructures, incorporating maximum capabilities to excavate both thermal and coking coals are the most important objective of the complex.
Tabas thermal and coking coal reserves are over 6 billion tons which is the richest and largest coal field in Iran.
The production of clean coal in the country in 2015 planned to be 1.5 MT (3 MT of raw coal) but it actually reduced to 1.2 MT due to lack of investment to procure equipment, lack of mines development and market recession. The necessity to invest in the coal industry, considering the definite local consumption, is quite obvious.
I’m working in “Tabas Coal Mine Complex (TCMC) in the Parvadeh 4 EPC project”
My research title is "Feasibility study of characterization and removal of sulfur species in coal (organic and inorganic) with regarding to increase in recovery, decreased in ash content of final concentrate with conventional processing methods in Bench, Pilot and Plant Scales for achievement to concentrate with more value with favor quality index in steel industry".
my Goals and main outcome included in:
By implementing of this study, some main goals presenting in the following items must be reached and some technical and scientific aspects of this project must be clarified.
- Gathering all information about geology and mineral processing methods conducting in the world which are similar to the Tabas Coal Mines Complex or concentrate or new explored area.
- Reporting all plants in the world which are able to decrease organic and inorganic sulfur content of coal successfully by different methods in pilot or industrial plant scales.
- Conducting systematic and organized sampling to gather representative samples from different coal layers or washing plant concentrate.
- The exploration report and mineralogical studies performed by Kavoshgaran consulting engineers Co. are available. But, any necessary chemical and mineralogical studies can be tested for detail information.
- Conducting a variety of traditional and new processing methods such chemical and biological processing to decrease organic and inorganic sulfur contents in the laboratory scale with an emphasis on pilot and industrial plant scales.
- Prefeasibility and feasibility studies on the selected and optimal process/processes.
- Preparing a complete reports.