Optimisation of Beneficiation Processes and Design-Based Circular Economy

The aim of optimising the beneficiation process is to ensure the technical feasibility, profitability and minimal environmental footprint of the project. Moreover, a systematic review of side streams promotes the creation of industrial ecosystems and the efforts to reduce the amount of generated waste. Even the final waste fractions can be optimised to facilitate their management.

GTK helps customers with process planning from the very beginning to ensure the appropriate sorting of waste fractions and the analysis of side stream contents. As a result, the usability of these streams can also be planned.

The goal of the planning efforts is to minimise the amount of waste generated in the beneficiation process. To this end, GTK’s extensive service selection and research infrastructure enable an efficient and research-based planning process.

Goals of optimising the beneficiation process:

• Using as little energy as possible.
• Using as little water as possible and maximising the recycling of process waters. If necessary, the process waters can be cleaned for recycling purposes.
• Exploring drier disposal methods for tailings.
• Having an impact on the quality of the waters entering tailing areas.
• Minimising the use of chemicals and choosing as environmentally friendly chemicals as possible.
• Reducing dust and particulate emissions.

Reuse of mine tailings

After the recovery of the main valuables, the remaining materials may still contain a variety of minerals that can serve the needs of other industries. Their potential uses can be assessed systematically, and the process can be modified to ensure that each end user gets the mineral product they need, whether they operate in the field of construction, civil engineering, agricultural products, or water treatment.

If the cleaner tailings meet specific criteria, they can be used in groundwork for roads and in landscaping. Moreover, the planning process also takes into account the formation of acid in the environment. Harmful substances can be removed from mine tailings by means of beneficiation technology. As a result, the tailings can either be sold or used as backfill material.

The circular economy can even be promoted by reprocessing old mine tailings, and the same process also eliminates risks and promotes environmental restoration efforts. In fact, the goal of re-beneficiation is to use the material as comprehensively as possible.