Objectives of the commitment
Develop a system based on the integration of data from several sources (from processing operations and mine water treatment systems to visual inspections) using device to device communications, that monitors the above mentioned waste flows, triggering alerts and recommendations allowing the separate collection of slurries enriched with metals for further processing.
Contribute to safe long term maintenance of tailing dams.
Test and adapt equipment for collection of data from mining waste flows feeding tailings dams.
Description of the activities
A tailings dam is an earth-fill embankment dam used to store waste from mining operations after separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction of an ore. The waste is often in the form of slurry, and its composition depends on the nature of the rock and minerals being mined and on recovery processes used.
Tailing dams are designed for permanent containment of mining wastes but, especially in metal mines, may contain large quantities of metals and other valuable elements that could have been recovered. This happens for two main reasons: 1) no recovery process is 100% efficient, capable of capturing all target elements mined; and 2) changes in the chemical nature of the run of mine materials unbalance the line treatment process and, until the adequate readjustment in the process is made, the waste flow carries valuable elements that should have been captured.
Unfortunately, due to geological variety and the continuous nature of mineralsâ processing plants, the reason 2) above is frequent, and mineral processing is a dynamic (continuously rebalancing) activity, in an effort to accommodate feed-in changing conditions.
In this context, the routing of metals, or other valuable elements that could have been recovered, to tailing dams is frequent. This not only poses problems to mine profitability, but also depreciates the tailings dam itself, diminishing its capacity and lifetime. For society, this impact is also negative, fostering the need for more mines and bigger and difficult to maintain tailing dams, with the correspondent economic, environmental and social losses.
The TailingsDamScavenger system will integrate real time data from mineral processing, water treatment and waste monitoring with data from instruments and inspection activities to define response mechanisms allowing the separate collection of slurries enriched with metals and alert levels that will optimize materials recovery, contributing to increase the lifetime and safety of tailing dams. This system will run in a web base application enabling, from the start, combination of data gathering using device to device communications and data treatment using predictive heuristics. This will support the definition of several levels of warning, alert messages and actions, tailored to different stakeholders.
Description of the expected impacts
TailingsDamScavenger will enable the recovery of metals and other valuable materials from mine waste slurries, contributing to increase the efficiency of industrial ore treatment processes. This will bring positive impacts on mining companiesâ competitiveness, but also on society and environment policies, by diminishing the need for new mines and more and bigger tailing dams.
Coordinating organisation & role
Name of the coordinating organisation: LABORATÃRIO NACIONAL DE ENGENHARIA CIVILCountry: PortugalEntity profile: Governmental/public bodyRole within the commitment:
Coordinator, in charge of building up and testing a real time information system on mining waste flows (to tailings dams).
Other partners
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Angewandten Forschung e.V.
Name of the organisation: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Angewandten Forschung e.V. Country: Germany Entity profile: Governmental/public body
Role within the commitment: Fraunhofer will lead the CFRP and GFRP recycling research.
Fraunhofer will perform corrosion tests on the developed materials.
Fraunhofer will work with CIDAUT on the implementation, validation and refinement of LCCA tools for the project. Fraunhofer is the Quality Manager of the Consortium and will oversee deliverables and general reporting are produced with the best possible quality following agreed review standards.
Fundacion Cidaut
Name of the organisation: Fundacion Cidaut Country: Spain Entity profile:
Role within the commitment: CIDAUT will lead the research activities on materials recycling and compounding, implementing lab scale demonstrators of each process at its premises and, later, supporting end-users upscale the processes.
CIDAUT will perform mechanical tests, microstructural analyses, injection moulding capability studies on the developed materails, and will work with Fraunhofer on the implementation, validation and refinement of LCCA tools for the project.
RWTH Aachen University (Institute of plastic processing (IKV)
Name of the organisation: RWTH Aachen University (Institute of plastic processing (IKV) Country: Germany Entity profile: Governmental/public body
Role within the commitment: RWTH will implement the novel 3D Generative Preforming process (3D Fibre Spraying) that enables to create high-value long fibre-reinforced 3D preforms for thermoplastic and thermoset composites at low process costs (different kinds of yarn as a raw material, low tooling costs due to low cavity pressures). This cost effective technology allows to align the sprayed fibres in order to produce high-performance, engineered anisotropic products.
Universita' di Cagliari
Name of the organisation: Universita' di Cagliari Country: Italy Entity profile:
Role within the commitment: University of Cagliari is one of the leading European organization in the resin design and coupling with thermoplastic and thermose materials. University of Cagliari will support in the definition of the composite materials, both from CFRP/GFRP, ABS and Rare Earth composite material.
Relight
Name of the organisation: Relight Country: Italy Entity profile: Private sector - SME
Role within the commitment: RELIGHT will work with ITRB to provide the research partners with residues for the recycled ABS supply and the REE recovery processes, including their HydroWEEE process as part of the processes to be studied and analyzed.
Piaggio Aerospace
Name of the organisation: Piaggio Aerospace Country: Italy Entity profile: Private sector - large company
Role within the commitment: Piaggio Aerospace is one of the project End Users (Aeronautics Industry): as such it will provide requirements and further applications that could be developed with the Consortium Materials. Piaggio will assist in the compounds selection, provide Fraunhofer with specific corrosion requirements on business jet size aircraft, and will assess that the developed materials performance fits the selected applications desired improvements.
Blackshape Aircrafts
Name of the organisation: Blackshape Aircrafts Country: Italy Entity profile: Private sector - SME
Role within the commitment: Blackshape Aircrafts is one of the project End Users (Aeronautics Industry): as such it will provide requirements and further applications that could be developed with the Consortium Materials. Blackshape will support to fulfill the requirements of the aeronautics industry on ultra light jet, light jet and trainer for Syllabus, and will assess that the developed alloys performance fits the selected applications desired improvements.
KU Leuven
Name of the organisation: KU Leuven Country: Belgium Entity profile: Academia
Role within the commitment: KUL will collaborate on the balance problem studies and will lead the rare earth recovery research with the solvometallurgical and ionometallurgical processes.
KUL will also contribute to the final compounding selection.
KUL is the Dissemination Manager of the project, promoting that all partners are active on the project Dissemination.
FIDAMC
Name of the organisation: FIDAMC Country: Spain Entity profile: Governmental/public body
Role within the commitment: FIDAMC is going to lead the Work Package on Compression Moulding with CFRP-enhanced materials. As part of the AIRBUS Group, FIDAMC will also be able to provide the input material.
FIDAMC successfully developed a 3D Printer of own design to serve the Aerospace Industry and will be supporting Smart Lab 3D Industries in its 3D printer design.
COMPOSITE INNOVATION CENTER
Name of the organisation: COMPOSITE INNOVATION CENTER Country: Canada Entity profile: Governmental/public body
Role within the commitment: Composite Innovation Center is one of the world leading organization in the field of Composite materials, both from carbon fiber and vegetal-based fibers.
Composite Innovation center has successfully implemented, at lab-scale, recycling processes for CFRP and GFRP.
Existing EU Contribution: No
Period to implement the commitment: from 01-11-2016 to 31-10-2019