Héctor Quezada
Leaching Expert
Many of the minerals that are extracted are destined for the use of technologies. For example, a conventional internal combustion car uses up to 23 kilos of copper, a hybrid (internal combustion engine supported by an electric motor) uses between 40 and 60 kilos of copper, while an electric car with batteries uses 83 kilos of copper. This example, the development of electromobility, seeks to reduce the carbon footprint, but initiatives like this lose part of their meaning if they are achieved based on an increase in the exploitation of resources that do not consider their impact on the environment.
In general, all heavy industry and mining have recognized as a challenge and an intrinsic value of their management, the redefinition of their processes to reduce their carbon and water footprints and lower or eliminate their environmental impacts. This area includes the incorporation of Non-Conventional Renewable Energies (NCRE), the electrification of the fleet, the incorporation of circular economies, permanent innovation, and continuous improvement, in order to sustainably reduce the use of non-renewable resources in the mining process. This is the meaning of the incorporation of processes such as chloride leaching, where, for example, to produce copper cathodes, water consumption is much lower per ton of ore processed than when considering a concentration-smelting-electrorefining process, in addition to being necessary to process less ore.
On the other hand, chloride leaching makes it possible to increase the life of deposits that were about to be abandoned due to their low grade. The use of existing infrastructure, conditioned for the new process conditions, attractively resolves the balance between capital investment, operating costs and profitability, successfully transitioning from traditional oxide leaching operations to an operation that allows the leaching of mixed, secondary and transitional sulphides (bornites), with competitive extraction levels.
However, in order to materialize decarbonization, it is necessary to go beyond the mining process itself and consider, for example, the use of clean energy and the provision of water from sources such as desalination or water reuse, a path that several mining companies in Chile and the world are already following.
This poses a series of challenges for the mining industry in the coming years, where innovation will be key so that through cleaner technologies, well-planned projects and the reuse of industry waste, green mining can be achieved.
Country Manager Australia Chemical Civil Engineer of Universidad de Concepción Higher Specialized Studies Diploma, Water Treatment Process Engineering from the University of Lille, France