Toward a more sustainable mining future with electrokinetic in situ leaching.
Evelien MartensHenning PrommerRiccardo SprocatiJing SunXianwen DaiRichard A CraneJames JamiesonPablo Ortega TongMassimo RolleAndy FouriePublished in: Science advances (2021)
Metals are currently almost exclusively extracted from their ore via physical excavation. This energy-intensive process dictates that metal mining remains among the foremost CO2 emitters and mine waste is the single largest waste form by mass. We propose a new approach, electrokinetic in situ leaching (EK-ISL), and demonstrate its applicability for a Cu-bearing sulfidic porphyry ore. In laboratory-scale experiments, Cu recovery was rapid (up to 57 weight % after 94 days) despite low ore hydraulic conductivity (permeability = 6.1 mD; porosity = 10.6%). Multiphysics numerical model simulations confirm the feasibility of EK-ISL at the field scale. This new approach to mining is therefore poised to spearhead a new paradigm of metal recovery from currently inaccessible ore bodies with a markedly reduced environmental footprint.
Keyphrases
- heavy metals
- sewage sludge
- municipal solid waste
- health risk assessment
- physical activity
- life cycle
- molecular dynamics
- health risk
- human health
- risk assessment
- capillary electrophoresis
- mental health
- anaerobic digestion
- endothelial cells
- weight loss
- current status
- mass spectrometry
- metal organic framework
- quantum dots
- body weight
- light emitting