Scientists from the University of Exeter, the Technical University of Denmark, CSIRO (which is the national science agency in Australia) and the University of Western Australia have designed a new mining method that extracts minerals from hard rock ore using electric fields.
The method could replace the conventional digging technique, which causes significant effects to the environment. These include biodiversity loss, formation of sinkholes, deforestation, erosion and the contamination of ground, soil and surface water.
Currently, methods of digging are utilized in 99% of activities involved in mining, which often leads to large quantities of solid waste and considerable environmental degradation. Estimates shows that globally, nearly 100 gigatons of waste is generated from mining annually, which is considerably bigger than any other waste form generated by people.
This new method has been reported in the “Sciences Advances” journal. It is currently being refined, with backing from the Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia.
Henning Prommer, a professor from the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Western Australia, who is also a part of CSIRO, stated that the method worked by inducting electrodes in the ore body and applying electric currents that caused the transportation of electrically charged metals such as copper, through rocks via a process known as electromigration. Prommer explained that the metals were then extracted in the ore body, which would replace having to mill huge amounts of material so that they could be dug out. The latter, he added, had placed a lot of pressure on the environment.
He noted that while conventional ore mining methods led to a huge amount of solid waste, which has to be disposed of once brought to the earth’s surface, this new technique reduced wastage significantly.
Andy Fourie, another professor from the same university’s school of engineering, stated that the new method had a lot of potential. He added that it would not only boost mining outcomes but also allow the industry as a whole to shift towards a more sustainable method of extracting minerals.
The scientists have tested the method through computer modeling as well as in lab experiments. Having successfully extracted copper from a few rock samples, the researchers remain confident that the method will be effective in extracting a wide range of other metals, including copper, in the field.
Prommer noted that it was exciting to utilize intermittent power sources such as wind and solar to extract metals; this is akin to the way that companies such as GoldHaven Resources Corp. (CSE: GOH) (OTCQB: GHVNF) utilize a host of ecofriendly techniques to minimize the adverse effects on the environment as mining activities are conducted.
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