Una nova proposta estàndard global sobre la gestió de cues

Els desastres de la presa de cua no són nous per a la indústria minera. No obstant això, després del desastre de la presa de Brumadinho al Brasil a 2019 On 12 milions de metres cúbics de residus de ferro va ser alliberat accidentalment, matar almenys 134 persones i danyar irreparables el medi ambient, el Global Tailings Review va encapçalar un estàndard mundial de la indústria en la iniciativa de gestió de cues. La proposta cita que les fallades de les instal·lacions són inacceptables, i que els operadors han de tenir tolerància zero a les lesions humanes o a la mort i han d'esforçar-se per un dany zero al medi ambient.

The topic areas discussed in the proposal include:

• Topic Area 1:- Project-affected people and communities.
• Topic Area 2:- Social, environmental, and economic context.
• Topic Area 3:- Design, construcció, operation, maintenance, monitoring, and closing of tailing facilities.
• Topic Area 4:- Management and governance of facilities.
• Topic Area 5:- Emergency preparedness, response, and long-term recovery.
• Topic Area 6:- Public disclosure and access to information.

In addition to the six topic areas, there are also 15 proposed principles that mining operations should follow, així com també 77 auditable requirements.

You can download a PDF of the entire Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management here.

ST equips & Technology believes there is one more item that should be added to the extensively comprehensive list. That is to reduce the abundance of tailings produced in the first place. With our tribo-electrostatic separation procés, we can capture greater amounts of mined product that would ordinarily end up in a waste stream. This not only provides the opportunity to obtain greater gains from mined resources, it can significantly reduce the amount of waste produced in various processes such as extracting alumina from bauxite.

The current method—called the Bayer process—uses caustic materials, altes temperatures, and extreme pressure to separate alumina from surrounding materials in bauxite. The resulting waste stream creates a slurry known as red mud, that must be kept in holding ponds until the toxicity is neutralized.

Nostre Separador de cinturons is an energy efficient system using a dry separation method that can be used prior to the Bayer process to extract more alumina at the beginning. This results in the recovery of valuable natural resources, a reduced need for toxic caustic materials and energy used by the Bayer process, a reduction in the need for a fresh water supply, and a major decrease in the demand for holding ponds.

As global standards continue to change and mining companies are looking for greater efficiencies without compromising on guidelines meant to protect people and the environment, ST equips & Technology will be standing ready to provide economically sound solutions.