Chile is the world’s leading producer of copper, and projections based on electro-mobility, green energy, etc., show that in the coming years there will be a global shortage of copper supply. The processes to obtain copper produce wastes such as leach rubbles and tailings with environmental and social drawbacks. The technologies currently in use leave significant mineral remnants in these tailings and leach rubbles, which is an interesting “hidden treasure”.
We have a process to retrieve soluble copper and other minerals, from tailings and leach rubbles, whose concept won first prize in an ideas contest, sponsored by the large mining industry and validated by the laboratories of 2 Chilean universities. The process recovers about 100% soluble copper in 1 hour from tailings and is duly protected until the year 2035, through an invention patent granted by the Institute of Industrial Property, INAPI.
In Chile there are around 14 billion tons of tailings spread throughout the country that still have important remaining minerals, left by the metallurgical processes currently in use. This stock, added to the approximately 600 million tons per year generated in the country, plus the tailings generated in mining operations abroad, imply, in practice, having “infinite raw material”.
There is laboratory-scale validation at the Universidad Católica del Norte and the Universidad de Santiago. Next step is to build a prototype on an industrial scale. The process is protected by a Chilean patent until 2035.
Our process will generate positive externalities:
implementation of circular economy processes, stabilization of tailings, improvement in the quality of life of the surrounding population, diversification of potential productivity, generation of raw material for construction activities, water reservoir and agriculture. No additional buildings or infrastructure are needed, as processing is done on-site, through mobile modular plants.
The proposed solution does not present supply limitations in terms of the volume of tailings to be managed, also having approximately 600 million tons produced annually. This technology can be exported to other countries with similar mining activities.
Since there is not still commercial solution, implemented in mining, to recover soluble minerals from tailings, there are no competitors. On the other hand, productive competition in mining does not exist since global demand for copper and rare earths, driven by electric mobility and green energy production, among others, will not be covered by current operations.
