Project Status: Complete
Project Participants: ANSTO, CSIRO, Xstrata, OneSteel
Project Leader: Sharif Jahanshahi (CSIRO)
This project is concerned with extending the work conducted under foundation project “Toward Zero Waste” (4A1), where a suite of Australian metallurgical waste products was obtained, characterised and processing/treatment opportunities identified where appropriate.
The two most prospective opportunities were associated with the treatment of sulfide tailings and with discard zinc slags, and this project is concerned with conducting reviews and bench scale test work on both of these priority waste types to define and validate proposed processing options to the point where larger industry funded AMIRA proposals can be developed to take the work forward to the next level.
Characterisation studies have also shown many of the tailings contain other valuable components, which could potentially be recovered into marketable by-products. Using simple mineral processing techniques, such as gravity separation, magnetic separation, froth flotation and screening, the tailings samples will be tested to determine what by-products can be made, what quality they are, and what the potential markets are for such.
Work in 2007/08 involved completing outstanding experimental work on sulfide tailings. The planned work on recovery of geranium and indium from spent zinc fuming slag was also completed and reported, along with several reports on the investigations into the development of conceptual flowsheets for value recovery from sulfide tailings. Two conference papers were produced and presented, to market the concepts being developed in the project. The results of the research have been thoroughly documented. The experimental work on this project effectively finished in February 2008 and most of the effort in recent months has been towards development of strategies to gain industry engagement. An AMIRA P967 proposal was developed and circulated to industry, and will commence late 2008.