Use of Jetti Catalysts in Waste Rock/Tailings Treatment

Bio-heap-leaching is a hydrometallurgical process used to process low grade chalcopyrite ore as the cost of alternative routes of processing and refining are not economically viable. However, a viable solution has been found: to add a catalyst that dramatically enhances the kinetics of leaching while not being too expensive, environmentally detrimental or affecting downstream processes. Jetti resources is using this technology to enhance the heap-leaching rate of chalcopyrite.
This new catalyzed leaching technology can also be applied in tanks and other reactor configurations. The current project aims at applying the Jetti technology to the re-processing of waste rock and tailings. The goal is to incentivize the cleanup of legacy tailings and waste rock dumps, thus reducing the potential for acid mine drainage and required site maintenance, by providing a revenue stream of saleable metal from the re-processing.

Faculty Supervisor:

Edouard Asselin;David Grant Dixon

Student:

Connor Heise

Partner:

Jetti Services Canada Inc

Discipline:

Engineering - other

Sector:

Mining and quarrying

University:

University of British Columbia