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US 2025/0019279 A1Published application
Treatment of tailings
AssigneeExtrakt Process Solutions, LLC
InventorsPaul C. PAINTER, Bruce G. MILLER, Aron LUPINSKY
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Abstract
Processes of consolidating tailings such as from metal and non-metal based ore processes are disclosed. The processes include mixing tailings with a high concentration of a highly water soluble salt or an aqueous solution thereof to destabilize and consolidate solids in the tailings and separating the consolidated solids from process water.
Claims30
A process of consolidating solids in tailings, the process comprising:
- combining a first portion of tailings resulting from processing a metal-based ore with at least one water soluble salt to form a first treated tailings stream;
- recovering separated process water from the first treated tailings stream to form recovered process water;
- concentrating the at least one water soluble salt in the recovered process water to form a brine containing the at least one water soluble salt;
- recycling at least a portion of the brine to form a recycled brine source;
- and
- forming a second treated tailings stream by combining a second portion of tailings resulting from processing the metal-based ore with the recycled brine source as the at least one water soluble salt,
- wherein the at least one water soluble salt includes one or more salts selected from sodium chloride, sodium nitrate, sodium phosphate, and sodium sulfate,
- wherein the first treated tailings stream includes a consolidated material in process water, wherein the consolidated material has a solids content that includes from 45% by weight to 75% by weight of fines, and
- wherein the first treated tailings stream has a salt-tailings concentration of the at least one water soluble salt of 0.5 wt % to 5 wt %.
6 more elements
A process of consolidating solids in tailings, the process comprising:
- combining a first portion of tailings resulting from processing a metal-based ore with at least one water soluble salt and at least one polymer flocculant to form a first treated tailings stream,
- wherein:
- the at least one water soluble salt includes sodium chloride,
- the at least one polymer flocculant includes a polyacrylamide or co-polymer thereof,
- the first treated tailings stream has a salt-tailings concentration of the at least one water soluble salt of 0.5 wt % to 5 wt %,
- the first treated tailings stream has a polymer-tailings concentration of the at least one polymer flocculant of greater than zero to 0.2 wt %,
- the first treated tailings stream includes a consolidated material in process water, and
- the consolidated material has a solids content that includes from 45% by weight to 75% by weight of fines.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.