An exciting new collaboration between two companies could transform the future of mineral mining by decreasing costs and reducing its environmental impact.
Allonia, a biotechnology company, and Lundin Mining have joined forces to test D-Solve technology at Eagle Mine in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Initial testing has suggested that the use of D-Solve technology can help increase nickel purity by reducing magnesium impurities by 40% and increasing the nickel grade by 18%, according to Inspenet.
This promising collaboration comes at a time when the demand for nickel globally is increasing because of its use in clean energy technologies and battery production. This increased demand has coincided with a decrease in ore grades, according to Discovery Alert, which has meant mining companies need to process more material to extract the same amount of metal as before.
This exciting discovery could be a game changer in nickel extraction by increasing extraction efficiency, which would not only reduce costs but also reduce waste and environmental pollution caused by mining.
D-Solve works by using microbes to selectively dissolve any minerals in the material that are not needed and are economically worthless. This reduces impurities and increases the concentration grades. The companies are now carrying out a pilot study at Eagle Mine, where they aim to process 1-2 tons of material per day to test D-Solve's performance and scalability.
"Eagle Mine is excited to be the first nickel producer to pilot D-Solve in a live processing environment. We believe this innovation could unlock several critical efficiencies in our process that could lead to extending the life of the mine," stated Darby Stacey, managing director of Eagle Mine, per Discovery Alert.
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Developments like these are exciting because they can help reduce the waste associated with mining valuable minerals used in the clean energy transition while also reducing production costs. This helps lower the costs of clean energy technology, which can speed up the transition and reduce energy bills for everyone.
Reducing waste also helps conserve natural resources while reducing the amount of energy used during the mining process. Reducing energy usage minimizes the amount of harmful, planet-warming gases released by these processes. This is important if we are to significantly reduce the amount of pollution we produce and meet our climate goals.
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