Mining Company Codelco
(Chile)
Mining companies discover Grander Technology 
Mining, and the subsequent processes to extract fine metal from iron ore, require a lot of water. When the University of Graz found that Grander Technology changes the structure of water and alters its surface tension, they decided to set up laboratory trials.
Why use Grander in mining?
When we look at the history of the earth, we see that water plays an important role in all geological processes. Many things would be impossible without water and water also plays a key role in vulcanology, erosion and sediment transportation. Water is captured
in certain minerals – anhydrite becomes gypsum, others are oxidized, bornite becomes malachite, azurite or atakamite. The geological formation of a deposit is impossible without water as a solvent and aid to transportation, especially with secondary deposits. Therefore, it seems reasonable that the same importance should be attached to use of water in the actual extraction of metal. The knowledge that the penetration of melted snow and ice into the well systems has an influence on metallurgic process is now being taken more seriously.
The mines
Chile can look back on a long, 100 year tradition in mining. More than 40 percent of the world‘s known copper reserves can be found in Chile, with the largest
deposits being in Chuquicamata (surface mining) and El Teniente (sub-surface mining). Copper sulphides and copper oxides are extracted and processed in the mines
Chuquicamata, Radomiro Tomic and Mina Sur of División Codelco Norte of the state-owned copper mining company Codelco. The sulphides are concentrated in flotation plants, melted and subjected
to electrolysis to deposit metallic copper of a high degree of purity. This process at the cathode is expected to show an improvement in the recovery of copper through the use of Grander Technology. Grander Technology is expected to boast yields by enhancing the action of sulphuric acid used to leach copper out of copper oxides prior to the electrolysis.
First trials
Trials began in 2001 in Chile and were carried out by Tulio Araya Luco, one of the most experienced scientists in extraction metallurgy. He found not only an increased yield, but also a considerable acceleration
in the process kinetics. At the same time, the first Grander ECO Cat (fuel economizer device) tests were
being carried out in the lime mine of Cemento Melón. The savings in fuel costs, in mining operations where transportation represents a huge cost factor, are of crucial importance. Air pollution is also a big problem in sub-surface mining. In a first trial with a low-floor dump truck, diesel savings of 5 percent were found after five days and of 7.5 percent in the first month. The carbon monoxide emissions fell by 80 percent (low revs) and
77 percent (high revs) and those of nitrogen oxide by 83 percent and 35 percent. These results gave rise
to the decision to equip all heavy machinery with diesel engines with Grander ECO Cats – even the gigantic 2,700 horsepower skip trucks with a load capacity of more than 300 metric tons, which are used for mineral transportation.
The results
The results of the laboratory trials on flotation and soakage leaching looked good, so pilot trials were
begun in August 2002. Around 2,000 metric tons were treated with revitalisation in flotation, and around 5 metric tons in soakage leaching. Improvements were also found in the leaching of sulphide residues from dumps and chutes using bacteria, which oxidize iron and sulphur in acid solutions, and so improve the copper recovery. Further trials will show whether Grander Technology will also show a result in increased profitability and environmental compatibility. The results shown for the two examples are based on trials using
standard chemicals, which were not optimised and are only intended to show the revitalisation effect. Further results are eagerly awaited to see whether Grander Technology will also produce benefits in any other areas which have not yet been tested, such as organic solvent
extraction, electrolysis, water reclamation and particularly in the environmental protection field. | 