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technologyComment of gold mine operation and refining (SE): OPEN PIT MINING: The ore is mined in four steps: drilling, blasting, loading and hauling. In the case of a surface mine, a pattern of holes is drilled in the pit and filled with explosives. The explosives are detonated in order to break up the ground so large shovels or front-end loaders can load it into haul trucks. ORE AND WASTE HAULAGE: The haul trucks transport the ore to various areas for processing. The grade and type of ore determine the processing method used. Higher-grade ores are taken to a mill. Lower grade ores are taken to leach pads. Some ores may be stockpiled for later processing. HEAP LEACHING: The ore is crushed or placed directly on lined leach pads where a dilute cyanide solution is applied to the surface of the heap. The solution percolates down through the ore, where it leaches the gold and flows to a central collection location. The solution is recovered in this closed system. The pregnant leach solution is fed to electrowinning cells and undergoes the same steps as described below from Electro-winning. ORE PROCESSING: Milling: The ore is fed into a series of grinding mills where steel balls grind the ore to a fine slurry or powder. Oxidization and leaching: Some types of ore require further processing before gold is recovered. In this case, the slurry is pressure-oxidized in an autoclave before going to the leaching tanks or a dry powder is fed through a roaster in which it is oxidized using heat before being sent to the leaching tanks as a slurry. The slurry is thickened and runs through a series of leaching tanks. The gold in the slurry adheres to carbon in the tanks. Stripping: The carbon is then moved into a stripping vessel where the gold is removed from the carbon by pumping a hot caustic solution through the carbon. The carbon is later recycled. Electro-winning: The gold-bearing solution is pumped through electro-winning cells or through a zinc precipitation circuit where the gold is recovered from the solution. Smelting: The gold is then melted in a furnace at about 1’064°C and poured into moulds, creating doré bars. Doré bars are unrefined gold bullion bars containing between 60% and 95% gold. References: Newmont (2004) How gold is mined. Newmont. Retrieved from http://www.newmont.com/en/gold/howmined/index.asp technologyComment of gold production (US): OPEN PIT MINING: The ore is mined in four steps: drilling, blasting, loading and hauling. In the case of a surface mine, a pattern of holes is drilled in the pit and filled with explosives. The explosives are detonated in order to break up the ground so large shovels or front-end loaders can load it into haul trucks. UNDERGROUND MINING: Some ore bodies are more economically mined underground. In this case, a tunnel called an adit or a shaft is dug into the earth. Sort tunnels leading from the adit or shaft, called stopes, are dug to access the ore. The surface containing the ore, called a face, is drilled and loaded with explosives. Following blasting, the broken ore is loaded onto electric trucks and taken to the surface. Once mining is completed in a particular stope, it is backfilled with a cement compound. BENEFICIATION: Bald Mountain Mines: The ore treatment method is based on conventional heap leaching technology followed by carbon absorption. The loaded carbon is stripped and refined in the newly commissioned refinery on site. Water is supplied by wells located on the mine property. Grid power was brought to Bald Mountain Mine in 1996. For this purpose, one 27-kilometre 69 KVA power line was constructed from the Alligator Ridge Mine substation to the grid. Golden Sunlight Mines: The ore treatment plant is based on conventional carbon-in-pulp technology, with the addition of a Sand Tailings Retreatment (STR) gold recovery plant to recover gold that would otherwise be lost to tailings. The STR circuit removes the heavier gold bearing pyrite from the sand portion of the tailings by gravity separation. The gold is refined into doré at the mine. Tailing from the mill is discharged to an impoundment area where the solids are allowed to settle so the water can be reused. A cyanide recovery/destruction process was commissioned in 1998. It eliminates the hazard posed to wildlife at the tailings impoundment by lowering cyanide concentrations below 20 mg/l. Fresh water for ore processing, dust suppression, and fire control is supplied from the Jefferson Slough, which is an old natural channel of the Jefferson River. Ore processing also uses water pumped from the tailings impoundment. Pit water is treated in a facility located in the mill complex prior to disposal or for use in dust control. Drinking water is made available by filtering fresh water through an on-site treatment plant. Electric power is provided from a substation at the south property boundary. North-Western Energy supplies electricity the substation. Small diesel generators are used for emergency lighting. A natural gas pipeline supplies gas for heating buildings, a crusher, air scrubber, boiler, carbon reactivation kiln, and refining furnaces. Cortez Mine: Three different metallurgical processes are employed for the recovery of gold. The process used for a particular ore is determined based on grade and metallurgical character of that ore. Lower grade oxide ore is heap leached, while higher-grade non-refractory ore is treated in a conventional mill using cyanidation and a carbon-in-leach (“CIL”) process. When carbonaceous ore is processed by Barrick, it is first dry ground, and then oxidized in a circulating fluid bed roaster, followed by CIL recovery. In 2002 a new leach pad and process plant was commissioned; this plant is capable of processing 164 million tonnes of heap leach ore over the life of the asset. Heap leach ore production is hauled directly to heap leach pads for gold recovery. Water for process use is supplied from the open pit dewatering system. Approximately 90 litres per second of the pit dewatering volume is diverted for plant use. Electric power is supplied by Sierra Pacific Power Company (“SPPC”) through a 73 kilometre, 120 kV transmission line. A long-term agreement is in place with SPPC to provide power through the regulated power system. The average power requirement of the mine is about 160 GWh/year. REFINING: Wohlwill electrolysis. It is assumed that the gold doré-bars from both mines undergo the treatment of Wohlwill electrolysis. This process uses an electrolyte containing 2.5 mol/l of HCl and 2 mol/l of HAuCl4 acid. Electrolysis is carried out with agitation at 65 – 75 °C. The raw gold is intro-duced as cast anode plates. The cathodes, on which the pure gold is deposited, were for many years made of fine gold of 0.25 mm thickness. These have now largely been replaced by sheet titanium or tantalum cathodes, from which the thick layer of fine gold can be peeled off. In a typical electrolysis cell, gold anodes weighing 12 kg and having dimensions 280×230×12 mm (0.138 m2 surface) are used. Opposite to them are conductively connected cathode plates, arranged by two or three on a support rail. One cell normally contains five or six cathode units and four or five anodes. The maximum cell voltage [V] is 1.5 V and the maximum anodic current density [A] 1500 A/m2. The South African Rand refinery gives a specific gold production rate of 0.2 kg per hour Wohlwill electrolysis. Assuming a current efficiency of 95% the energy consumption is [V] x [A] / 0.2 [kg/h] = 1.63 kWh per kg gold refined. No emissions are assumed because of the purity and the high value of the material processed. The resulting sludge contains the PGM present in the electric scrap and is sold for further processing. OTHER MINES: Information about the technology used in the remaining mines is described in the References. WATER EMISSIONS: Water effluents are discharged into rivers. References: Auerswald D. A. and Radcliffe P. H. (2005) Process technology development at Rand Refinery. In: Minerals Engineering, 18(8), pp. 748-753, Online-Version under: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2005.03.011. Newmont (2004) How gold is mined. Newmont. Retrieved from http://www.newmont.com/en/gold/howmined/index.asp Renner H., Schlamp G., Hollmann D., Lüschow H. M., Rothaut J., Knödler A., Hecht C., Schlott M., Drieselmann R., Peter C. and Schiele R. (2002) Gold, Gold Alloys, and Gold Compounds. In: Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Online version, posting date: September 15, 2000 Edition. Wiley-Interscience, Online-Version under: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/14356007.a12_ 499. Barrick (2006b) Environment: Performance Tables from http://www.barrick. com/Default.aspx?SectionID=8906c4bd-4ee4-4f15-bf1b-565e357c01e1& LanguageId=1 Newmont (2005b) Now & Beyond: Sustainability Reports. Newmont Mining Corporation. Retrieved from http://www.newmont.com/en/social/reporting/ index.asp technologyComment of gold production (CA): OPEN PIT MINING: The ore is mined in four steps: drilling, blasting, loading and hauling. In the case of a surface mine, a pattern of holes is drilled in the pit and filled with explosives. The explosives are detonated in order to break up the ground so large shovels or front-end loaders can load it into haul trucks. UNDERGROUND MINING: Some ore bodies are more economically mined underground. In this case, a tunnel called an adit or a shaft is dug into the earth. Sort tunnels leading from the adit or shaft, called stopes, are dug to access the ore. The surface containing the ore, called a face, is drilled and loaded with explosives. Following blasting, the broken ore is loaded onto electric trucks and taken to the surface. Once mining is completed in a particular stope, it is backfilled with a cement compound. ORE AND WASTE HAULAGE: The haul trucks transport the ore to various areas for processing. The grade and type of ore determine the processing method used. Higher-grade ores are taken to a mill. Lower grade ores are taken to leach pads. Some ores may be stockpiled for later processing. BENEFICIATION: In the Porcupine Mines, gold is recovered using a combination of gravity concentration, milling and cyanidation techniques. The milling process consists of primary crushing, secondary crushing, rod/ball mill grinding, gravity concentration, cyanide leaching, carbon-in-pulp gold recovery, stripping, electrowinning and refining. In the Campbell Mine, the ore from the mine, after crushing and grinding, is processed by gravity separation, flotation, pressure oxidation, cyanidation and carbon-in-pulp process followed by electro-winning and gold refining to doré on site. The Musselwhite Mine uses gravity separation, carbon in pulp, electro¬winning and gold refining to doré on site. REFINING: Wohlwill electrolysis. It is assumed that the gold doré-bars from both mines undergo the treatment of Wohlwill electrolysis. This process uses an electrolyte containing 2.5 mol/l of HCl and 2 mol/l of HAuCl4 acid. Electrolysis is carried out with agitation at 65 – 75 °C. The raw gold is intro-duced as cast anode plates. The cathodes, on which the pure gold is deposited, were for many years made of fine gold of 0.25 mm thickness. These have now largely been replaced by sheet titanium or tantalum cathodes, from which the thick layer of fine gold can be peeled off. In a typical electrolysis cell, gold anodes weighing 12 kg and having dimensions 280×230×12 mm (0.138 m2 surface) are used. Opposite to them are conductively connected cathode plates, arranged by two or three on a support rail. One cell normally contains five or six cathode units and four or five anodes. The maximum cell voltage [V] is 1.5 V and the maximum anodic current density [A] 1500 A/m2. The South African Rand refinery gives a specific gold production rate of 0.2 kg per hour Wohlwill electrolysis. Assuming a current efficiency of 95% the energy consumption is [V] x [A] / 0.2 [kg/h] = 1.63 kWh per kg gold refined. No emissions are assumed because of the purity and the high value of the material processed. The resulting sludge contains the PGM present in the electric scrap and is sold for further processing. WATER EMISSIONS: Effluents are discharged into the ocean. REFERENCES: Newmont (2004) How gold is mined. Newmont. Retrieved from http://www.newmont.com/en/gold/howmined/index.asp Renner H., Schlamp G., Hollmann D., Lüschow H. M., Rothaut J., Knödler A., Hecht C., Schlott M., Drieselmann R., Peter C. and Schiele R. (2002) Gold, Gold Alloys, and Gold Compounds. In: Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Online version, posting date: September 15, 2000 Edition. Wiley-Interscience, Online-Version under: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/14356007.a12_ 499. Auerswald D. A. and Radcliffe P. H. (2005) Process technology development at Rand Refinery. In: Minerals Engineering, 18(8), pp. 748-753, Online-Version under: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2005.03.011. technologyComment of gold production (AU): OPEN PIT MINING: The ore is mined in four steps: drilling, blasting, loading and hauling. In the case of a surface mine, a pattern of holes is drilled in the pit and filled with explosives. The explosives are detonated in order to break up the ground so large shovels or front-end loaders can load it into haul trucks. UNDERGROUND MINING: Some ore bodies are more economically mined underground. In this case, a tunnel called an adit or a shaft is dug into the earth. Sort tunnels leading from the adit or shaft, called stopes, are dug to access the ore. The surface containing the ore, called a face, is drilled and loaded with explosives. Following blasting, the broken ore is loaded onto electric trucks and taken to the surface. Once mining is completed in a particular stope, it is backfilled with a cement compound. ORE AND WASTE HAULAGE: The haul trucks transport the ore to various areas for processing. The grade and type of ore determine the processing method used. Higher-grade ores are taken to a mill. Lower grade ores are taken to leach pads. Some ores may be stockpiled for later processing. LEACHING: The ore is crushed or placed directly on lined leach pads where a dilute cyanide solution is applied to the surface of the heap. The solution percolates down through the ore, where it leaches the gold and flows to a central collection location. The solution is recovered in this closed system. The pregnant leach solution is fed to electrowinning cells and undergoes the same steps as described below from Electro-winning. ORE PROCESSING: Milling: The ore is fed into a series of grinding mills where steel balls grind the ore to a fine slurry or powder. Oxidization and leaching: Some types of ore require further processing before gold is recovered. In this case, the slurry is pressure-oxidized in an autoclave before going to the leaching tanks or a dry powder is fed through a roaster in which it is oxidized using heat before being sent to the leaching tanks as a slurry. The slurry is thickened and runs through a series of leaching tanks. The gold in the slurry adheres to carbon in the tanks. Stripping: The carbon is then moved into a stripping vessel where the gold is removed from the carbon by pumping a hot caustic solution through the carbon. The carbon is later recycled. Electro-winning: The gold-bearing solution is pumped through electro-winning cells or through a zinc precipitation circuit where the gold is recovered from the solution. Smelting: The gold is then melted in a furnace at about 1’064°C and poured into moulds, creating doré bars. Doré bars are unrefined gold bullion bars containing between 60% and 95% gold. REFINING: Wohlwill electrolysis. It is assumed that the gold doré-bars from both mines undergo the treatment of Wohlwill electrolysis. This process uses an electrolyte containing 2.5 mol/l of HCl and 2 mol/l of HAuCl4 acid. Electrolysis is carried out with agitation at 65 – 75 °C. The raw gold is intro-duced as cast anode plates. The cathodes, on which the pure gold is deposited, were for many years made of fine gold of 0.25 mm thickness. These have now largely been replaced by sheet titanium or tantalum cathodes, from which the thick layer of fine gold can be peeled off. In a typical electrolysis cell, gold anodes weighing 12 kg and having dimensions 280×230×12 mm (0.138 m2 surface) are used. Opposite to them are conductively connected cathode plates, arranged by two or three on a support rail. One cell normally contains five or six cathode units and four or five anodes. The maximum cell voltage [V] is 1.5 V and the maximum anodic current density [A] 1500 A/m2. The South African Rand refinery gives a specific gold production rate of 0.2 kg per hour Wohlwill electrolysis. Assuming a current efficiency of 95% the energy consumption is [V] x [A] / 0.2 [kg/h] = 1.63 kWh per kg gold refined. No emissions are assumed because of the purity and the high value of the material processed. The resulting sludge contains the PGM present in the electric scrap and is sold for further processing. WATER EMISSIONS: Water effluents are discharged into rivers. REFERENCES: Newmont (2004) How gold is mined. Newmont. Retrieved from http://www.newmont.com/en/gold/howmined/index.asp Renner H., Schlamp G., Hollmann D., Lüschow H. M., Rothaut J., Knödler A., Hecht C., Schlott M., Drieselmann R., Peter C. and Schiele R. (2002) Gold, Gold Alloys, and Gold Compounds. In: Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Online version, posting date: September 15, 2000 Edition. Wiley-Interscience, Online-Version under: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/14356007.a12_ 499. Auerswald D. A. and Radcliffe P. H. (2005) Process technology development at Rand Refinery. In: Minerals Engineering, 18(8), pp. 748-753, Online-Version under: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2005.03.011. technologyComment of gold production (TZ): The mining of ore from open pit and underground mines is considered. technologyComment of gold refinery operation (ZA): REFINING: The refinery, which provides a same day refining service, employs the widely used Miller Chlorination Process to upgrade the gold bullion it receives from mines to at least 99.50% fine gold, the minimum standard required for gold sold on the world bullion markets. It also employs the world’s leading silver refining technology. To further refine gold and silver to 99.99% the cost-effective once-through Wohlwill electrolytic refining process is used. MILLER CHLORINATION PROCESS: This is a pyrometallurgical process whereby gold dore is heated in furnace crucibles. The process is able to separate gold from impurities by using chlorine gas which is added to the crucibles once the gold is molten. Chlorine gas does not react with gold but will combine with silver and base metals to form chlorides. Once the chlorides have formed they float to the surface as slag or escape as volatile gases. The surface melt and the fumes containing the impurities are collected and further refined to extract the gold and silver. This process can take up to 90 minutes produces gold which is at least 99.5% pure with silver being the main remaining component. This gold can be cast into bars as 99.5% gold purity meets the minimum London Good Delivery. However some customers such as jewellers and other industrial end users require gold that is almost 100% pure, so further refining is necessary. In this case, gold using the Miller process is cast into anodes which are then sent to an electrolytic plant. The final product is 99.99% pure gold sponge that can then be melted to produce various end products suited to the needs of the customer. WOHLWILL PROCESS - The electrolytic method of gold refining was first developed by Dr. Emil Wohlwill of Norddeutsche Affinerie in Hamburg in 1874. Dr. Wohlwill’s process is based on the solubility of gold but the insolubility of silver in an electrolyte solution of gold chloride (AuCl3) in hydrochloric acid. Figure below provide the overview of the refining process (source Rand Refinery Brochure) imageUrlTagReplace7f46a8e2-2df0-4cf4-99a8-2878640be562 Emissions includes also HCl to air: 7.48e-03 Calculated from rand refinery scrubber and baghouse emmission values Metal concentrators, Emmision report 2016 http://www.environmentalconsultants.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Appendix-D1.pdf technologyComment of gold refinery operation (RoW): REFINING: The refinery, which provides a same day refining service, employs the widely used Miller Chlorination Process to upgrade the gold bullion it receives from mines to at least 99.50% fine gold, the minimum standard required for gold sold on the world bullion markets. It also employs the world’s leading silver refining technology. To further refine gold and silver to 99.99% the cost-effective once-through Wohlwill electrolytic refining process is used. MILLER CHLORINATION PROCESS: This is a pyrometallurgical process whereby gold dore is heated in furnace crucibles. The process is able to separate gold from impurities by using chlorine gas which is added to the crucibles once the gold is molten. Chlorine gas does not react with gold but will combine with silver and base metals to form chlorides. Once the chlorides have formed they float to the surface as slag or escape as volatile gases. The surface melt and the fumes containing the impurities are collected and further refined to extract the gold and silver. This process can take up to 90 minutes produces gold which is at least 99.5% pure with silver being the main remaining component. This gold can be cast into bars as 99.5% gold purity meets the minimum London Good Delivery. However some customers such as jewellers and other industrial end users require gold that is almost 100% pure, so further refining is necessary. In this case, gold using the Miller process is cast into anodes which are then sent to an electrolytic plant. The final product is 99.99% pure gold sponge that can then be melted to produce various end products suited to the needs of the customer. WOHLWILL PROCESS - The electrolytic method of gold refining was first developed by Dr. Emil Wohlwill of Norddeutsche Affinerie in Hamburg in 1874. Dr. Wohlwill’s process is based on the solubility of gold but the insolubility of silver in an electrolyte solution of gold chloride (AuCl3) in hydrochloric acid. Figure below provide the overview of the refining process (source Rand Refinery Brochure) imageUrlTagReplace7f46a8e2-2df0-4cf4-99a8-2878640be562 Emissions includes also HCl to air: 7.48e-03 Calculated from rand refinery scrubber and baghouse emmission values Metal concentrators, Emmision report 2016 http://www.environmentalconsultants.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Appendix-D1.pdf technologyComment of gold-silver mine operation with refinery (PG): OPEN PIT MINING: The ore is mined in four steps: drilling, blasting, loading and hauling. In the case of a surface mine, a pattern of holes is drilled in the pit and filled with explosives. The explosives are detonated in order to break up the ground so large shovels or front-end loaders can load it into haul trucks. ORE AND WASTE HAULAGE: The haul trucks transport the ore to various areas for processing. The grade and type of ore determine the processing method used. Higher-grade ores are taken to a mill. Lower grade ores are taken to leach pads. Some ores may be stockpiled for later processing. HEAP LEACHING: The recovery processes of the Misima Mine are cyanide leach and carbon in pulp (CIP). The ore is crushed or placed directly on lined leach pads where a dilute cyanide solution is applied to the surface of the heap. The solution percolates down through the ore, where it leaches the gold and flows to a central collection location. The solution is recovered in this closed system. The pregnant leach solution is fed to electrowinning cells and undergoes the same steps as described below from Electro-winning. ORE PROCESSING: Milling: The ore is fed into a series of grinding mills where steel balls grind the ore to a fine slurry or powder. Oxidization and leaching: The recovery process in the Porgera Mine is pressure oxidation and cyanide leach. The slurry is pressure-oxidized in an autoclave before going to the leaching tanks or a dry powder is fed through a roaster in which it is oxidized using heat before being sent to the leaching tanks as a slurry. The slurry is thickened and runs through a series of leaching tanks. The gold in the slurry adheres to carbon in the tanks. Stripping: The carbon is then moved into a stripping vessel where the gold is removed from the carbon by pumping a hot caustic solution through the carbon. The carbon is later recycled. Electro-winning: The gold-bearing solution is pumped through electro-winning cells or through a zinc precipitation circuit where the gold is recovered from the solution. Smelting: The gold is then melted in a furnace at about 1’064°C and poured into moulds, creating doré bars. Doré bars are unrefined gold bullion bars containing between 60% and 95% gold. WATER SUPPLY: For Misima Mine, process water is supplied from pit dewatering bores and in-pit water. Potable water is sourced from boreholes in the coastal limestone. For Porgera Mine, the main water supply of the mine is the Waile Creek Dam, located approximately 7 kilometres from the mine. The reservoir has a capacity of approximately 717, 000 m3 of water. Water for the grinding circuit is also extracted from Kogai Creek, which is located adjacent to the grinding circuit. The mine operates four water treatment plants for potable water and five sewage treatment plants. ENERGY SUPPLY: For Misima Mine, electricity is produced by the mine on site or with own power generators, from diesel and heavy fuel oil. For Porgera Mine, electricity is produced by the mine on site. Assumed with Mobius / Wohlwill electrolysis. Porgera's principal source of power is supplied by a 73-kilometre transmission line from the gas fired and PJV-owned Hides Power Station. The station has a total output of 62 megawatts (“MW”). A back up diesel power station is located at the mine and has an output of 13MW. The average power requirement of the mine is about 60 MW. For both Misima and Porgera Mines, an 18 MW diesel fired power station supplies electrical power. Diesel was used in the station due to the unavailability of previously supplied heavy fuel oil. technologyComment of gold-silver mine operation with refinery (CA-QC): One of the modelled mine is an open-pit mine and the two others are underground. technologyComment of gold-silver mine operation with refinery (RoW): The mining of ore from open pit mines is considered. technologyComment of platinum group metal, extraction and refinery operations (ZA): The ores from the different ore bodies are processed in concentrators where a PGM concentrate is produced with a tailing by product. The PGM base metal concentrate product from the different concentrators processing the different ores are blended during the smelting phase to balance the sulphur content in the final matte product. Smelter operators also carry out toll smelting from third part concentrators. The smelter product is send to the Base metal refinery where the PGMs are separated from the Base Metals. Precious metal refinery is carried out on PGM concentrate from the Base metal refinery to split the PGMs into individual metal products. Water analyses measurements for Anglo Platinum obtained from literature (Slatter et.al, 2009). Mudd, G., 2010. Platinum group metals: a unique case study in the sustainability of mineral resources, in: The 4th International Platinum Conference, Platinum in Transition “Boom or Bust.” Water share between MC and EC from Mudd (2010). Mudd, G., 2010. Platinum group metals: a unique case study in the sustainability of mineral resources, in: The 4th International Platinum Conference, Platinum in Transition “Boom or Bust.” technologyComment of primary zinc production from concentrate (RoW): The technological representativeness of this dataset is considered to be high as smelting methods for zinc are consistent in all regions. Refined zinc produced pyro-metallurgically represents less than 5% of global zinc production and less than 2% of this dataset. Electrometallurgical Smelting The main unit processes for electrometallurgical zinc smelting are roasting, leaching, purification, electrolysis, and melting. In both electrometallurgical and pyro-metallurgical zinc production routes, the first step is to remove the sulfur from the concentrate. Roasting or sintering achieves this. The concentrate is heated in a furnace with operating temperature above 900 °C (exothermic, autogenous process) to convert the zinc sulfide to calcine (zinc oxide). Simultaneously, sulfur reacts with oxygen to produce sulfur dioxide, which is subsequently converted to sulfuric acid in acid plants, usually located with zinc-smelting facilities. During the leaching process, the calcine is dissolved in dilute sulfuric acid solution (re-circulated back from the electrolysis cells) to produce aqueous zinc sulfate solution. The iron impurities dissolve as well and are precipitated out as jarosite or goethite in the presence of calcine and possibly ammonia. Jarosite and goethite are usually disposed of in tailing ponds. Adding zinc dust to the zinc sulfate solution facilitates purification. The purification of leachate leads to precipitation of cadmium, copper, and cobalt as metals. In electrolysis, the purified solution is electrolyzed between lead alloy anodes and aluminum cathodes. The high-purity zinc deposited on aluminum cathodes is stripped off, dried, melted, and cast into SHG zinc ingots (99.99 % zinc). Pyro-metallurgical Smelting The pyro-metallurgical smelting process is based on the reduction of zinc and lead oxides into metal with carbon in an imperial smelting furnace. The sinter, along with pre-heated coke, is charged from the top of the furnace and injected from below with pre-heated air. This ensures that temperature in the center of the furnace remains in the range of 1000-1500 °C. The coke is converted to carbon monoxide, and zinc and lead oxides are reduced to metallic zinc and lead. The liquid lead bullion is collected at the bottom of the furnace along with other metal impurities (copper, silver, and gold). Zinc in vapor form is collected from the top of the furnace along with other gases. Zinc vapor is then condensed into liquid zinc. The lead and cadmium impurities in zinc bullion are removed through a distillation process. The imperial smelting process is an energy-intensive process and produces zinc of lower purity than the electrometallurgical process. technologyComment of processing of anode slime from electrorefining of copper, anode (GLO): Based on typical current technology. Anode slime treatment by pressure leaching and top blown rotary converter. Production of Silver by Möbius Electrolysis, Gold by Wohlwill electrolysis, copper telluride cement and crude selenium to further processing. technologyComment of silver-gold mine operation with refinery (CL): OPEN PIT MINING: The ore is mined in four steps: drilling, blasting, loading and hauling. In the case of a surface mine, a pattern of holes is drilled in the pit and filled with explosives. The explosives are detonated in order to break up the ground so large shovels or front-end loaders can load it into haul trucks. BENEFICIATION: The processing plant consists of primary crushing, a pre-crushing circuit, (semi autogenous ball mill crushing) grinding, leaching, filtering and washing, Merrill-Crowe plant and doré refinery. The Merrill-Crowe metal recovery circuit is better than a carbon-in-pulp system for the high-grade silver material. Tailings are filtered to recover excess water as well as residual cyanide and metals. A dry tailings disposal system was preferred to a conventional wet tailings impoundment because of site-specific environmental considerations. technologyComment of silver-gold mine operation with refinery (RoW): Refinement is estimated with electrolysis-data. technologyComment of treatment of precious metal from electronics scrap, in anode slime, precious metal extraction (SE, RoW): Anode slime treatment by pressure leaching and top blown rotary converter. Production of Silver by Möbius Electrolysis, Gold by Wohlwill electrolysis, Palladium to further processing

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technologyComment of gold mine operation and refining (SE): OPEN PIT MINING: The ore is mined in four steps: drilling, blasting, loading and hauling. In the case of a surface mine, a pattern of holes is drilled in the pit and filled with explosives. The explosives are detonated in order to break up the ground so large shovels or front-end loaders can load it into haul trucks. ORE AND WASTE HAULAGE: The haul trucks transport the ore to various areas for processing. The grade and type of ore determine the processing method used. Higher-grade ores are taken to a mill. Lower grade ores are taken to leach pads. Some ores may be stockpiled for later processing. HEAP LEACHING: The ore is crushed or placed directly on lined leach pads where a dilute cyanide solution is applied to the surface of the heap. The solution percolates down through the ore, where it leaches the gold and flows to a central collection location. The solution is recovered in this closed system. The pregnant leach solution is fed to electrowinning cells and undergoes the same steps as described below from Electro-winning. ORE PROCESSING: Milling: The ore is fed into a series of grinding mills where steel balls grind the ore to a fine slurry or powder. Oxidization and leaching: Some types of ore require further processing before gold is recovered. In this case, the slurry is pressure-oxidized in an autoclave before going to the leaching tanks or a dry powder is fed through a roaster in which it is oxidized using heat before being sent to the leaching tanks as a slurry. The slurry is thickened and runs through a series of leaching tanks. The gold in the slurry adheres to carbon in the tanks. Stripping: The carbon is then moved into a stripping vessel where the gold is removed from the carbon by pumping a hot caustic solution through the carbon. The carbon is later recycled. Electro-winning: The gold-bearing solution is pumped through electro-winning cells or through a zinc precipitation circuit where the gold is recovered from the solution. Smelting: The gold is then melted in a furnace at about 1’064°C and poured into moulds, creating doré bars. Doré bars are unrefined gold bullion bars containing between 60% and 95% gold. References: Newmont (2004) How gold is mined. Newmont. Retrieved from http://www.newmont.com/en/gold/howmined/index.asp technologyComment of primary lead production from concentrate (GLO): There are two basic pyrometallurgical processes available for the production of lead from lead or mixed lead-zinc-sulphide concentrates: sinter oxidation / blast furnace reduction route or Direct Smelting Reduction Processes. Both processes are followed by a refining step to produce the final product with the required purity, and may also be used for concentrates mixed with secondary raw materials. SINTER OXIDATION / BLAST FURNACE REDUCTION: The sinter oxidation / blast furnace reduction involves two steps: 1) A sintering oxidative roast to remove sulphur with production of PbO; and 2) Blast furnace reduction of the sinter product. The objective of sintering lead concentrates is to remove as much sulphur as possible from the galena and the accompanying iron, zinc, and copper sulphides, while producing lump agglomerate with appropriate properties for subsequent reduction in the blast furnace (a type of a shaft furnace). As raw material feed, lead concentrates are blended with recycled sinter fines, secondary material and other process materials and pelletised in rotating drums. Pellets are fed onto sinter machine and ignited. The burning pellets are conveyed over a series of wind-boxes through which air is blown. Sulphur is oxidised to sulphur dioxide and the reaction generates enough heat to fuse and agglomerate the pellets. Sinter is charged to the blast furnace with metallurgical coke. Air and/or oxygen enriched air is injected and reacts with the coke to produce carbon monoxide. This generates sufficient heat to melt the charge. The gangue content of the furnace charge combines with the added fluxes or reagents to form a slag. For smelting bulk lead-zinc-concentrates and secondary material, frequently the Imperial Smelting Furnace is used. Here, hot sinter and pre-heated coke as well as hot briquettes are charged. Hot air is injected. The reduction of the metal oxides not only produces lead and slag but also zinc, which is volatile at the furnace operating temperature and passes out of the ISF with the furnace off-gases. The gases also contain some cadmium and lead. The furnace gases pass through a splash condenser in which a shower of molten lead quenches them and the metals are absorbed into the liquid lead, the zinc is refined by distillation. DIRECT SMELTING REDUCTION: The Direct Smelting Reduction Process does not carry out the sintering stage separately. Lead sulphide concentrates and secondary materials are charged directly to a furnace and are then melted and oxidised. Sulphur dioxide is formed and is collected, cleaned and converted to sulphuric acid. Carbon (coke or gas) and fluxing agents are added to the molten charge and lead oxide is reduced to lead, a slag is formed. Some zinc and cadmium are “fumed” off in the furnace, their oxides are captured in the abatement plant and recovered. Several processes are used for direct smelting of lead concentrates and some secondary material to produce crude lead and slag. Bath smelting processes are used: the ISA Smelt/Ausmelt furnaces (sometimes in combination with blast furnaces), Kaldo (TBRC) and QSL integrated processes are used in EU and Worldwide. The Kivcet integrated process is also used and is a flash smelting process. The ISA Smelt/Ausmelt furnaces and the QSL take moist, pelletised feed and the Kaldo and Kivcet use dried feed. REFINING: Lead bullion may contain varying amounts of copper, silver, bismuth, antimony, arsenic and tin. Lead recovered from secondary sources may contain similar impurities, but generally antimony and calcium dominate. There are two methods of refining crude lead: electrolytic refining and pyrometallurgical refining. Electrolytic refining uses anodes of de-copperised lead bullion and starter cathodes of pure lead. This is a high-cost process and is used infrequently. A pyrometallurgical refinery consists of a series of kettles, which are indirectly heated by oil or gas. Over a series of separation processes impurities and metal values are separated from the lead bouillon. Overall waste: The production of metals is related to the generation of several by-products, residues and wastes, which are also listed in the European Waste Catalogue (Council Decision 94/3/EEC). The ISF or direct smelting furnaces also are significant sources of solid slag. This slag has been subjected to high temperatures and generally contains low levels of leachable metals, consequently it may be used in construction. Solid residues also arise as the result of the treatment of liquid effluents. The main waste stream is gypsum waste (CaSO4) and metal hydroxides that are produced at the wastewater neutralisation plant. These wastes are considered to be a cross-media effect of these treatment techniques but many are recycled to pyrometallurgical process to recover the metals. Dust or sludge from the treatment of gases are used as raw materials for the production of other metals such as Ge, Ga, In and As, etc or can be returned to the smelter or into the leach circuit for the recovery of lead and zinc. Hg/Se residues arise at the pre-treatment of mercury or selenium streams from the gas cleaning stage. This solid waste stream amounts to approximately 40 - 120 t/y in a typical plant. Hg and Se can be recovered from these residues depending on the market for these metals. Overall emissions: The main emissions to air from zinc and lead production are sulphur dioxide, other sulphur compounds and acid mists; nitrogen oxides and other nitrogen compounds, metals and their compounds; dust; VOC and dioxins. Other pollutants are considered to be of negligible importance for the industry, partly because they are not present in the production process and partly because they are immediately neutralised (e.g. chlorine) or occur in very low concentrations. Emissions are to a large extent bound to dust (except cadmium, arsenic and mercury that can be present in the vapour phase). Metals and their compounds and materials in suspension are the main pollutants emitted to water. The metals concerned are Zn, Cd, Pb, Hg, Se, Cu, Ni, As, Co and Cr. Other significant substances are fluorides, chlorides and sulphates. Wastewater from the gas cleaning of the smelter and fluid-bed roasting stages are the most important sources. References: Sutherland C. A., Milner E. F., Kerby R. C., Teindl H. and Melin A. (1997) Lead. In: Ullmann's encyclopedia of industrial chemistry (ed. Anonymous). 5th edition on CD-ROM Edition. Wiley & Sons, London. IPPC (2001) Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC); Reference Document on Best Available Techniques in the Non Ferrous Metals Industries. European Commission. Retrieved from http://www.jrc.es/pub/english.cgi/ 0/733169 technologyComment of primary zinc production from concentrate (RoW): The technological representativeness of this dataset is considered to be high as smelting methods for zinc are consistent in all regions. Refined zinc produced pyro-metallurgically represents less than 5% of global zinc production and less than 2% of this dataset. Electrometallurgical Smelting The main unit processes for electrometallurgical zinc smelting are roasting, leaching, purification, electrolysis, and melting. In both electrometallurgical and pyro-metallurgical zinc production routes, the first step is to remove the sulfur from the concentrate. Roasting or sintering achieves this. The concentrate is heated in a furnace with operating temperature above 900 °C (exothermic, autogenous process) to convert the zinc sulfide to calcine (zinc oxide). Simultaneously, sulfur reacts with oxygen to produce sulfur dioxide, which is subsequently converted to sulfuric acid in acid plants, usually located with zinc-smelting facilities. During the leaching process, the calcine is dissolved in dilute sulfuric acid solution (re-circulated back from the electrolysis cells) to produce aqueous zinc sulfate solution. The iron impurities dissolve as well and are precipitated out as jarosite or goethite in the presence of calcine and possibly ammonia. Jarosite and goethite are usually disposed of in tailing ponds. Adding zinc dust to the zinc sulfate solution facilitates purification. The purification of leachate leads to precipitation of cadmium, copper, and cobalt as metals. In electrolysis, the purified solution is electrolyzed between lead alloy anodes and aluminum cathodes. The high-purity zinc deposited on aluminum cathodes is stripped off, dried, melted, and cast into SHG zinc ingots (99.99 % zinc). Pyro-metallurgical Smelting The pyro-metallurgical smelting process is based on the reduction of zinc and lead oxides into metal with carbon in an imperial smelting furnace. The sinter, along with pre-heated coke, is charged from the top of the furnace and injected from below with pre-heated air. This ensures that temperature in the center of the furnace remains in the range of 1000-1500 °C. The coke is converted to carbon monoxide, and zinc and lead oxides are reduced to metallic zinc and lead. The liquid lead bullion is collected at the bottom of the furnace along with other metal impurities (copper, silver, and gold). Zinc in vapor form is collected from the top of the furnace along with other gases. Zinc vapor is then condensed into liquid zinc. The lead and cadmium impurities in zinc bullion are removed through a distillation process. The imperial smelting process is an energy-intensive process and produces zinc of lower purity than the electrometallurgical process. technologyComment of treatment of electronics scrap, metals recovery in copper smelter (SE, RoW): Conversion of Copper in a Kaldo Converter and treatment in converter aisle. technologyComment of treatment of scrap lead acid battery, remelting (RoW): The referred operation uses a shaft furnace with post combustion, which is the usual technology for secondary smelters. technologyComment of treatment of scrap lead acid battery, remelting (RER): The referred operation uses a shaft furnace with post combustion, which is the usual technology for secondary smelters. Typically this technology produces 5000 t / a sulphuric acid (15% concentration), 25’000 t lead bullion (98% Pb), 1200 t / a slags (1% Pb) and 3000 t / a raw lead matte (10% Pb) to be shipped to primary smelters. Overall Pb yield is typically 98.8% at the plant level and 99.8% after reworking the matte. The operation treats junk batteries and plates but also lead cable sheathing, drosses and sludges, leaded glass and balancing weights. From this feed it manufactures mainly antimonial lead up to 10% Sb, calcium-aluminium lead alloys with or without tin and soft lead with low and high copper content. All these products are the result of a refining and alloying step to meet the compliance with the designations desired. The following by products are reused in the process: fine dust, slag, and sulfuric acid. References: Quirijnen L. (1999) How to implement efficient local lead-acid battery recycling. In: Journal of Power Sources, 78(1-2), pp. 267-269.

Waste treatment plant for the treatment of slurry and liquid brewey wastes

Das Projekt "Waste treatment plant for the treatment of slurry and liquid brewey wastes" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Eisenmann Maschinenbau KG durchgeführt. Objective: The project aims at demonstrating that slurry-type wastes originating from the food industry - and a brewery is selected as a typical example - constitute a substantial energy resource. These wastes should therefore not be destroyed by an aerobic, energy-demanding process, but on the contrary be treated in such a way as to recover the energy. Biomethanation is an appropriate process for this, provided innovative adequate pretreatments, namely pretreatments with enzymes, make it possible for methane archae-bacteria to transform the organic matter into methane. Besides, the biogas can be utilized by the industry itself and the pollution abatement constitutes an important fringe benefit. General Information: The innovative treatment system consists of 4 consecutive steps. The slurry-type brewery waste will be enzymatically hydrolyzed to monomeric compounds, simultaneously fermented to organic acids and separately biomethanized. Preceeding these two steps is a buffer step to cope with the discontinuous fonctionning of the brewery, namely over the week-end. Following these two steps, is a step of physico-chemically-assisted thickening yielding a filtrate to be recycled in the 3rd step and a sludge to be composted. The first step, buffering, takes place in 5 m3 tank where yeast and marc are mixed and heated at 70 degree of Celsius In this step, the Kieselgur filter aid is specifically removed by fast sedimentation, an essential part or the process. In the second step, 220 l portions of the previous step are mixed with O.O1 per cent enzyme, heated at 70 degree of Celsius and introduced in the first anaerobic reactor of next step. The third step consists of 2 step biomethanation system: acidogenesis and methanogenesis. Acidogenesis is conducted in a 3step cascade mode with part of the sludge recycled, the excess sludge being led to step 4. The gas produced in the acidogenic step passes through the methanogenic reactor. The mixed liquor of the methanogenic step passes through an ultrafiltration device. The liquid portion is of good quality enough to be discharged in the sewer. The more solid portion is fed into step 4. The biogas is stored in a 15 m3 gasholder at low pressure and subsequently at 15 bar in a high pressure container of 67 m3 capacity, in order to allow for a 3 times a week use, at peak-demand times of energy in the brewery. The fourth step collects the excess sludge, thickens it in a filterpress, recycles the filtrate in the third step and yields and easily compostable solid cake. The waste to be treated amounts to 800 m3 y-1, containing 55,300 kg of TOC (total organic carbon).With an expected global conversion of 70 per cent, the biogas yield is 72,000 Nm3 y-1,equivalent to 42.6 toe. Total costs are 920,020 DM, all of it being eligible. EC contribution is 367.850 DM. Total investment cost is 678,020 DM. Maintenance and operation costs amount to 20,000 DM yearly. Per unit thermal kWh produced, this is equal respectively...

Biogas production by treating sludge of a waste water treatment plant

Das Projekt "Biogas production by treating sludge of a waste water treatment plant" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Schwarting-Uhde GmbH Umwelt- und Bioverfahrenstechnik durchgeführt. Objective: The subdivized project is concerned with the establishement and demonstration operation of a plant for gaining biogas from the sludge of a communal sewage plant and utilizing it to create electrical and thermal energy. By the process of gaining energy from the biological degradation of the organic substances of the sewage sludge, the corresponding amount of primary energy can be substitutes. At the same time, the quantity of dry matter for disposal is reduced by about 50 per cent. The sludge treated in this way can then be both deposited and used for recultivation. The aim of demonstration operation was to confirm and improve the turnover rates achieved in extensive preliminary investigations for microbial methane production from the sewage sludge of a communal sewage plant. General Information: The demonstration plant was based on the Schwarting/Udhe process. To ensure a high degradation rate even in peak load periods, this process operates in two successive stages. Moreover, it does not use fully mixed fermenters, but narrow standing containers. In these containers, there is a defined slug flow in which the necessary contact between the substrate and the biomass is created by a patented phase mixing system. In the degradation of communal sewage sludge in conventional single-stage plants, only 20-30 per cent of the dry organic matter could be converted to biomass. In extensive preliminary investigations carried out in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for contact surface and bio-process technology, a modified variant of the Schwarting/Udhe process was developed which permits degradation rates of 50-60 per cent of the dry organic matter. Simultaneously, the residences time of 25-30 days in conventional singel-stage fermenters has been reduced considerably. Achievements: The installation for the 2-stage fermentation of sewage sludge, which was to be established in accordance with the project description, was constructed in 1993/94 after planning work in 1992/93, and it was taken into operation by September 1994. Demonstration operation of the plant was carried out from Oct.94 to Dec.95. For external reasons, the installation could only be operated in the difficult partial load area with extraordinary fluctuations in the intake volume and intake concentration during this period. In spite of the sometimes difficult operation under partial load, the plant shows a below average amount of wear. Up to now, only the explicit wearing parts have had to be replaced, and as a rule, even these parts had exceeded the anticipated service life. However, the components used were cheked and optimized in intensive cooperation with the operator with respect to their use; permanent operation under full load is possible without any restrictions. The device planned for holding back biomass in the second fermentation stage, which was implemented for the first time in this project, has shown its functionality. As anticipated, the degree of...

Behandlung von Schlamm im Biopolder

Das Projekt "Behandlung von Schlamm im Biopolder" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Ingenieurbüro Dr. Fechter GmbH durchgeführt. Behandlung von kontaminiertem Schlamm im Biopolder mit dem Ziel die Schwermetalle aus dem Schlamm zu eluieren und die organischen Schadstoffe biologisch abzubauen. Die ausgetragenen Schwermetalle werden in einer Eisenoxidhydratschüttung adsorptiv festgelegt und einem Verhüttungsprozeß zugeführt. Abfälle fallen bei diesem Verfahren nicht an. Eine entsprechende Anlage ist in Brandenburg bereits in Betrieb.

Hygienische Wirkung von Kalk auf Klaerschlamm

Das Projekt "Hygienische Wirkung von Kalk auf Klaerschlamm" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Hohenheim, Institut für Tiermedizin und Tierhygiene durchgeführt. Es wird der Einfluss von Kalk auf Salmonellen im Klaerschlamm bei verschiedenen technischen Schlammbehandlungsverfahren untersucht.

Stahl in der Wasserver- und Entsorgung

Das Projekt "Stahl in der Wasserver- und Entsorgung" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Technische Hochschule Darmstadt, Institut für Wasserversorgung, Abwasserbeseitigung und Raumplanung durchgeführt. Fuer zahlreiche siedlungswasserwirtschaftliche Bauwerke und Einrichtungen kommen grundsaetzlich mehrere Werkstoffe in Betracht. Den vom Stahl gebotenen Vorteilen hoeherer Festigkeit und geringeren Konstruktionsgewichts stehen vielfach Korrosionsprobleme bzw. -vorurteile sowie Konstruktionsanforderungen und Formgebungen gegenueber, die die vom Werkstoff Stahl gebotenen Moeglichkeiten nicht ausschoepfen. Gegenstand der Untersuchung ist eine Ueberpruefung der wesentlichen Vorrichtungen, z.B. verschiedenste Bahaeltertypen, der Wasserversorgung, Abwasser- und Schlammbehandlung in Hinblick auf eine optimale Beruecksichtigung der funktionalen und Werkstoff-Bedingungen. Sie befasst sich mit der Gestaltung herkoemmlicher Anlagen, im besonderen Masse abermit den Werkstoffragen in Hinblick auf neue Technologien der Siedlungswasserwirtschaft wie auch des Korrosionsschutzes.

Bekanntmachung gem. § 5 UVPG - GB-GmbH, Bocholt

Die GB-GmbH beabsichtigt, ihre Anlage zur Schlammbehandlung durch folgende Maßnahme wesentlich zu ändern: • Errichtung und Betrieb einer Waschanlage für Stahlfässer • Ausweitung des Annahmekatalogs • Verschiebung der Behandlungs- und Zwischenlagerkapazitäten von nicht ge-fährlichem zu gefährlichem Abfall Der Anlagenstandort befindet sich in 46395 Bocholt, Telingskamp 13, Gemarkung Mussum, Flur 8, Flurstück 114.

Entwaesserung von Papierzellstoff oder -schlaemmen bis zu einem Trockenmassegehalt von 90 Prozent fuer die exotherme Verwertung

Das Projekt "Entwaesserung von Papierzellstoff oder -schlaemmen bis zu einem Trockenmassegehalt von 90 Prozent fuer die exotherme Verwertung" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Berstorff GmbH durchgeführt. Objective: To provide a combustible material by dewatering, with less energy, paper pulp, sludges, bark up to 90 per cent dry pulp contents. Expected power saving should amount to 6700000 kWh/y. General Information: This plant is comprised of a cylinder linked to a revolving worm screw, an inlet for stock to be dewatered and an outlet for stock dried. Axial holed pressing pins for liquid drainage penetrate the cylinder radically. The pin tips, the parts of the worm opposite, and the individual segments lining the inside of the cylinder, liable to stress are made of sintered hard metal or ceramic material and easily replaceable. Plant capacity is +/- 10000 T/y of pulp over 8400 operating hours, and high dewatering rates of up to 90 per cent may be maintained with an extreme pressure of 500 bar. The power requirement of the dewatering extruder is +/- 300000 kWh/y. Achievements: The passage from pilot to full scale has led to unexpected technical problems, notably a severe increase of torque forces and vibration which caused damage to different parts of the machine and especially to the end bearing of the screw. It has not been possible to dewater by more than 50 per cent and the specific driving power required was higher than foreseen. Lastly, the contractor estimated that it would not be justified economically to continue to try overcoming the problems and the project was abandoned.

Retention capacity of posidonia shale in respect of seepage water containing heavy metals from flue-dust dumps. Modelling of migration mechanisms based on laboratory tests and work on site

Das Projekt "Retention capacity of posidonia shale in respect of seepage water containing heavy metals from flue-dust dumps. Modelling of migration mechanisms based on laboratory tests and work on site" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Karlsruhe (TH) durchgeführt. General Information: The dump sites used for the storage of residues from the various phases of steel production have to meet very special criteria. Flue dust and washing-tower sludge contain extremely high proportions of heavy metals and, in accordance with the Council Directive of 20 Match 1978 on toxic and dangerous waste, wastes containing Pb, Cd and As are among those requiring priority consideration. Seepage water in dumps results in the leaching of heavy metals and, if no precautions are taken, in the penetration of pollutants into the earth or groundwater. The base of a dump can act as a barrier against the migration of pollutants into the groundwater and biosphere, if its permeability is low and its sorption capacity high, and if the body of rock has little tendency toward destabilization and is homogenous and thick (20 m). Rocks with these favourable characteristics are generally argillaceous. In order to establish whether a rock would be suitable for a dump base, laboratory tests are normally carried out to check the above characteristics. The laboratory data are then applied to site conditions. However, the modelling of these conditions on laboratory data often involves major uncertainties. In this case we are in the fortunate position of being able to study a flue-dust dump which has been in existence for several decades and is located on a favourable barrier rock, Posidonia shale. A long-term in-situ test which would be very difficult to simulate in a laboratory has been carried out at this dump. When modelling heavy-metal migration the normal process can be reversed. The actual situation is recorded very precisely, and pollutant migration during recent decades reconstructed. Parallel laboratory tests using the same uncontaminated rock and the same pollutants are carried out, and a model is constructed using conventional methods. The validity of such a model can then be checked, and if necessary the model can be corrected so that it corresponds to what has actually happened. In addition to establishing the value of laboratory tests for ascertaining the suitability of a dump site, it will also be possible to show whether Posidonia shale is suitable for flue-dust dumps. Posidonia shale or 'oil shale' (Lias) is often found very near to iron and steel industry works, as it constitutes the under bed of mined dogger ore. From the point of view of infrastructure, Posidonia shale is therefore a favourable site and is in fact often used as such. Furthermore, a better understanding of complex migration processes (hydro-dynamic dispersion, molecular diffusion, ion exchange, adsorption/desorption, solution-precipitation, formation of organometallic complexes, flocculation-peptization, movement of colloid particles, etc) can help to establish whether any pre-treatment of the material to be dumped or the dump base is necessary.

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