RDI projects

#savoniaAMK

Project Information

NameMorecovery
Start1.1.2019
End31.12.2021
Website-
StatusEnded
ContactPatryk Wójtowicz
DescriptionThe sustainable use of mineral resources, including side streams, should be enhanced. To make testing, piloting and exploiting of the critical element resources easier, GTK’s modular recovery process services for hydro metallurgy and water treatment will be enhanced and validated. Service enhancement will be achieved through updating the pilot plant, piloting at active mine site, and piloting recovery services for environmental applications.
PartnersGTK is a well-known provider of mineralogical and traditional processing services for the mining
industry worldwide. GTKs process mineralogy focus has made the research center a leader in
mineralogical analysis in the development of concentration methods. GTKs pilot water treatment
plant has been under development since 2012. The modular plant is designed to run longer term
tests at mine sites utilizing different possible technological combinations, based on which larger scale
water treatment processes and facilities can be designed. Besides water treatment, the pilot plant has
been noted to be suitable also for metal recovery, with some technological updates. So far, the pilot
plant has been tested in water treatment and base metal recovery. The pilot plant is co-owned by
GTK, Savonia and the University of Eastern Finland. Currently it consists of mixing and filtering
technologies from SMEs like Wetend and Sofi Filtration. To complement GTKs service capacity, a
concept of modular recovery process service package for hydrometallurgy and water treatment will be
created and the pilot plant up-scaled and validated for hydrometallurgical processes.

Organic adsorbents have been developed to be a significant eco-efficient and non-waste method of
recovering metals and anions from mine water streams. For example, a selective metal recovery
innovation (N10O) has been patented in the year 2009 (UEF) and brought for business in 2013
named as CH-Collector. The CH-Collector or N10O has been demonstrated to be able to remove
metals from liquid concentrate and to be re-usable for tens of times. Other potential adsorbent
materials investigated at the UEF include target modified biochars, which can be utilized alone or
together e.g. with CH-Collector to boost the recovery. These organic adsorbents have been tested in
laboratory scale and piloting has been done regarding water treatment and base metals recovery. In
this project, the adsorbents would be piloted in larger hydrometallurgical scale and in environmental
water treatment and recovery applications.
Funded byEIT RawMaterials