What technology makes it possible?

Possibly Top Mining

Doris Hiam-Galvez Hatch, Peru Director Address: Av. Conquistadores 626 Of. 301 San Isidro, Lima 27, Peru Phone: 511 714 4000 Fax: 511 714 4001 e-mail: dhiamgalvez@hatch.ca

What technology makes it possible? Doris Hiam-Galvez Hatch, Peru

ABSTRACT Mining in South America has been carried out for many generations and is now seeing dramatic growth together with the adoption of new approaches to minimise the damage to the environment, use energy more effectively and ensure that the local communities participate in the benefits of these activities. The latest technologies that improve mining and mineral processing efficiency and significantly reduce the emissions and effluents will be briefly reviewed. Water treatment using techniques such as nanofiltration through membranes to achieve purity levels equal to the incoming water supply is now possible and examples of how this is done will be presented. The slags generated in pyrometallurgical processes can contain up to 90% of the heat energy from the processes; methods of capturing this energy and recycling it back into the refining process will be covered. The significant improvements in energy consumption as a result of this recovery are shown to reduce the process energy requirements, thus reducing the demand for fuel and electricity and consequently the infrastructure costs to support the operations. In addition, there are the obvious cost savings. Because of the low atmospheric pressures existing in the Andes and the complex nature of the ores, autoclave technology (high pressure hydrometallurgy) frequently offers the most efficient method of refining, and examples of successful use of the technology will be reviewed. An innovative way to store energy by melting salts with solar energy, particularly in the desert regions of South America, will be described. Combining solar energy with hydropower generation has shown to be an ideal solution for South America. Each of the technologies reviewed offer substantial

improvements in efficiency, capital and operating costs and contribute significantly to the efforts to reduce the environmental impact of mining operations.

WATER TREATMENT One powerful technology for purifying contaminated water involves the use of membranes. Membrane technology has been around for decades in several industrial applications. However, recent developments in membrane materials and pretreatment technologies combined with tailor-made, specialised chemicals have expanded membrane applications, bringing the mining industry multiple opportunities to add unique sustained value to its operations by recovering valuable products previously discarded, concentrating solutions for improved recoveries and optimisation of process plant performance, and producing prime quality water for reuse. Membranes produce waters that consistently meet all domestic and international discharge standards with higher quality and reliability in comparison to conventional chemical treatments. Straits Resources Limited operates a processing plant to produce antimony metal, gold bullion and tungsten concentrate at its operations at the Hillgrove Mine in New South Wales. The plant operated a bulk flotation circuit to produce a combined concentrate of stibnite (for antimony) and arsenopyrite (for gold) and an electrowinning (EW) circuit to recover the metal products. A build-up of inorganic impurities in the tailings storage facility (TSF) water, which is recycled to the flotation circuit, led to poor recoveries of sulphide minerals in the float circuit. This influenced the decision to suspend operations at the processing facilities. In order to enable the facility to restart its operations, a process needed to be

developed to treat the TSF water returning to the flotation circuit. Reverse osmosis membrane treatment of the TSF water was unsuccessfully attempted by a third party due to the rapid onset of irreversible fouling. Hatch was engaged by Straits to undertake bench-top and pilot studies to develop a sustainable membrane treatment regime. Nanofiltration was the selected treatment alternative [1]. Nanofiltration (NF) is a membrane technology that removes multivalent species at lower operating pressures and higher fluxes than reverse osmosis (RO). NF produces a permeate water with higher conductivity and

total dissolved solids (TDS) in comparison to reverse osmosis permeate, but in return it lowers the osmotic pressure at the membrane surface. This improves energy consumption and reduces costs associated with pumping, plant equipment and piping rating. With suitable pretreatment to minimise membrane fouling and provide extended membrane performance and operating life, NF technology was successfully used to treat the TSF water and produce a permeate stream suitable for its use in the flotation circuit, preventing the need for town water to be brought in to operate the float circuit and securing the plants continuous operation.

Table 1 Range of concentration values observed for TSF water Analyte Units Min Max Analyte Units pH Unit 10.2 11.4 mg/L pH Value Magnesium mS/cm 15.9 18.5 mg/L Conductivity Sodium 9200 41300 mg/L Total Dissolved Solids mg/L Potassium 23 32 mg/L Suspended Solids (SS) mg/L Antimony mg/L 836 1485 mg/L Sulphate as S Arsenic mg/L 2660 4451 mg/L Sulphur as S Silica mg/L 33.5 181 mg/L Silicon NO2 + NO3 as N mg/L 1410 4430 mg/L Chloride Sulphide as S mg/L 0 8 Calcium Thiosulphate as S mg/L

Min 0 2050 81 323 3.9 78.4 40.5 <0.1 1037

Max 12 3740 118 499 13.1 393 138 0.2 1676

Hatch identified during bench and on-site pilot tests that metal sulphide species were causing membrane fouling. Investigations were conducted and determined that lime addition to a pH between 11.5 and 12.0 prevented the antimony sulphur compounds from fouling the NF membranes [2]. However, another source of fouling persisted and was identified through membrane autopsy: mineral mopungite (NaSb(OH)6), a rare sodium antimony oxide, soluble in hot water. This originated the decision to increase water temperature through the membrane system in order to prevent fouling and reduce membrane cleaning frequency. A temperature of 45 C was recommended to reduce the propensity of the mopungite to precipitate on the membrane surface [3].

These two pretreatments allowed a continuous, foul-free membrane operation. Table 2 Summary of analytical data from NF trial
TSF NF NF feed retentate permeate TDS mg/L 13000 77260 1660 Sulfur as S mg/L 12900 84317 297 Silica mg/L 352 1610 130 Conductivity mS/cm 14.0 76.2 2.6 Analyte Unit % rejection 87 98 63 82

Nanofiltration-produced permeate was then used in the flotation process and compared with TSF untreated water. The results are shown below:

Table 3 Summary of recovery data from flotation tests Test Sb recovery Au recovery (%) (%) 94 15 95

Base case potable water 99 TSF water 7.5 NF permeate 97

SLAG HEAT RECOVERY In many smelting or melting furnace processes, slag exits the furnace at temperatures of 1400 C to 1600 C and constitutes up to 90% of the material inputs of the furnace. As a result, a significant

proportion of the total energy inputs to the furnace exits the furnace as slag. For example, in a typical laterite rotary kilnelectric furnace (RKEF) plant shown in Figure 1, 80% of the total energy inputs to the furnace exits as thermal energy in the slag and is usually wasted. This equates to approximately 100 MW of thermal energy (sensible + latent) for an 80 MW electric furnace producing approximately 140 t/hr of slag. In most operations, slag is either allowed to cool in large open slag pits or is granulated using water; in both cases the thermal energy of the slag is wasted. There is thus potential for substantial energy savings if this energy can be recovered.

Figure 1 Energy balance for a laterite nickel rotary kiln-electric furnace plant: waste slag constitutes 80% of the total energy inputs of the electric furnace

Other large slag producers include platinum and copper-nickel alloy smelting/melting furnaces in the platinum industry and blast furnaces in the steel industry. In all such operations where the molten slag is not

immediately transferred to a downstream unit operation, there is a similar potential for considerable energy savings.

Technologies for slag heat recovery Slag heat recovery technologies are an alternative to conventional slag handling methods that have the potential to recover up to 80% of the slag sensible and latent energy. One such example is shown in Figure 2. During this process, molten slag is broken up into granules upon contact with a high

velocity air jet. Primary heat is recovered during granulation by producing hot air and steam via radiant heat to the water-walls of a waste heat boiler. Secondary heat is recovered via a moving bed heat exchanger that is located directly under the boiler. This technology has the potential for recovering 80% of the total slag energy.

Steam Drum Granulated Slag Slag (1600 oC) 80 t/hr Water-cooled walls

Saturated steam (or hot water) (T = 250oC) 15 t/h

Hot Air 500oC 110,000 Nm3/h

Boiler Feed Water

Slag (~200 oC) Slag Granulator (High velocity air) v air ~ 100 m/s Oversize Slag Moving bed heat exchanger (Residual heat recovery from solid slag granules)

Figure 2 Schematic of slag air granulation and heat recovery Industry precedence There are no slag heat recovery technologies currently in practice today; however, at least two known operations implemented slag heat recovery during the 1980s and early 1990s. The process shown in Figure 2 was implemented at full-scale capacity at the Fukuyama Steel Works of Nippon Kokan (NKK) [4] in Japan with BOF refining furnace steel slag and operated for a period of about 15 years during the 1980s [1][6] and early 1990s. A variation of this technology was also implemented at Pacific Metals Company (PAMCO) [5] [6] with ferro-nickel slags, in which a counter-current rotary air heat exchanger was used to capture 60% of the energy from the slag granules as hot air. Both operations were discontinued and dismantled following the return of low fuel prices in the late 1980s. Other methods for slag heat recovery have been proposed, including the spinning disc method [2] [4]. Extensive pilot scale studies [7] [8] have been conducted to study the breakup behaviour of the slag upon impact with a rotating disc; however, test work for slag heat recovery is still under development. Slag heat recovery products and their utilisation 1. Hot air (30% of total slag energy): Approximately 750 Nm3 of air at 600 C is generated per tonne of granulated slag. Granulation air can be used for drying or as pre-heated secondary air for combustion processes. In both cases, hot

air displaces fuel that is ordinarily used at those locations. 2. Saturated or superheated steam (50% of total slag energy): Steam generated via the slag heat boiler can be used directly as process steam within the plant. This is the most efficient means of using slag energy. Generating steam via slag heat recovery displaces boiler fuel and is inexpensively transported due to the higher specific energy of steam compared with air. 3. Steam to generate electricity: Alternatives to the direct integration of process steam are generating electricity at a small independent power plant or integrating steam into a larger, existing captive power plant. Future challenges The large potential benefits of slag heat recovery are generating an increasing amount of interest, particularly with steel and ferronickel producers. 1. Limitation of recent industrial precedence: The single largest challenge with slag heat recovery is the limitation of recent commercial-scale precedence. Information on the Japanese slag heat recovery technologies that were implemented during the 1980s is published in the descriptions of the process equipment, layout, and operational data that was achieved. Concentrated effort will be required to reestablish a heat recovery unit that is robust, continuous and can achieve the necessary heat recovery from slag. 2. Accommodating semi-continuous or batch slag tapping operations: In this mode of operation, slag is tapped in batches at higher rates and is then stopped for durations of 2-3 hours. This is usually only the case for low power furnaces (< 40 MW). High power furnaces generate more slag and typically must operate with almost continuous slag tapping. Semi-continuity in slag

production could also be addressed through changes in tapping systems, particularly if multiple furnaces are operated in close proximity.

PRESSURE HYDROMETALLURGY Although the use of pressure hydrometallurgy in autoclaves has been practiced by the metallurgical industry for over a century, some still think that autoclaves are expensive and difficult to operate and maintain. On the other hand, the alumina industry has been leaching millions of tonnes of bauxite every year using autoclaves. Nickel laterite ores have been treated successfully in autoclaves for half a century at Moa Bay in Cuba. Autoclaves are used for leaching the ores and also for the precipitation of nickel/cobalt sulphide. The technology has been more recently adopted by other industries such as zinc, copper and gold, amongst others. Pressure hydrometallurgy using autoclaves is the technology of the future. Here we describe three processes where the technology has been applied to overcome problems that have plagued the metallurgical smelting and refining industry for years. At high elevations, the boiling point of a solution is reduced due to the lower atmospheric pressure. At Doe Run Peru La Oroya Division, this has resulted in the stockpiling of over 1.2 million tonnes of zinc contained in zinc ferrite residue as it is not soluble in the low boiling point solutions present at 4 200 metres. An autoclave increases the boiling point of a solution by operating at a pressure greater than atmospheric pressure. It is therefore not affected by the low atmospheric pressure at elevation and is an ideal technology for the recovery of zinc from zinc ferrite residues at La Oroya. The technology is also ideally suited to the direct leaching of zinc sulphide concentrates at remote locations in the Andean regions of South America. As stated, elevation is not an issue for generating high temperature solutions for leaching and

precipitation. The production of elemental sulphur, which can be co-mingled with concentrator tailings for disposal, means that zinc can be produced at the mine site in a remote location without the production of sulphuric acid. The production of sulphuric acid so often plagues a zinc refinery, even in an industrial centre, as it can be difficult to sell at times and it is prohibitively expensive to neutralise for disposal. Many copper concentrates (sulphides) produced in the north of Peru contain high concentrations of arsenic (10-15%), resulting in a pricing penalty. These concentrates are typically treated by smelting, producing arsenic-containing off-gases that cause environmental and occupational health problems. The stabilisation and disposal of the arsenic residue is also a problem. These concentrates can be successfully treated in an autoclave. The sulphide minerals are oxidised through to sulphuric acid. Copper and arsenic are leached, with the arsenic precipitated (fixed) with iron as ferric arsenate. This is a stable species and can be stored in a tailings dam. This process can be installed at the mine site, reducing the cost of transport. The ferric arsenate residue can be co-mingled with the concentrator tailings for disposal. Refractory gold ores can be successfully treated using pressure hydrometallurgy to yield gold amenable to leaching by cyanide. The problem is caused by the gold being locked inside refractory (sulphide) minerals resulting in low gold recovery using direct cyanide leaching, as is done with oxidised ore. One solution is to pretreat the ore in an autoclave prior to cyanide leaching. The sulphide minerals are oxidised through to sulphuric acid in an autoclave. The resulting slurry is neutralised and the solids separated for treatment by conventional cyanide leaching. An excellent example of this is the Pueblo Viejo project for Barrick Gold in the Dominican Republic. Hatch was responsible for the design and quality assurance during construction of four of the largest autoclaves

ever fabricated. These brick-lined autoclaves weigh 780 t each, and combined will be the largest pressure oxidation facility in the world, treating 24 000 tpd of ore. The aforementioned three examples demonstrate that pressure hydrometallurgy is flexible in being able to oxidise sulphide minerals through to elemental sulphur or sulphuric acid, depending on the operating conditions used. Precipitation of stable impurity species is also possible and in some cases in situ with the leaching step, thus minimising the number of vessels required and simplifying the chemical process. The energy that is used to heat the autoclave is recovered as steam during the pressure letdown stage (flashing) and is used for process heating. The reason for the recent advances in pressure hydrometallurgy has been due to improvements in materials of construction and improvements in equipment design. Material selection is critical in avoiding premature failure of equipment and optimising process performance. This has allowed autoclaves and associated equipment to last longer, improving the economics of their use. Selection of suitable material of construction not only takes into account obvious factors such as corrosion resistance, abrasion resistance and mechanical properties, but also other issues such as material availability, economics, safety and environmental standards. The improvements in autoclave equipment technology have allowed for the process conditions to become progressively more aggressive in improving leaching extractions and therefore overall metal recoveries. This has allowed the treatment of more complex ores that were previously not possible to treat in an economic fashion. Hatch has a dedicated autoclave technology group that specialises in pressure oxidation and leaching processes from pilot plants (30 L) to commercial plants (630 m3). The

group provides custom design services in 10 key areas: Vessel design and specification; fabrication quality surveillance Autoclave scale-up agitator specification and

SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC ENERGY STORAGE WITH PUMPED HYDROELECTRIC POWER The oldest and most widely used technology for energy storage is pumped hydroelectric storage, consisting of 90 GW in operation worldwide. The basic principle behind this technology is to use electricity to pump water into a raised reservoir. This instils gravitational potential energy in the water, which is then released to run a turbine generator when the electricity is needed.[10] A pumped storage facility includes upper and lower reservoirs, a pumping and generating plant, and interconnecting water conduits as depicted in Figure 3 below. The plant is used to pump water into an upper reservoir, generally using low-cost (off-peak) electricity. The same water is subsequently used to generate power during periods of high energy demand. A pumped storage plant can have two artificial reservoirs (upper and lower); however, many facilities have the lower reservoir located on an existing waterway. There are also concepts and preliminary designs where the lower reservoir is an abandoned underground mine or an underground excavation made specifically for the pumped storage project. [11]

Agitator shaft seal support system design Slurry pressure letdown system design Vent gas depressurisation and cleaning system design Autoclave feed pump system design Slurry heating (indirect or direct) design High pressure specialised piping design Safety relief and safety instrumented shutdown system design

Vessel refractory lining design As improvements in materials of construction and equipment designs continue, the range of minerals and materials that can be processed in autoclaves continues to increase. Pressure hydrometallurgy in autoclaves is the technology of the future.

Figure 3 Typical Pumped Storage Plant [11]

The (cycle) efficiency of a pumped storage plant is the ratio of energy out to energy in. Energy out is usually the energy at the switchyard, and the energy in is at the same location. Efficiency for plants constructed from 1960 to the mid 1980s is usually 68% to 74%. More modern plants have a cycle efficiency in the 72% to 78% range. Pumped storage plants are known for long operating lifetimes. Overall plant life often exceeds 75 years. Equipment life is generally more than 60 years, with major overhaul and rehabilitation in the 20 to 30 year range. The overall cost of a pumped storage plant is quite site specific, but is generally in the US$ 1,200/kW to US$ 2,000/kW range. Annual operating costs are typically about US$ 0.007/kWh to US$ 0.02/kWh, excluding the cost of pumping energy.[12]

The Andean region of the world has the perfect combination of location and topography for the solar generation of electricity and the storage of that electricity using pumped energy storage. The availability of hydroelectricity in the region is well-established. However, the potential for solar energy generation is as great, if not greater. As can be seen in Figure 4 below, the region of Peru and northern Chile is in one of the most favourable areas in the world in terms of solar energy potential. In fact, areas of southern Peru have a potential of 6kWh/m2/day, one of the highest in the world.

Figure 4 Global horizontal irradiance [Source: 3Tier] While it may not make economic sense to store the energy generated from a solar thermal plant (mainly due to the need to convert the energy generated to electricity before storage), the storage of photovoltaic electricity can be very favourable. Two potential opportunities exist here that have not been explored in other regions, mainly due to the lack of the right topography for hydroelectricity in locations that boast great sunlight. When a hydroelectric dam is already in place to supply electricity to major urban or industrial centres, the installation of a solar photovoltaic plant at such a site would allow for solar energy to be supplied to the load centre during the day when the electricity is generated, with the amount of load being offset from the hydroelectric plant being stored in the upstream reservoir in a process known as pooling. At night, the additional electrical energy pooled in the reservoir can be used. In effect, a solar PV plant added to a hydroelectric plant in such a manner would

result in the addition of capacity to the hydroelectric plant, without any additional dams or reservoirs. This manner of storage would also allow for full exploitation of the regions vast solar energy potential without the hindrance of intermittency. [10] Another way of fully using the dual potential of the regions hydroelectric and solar power would be the installation of a solar photovoltaic plant alongside a pumped hydroelectric storage plant. Such an application may be feasible in remote mining locations with high energy requirements. The photovoltaic plant would provide electricity to the application during the day, with some of the energy stored in the pumped storage. At night, the energy stored can be discharged along with auxiliary generation to provide the required power. In effect, a small amount of auxiliary power (such as a diesel generator) could allow an almost continuous power supply from a solar photovoltaic plant. This manner of solar power generation and storage is particularly favourable for the higher altitudes and mountainous terrain of this Andean region. The higher altitude allows for more solar radiation exposure on the solar photovoltaic modules while the undulating terrain allows for the construction of lower and upper reservoirs for pumped storage with enough height separation and without the need for additional structures.

In the 1970s, molten salts were suggested as a method to store thermal energy produced from gas turbines or concentrated solar energy for electricity production. Energy storage could be used to address peak electricity demand or decrease the variability in solar energy. Since then, a variety of studies and demonstration projects have been conducted to investigate thermal energy storage with molten salts with a major focus on concentrated solar energy, which uses fields of mirrors to concentrate sunlight onto tubes or a single point to heat a fluid. [17] Thermal energy can be stored by changing the temperature of a fluid or solid (sensible heat), or by causing a liquid to change state through boiling or freezing (latent heat). Sensible heat storage has been studied with a variety of liquids including synthetic oils, silicone oils, molten metal (sodium), and molten salts. Molten salts have the advantage of low vapour pressure, high temperature stability and high thermal conductivity. They can be inexpensive, have low chemical reactivity, and have also been recently demonstrated for thermal storage at a commercial scale.[17] Molten salt thermal energy storage has been suggested for two main applications: thermal concentrated solar power plants and conventional thermal power plants that cannot easily turn down their power output. Thermal concentrated solar power plants have been the main focus of study for energy storage over the past several decades with the aim of improving the capacity and consistency of electricity generation from solar energy. Thermal solar power refers to a system where solar energy is concentrated using mirrors, focussing sunlight to heat a fluid. Two types of storage can be used and are shown in Figure 5. Parabolic trough systems utilise a series of parabolic mirrors to focus sunlight on a pipe that heats a heat transfer fluid such as a synthetic oil. The heat transfer fluid then transfers the heat to molten

SOLAR THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE WITH MOLTEN SALT Thermal energy storage involves the storing of sensible or latent heat in a fluid or solid for later use. The stored thermal energy can be used at a later time to generate electricity or provide heating or cooling for buildings. Many fluids and solids have been investigated as possible mediums for thermal energy storage including concrete, sand, synthetic oils, silicone oils and molten salts. This section focuses on the use of molten salt as a thermal energy storage medium. [17]

salt for storage. Solar power tower systems involve using a field of flat mirrors that focus sunlight on a single point at the top of a tower where heat is transferred to the molten salt for storage. Storage allows for time-shifting of energy production from day to night, and also allows for improving consistency of electricity generation when weather conditions change.

Overall this leads to an improvement in capacity factor for solar thermal power plants and can reduce electricity production costs by 10%. [13]

ParabolicTrough
Receiver HotSalt

PowerTower
HotSalt

ColdSalt ColdSalt Steam Generation OilCircuit SolarField SolarField (FlatMirrors) Steam Generation

Figure 5 Parabolic trough and solar power tower configurations form concentrated thermal solar plants with molten salt energy storage The system used to store thermal energy in molten salt consists of a method of heat transfer and a method for storage of the salt. Cold salt is stored in a tank at around 50 C or more above its freezing point. The cold salt is pumped to a source of thermal energy where it is heated to the desired temperature. Salt is either heated directly by the source of thermal energy or indirectly by an intermediate heat transfer fluid such as a synthetic oil in a shell and tube heat exchanger. The hot salt is then stored in a tank. The hot salt can be at any desired temperaturein general, the higher the temperature, the more thermal energy that can be stored in the salt. To generate power, hot salt is sent to a heat exchanger where it is transferred to another heat transfer medium to generate electricity and then sent to a cold storage tank. In the case of thermal solar power plants, the heat is used to produce steam to generate electricity using the Rankine cycle. [13] This system can use one or more tanks to store the hot and cold salt. Single tank systems are called thermocline systems. Thermoclines were suggested as a way to minimise capital costs associated with building large tanks. Hot salt would float on top of the cold salt based on density difference (Figure 6). This system has been successfully demonstrated with the synthetic oil Therminol 66 as the thermal energy storage medium and small laboratory-scale systems with molten salt at Sandia National Laboratories. This system can also use solids such as gravel or graphite for storage. The solid would displace some of the more expensive liquid heat transfer fluid and

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possibly further reduce capital costs. Twotank systems involve two separate tanks: one for hot salt and the other for cold salt (Figure 7). More tanks can be added to facilitate

more thermal energy storage, but this also increases the complexity of the operation.[14]

Figure 6 Thermocline thermal energy storage system

Figure 7 Two-tank thermal energy storage system

Mixtures of nitrate salts have become the most widely-used storage medium for solar thermal energy storage. Table 1 shows the thermal properties of several nitrate salts considered for thermal energy storage at solar power plants. [16]

Table 4 Thermal properties of several nitrate salt mixtures used in thermal energy storage.
Avg. Density [kg/m3] 1870 1640 1992 1772 Avg. Thermal Conductivity [W/mK] 0.52 0.33 0.52 0.53 Avg. Heat Capacity [kJ/kgK] 1.6 1.56 1.45 1.53

Nitrate Salts Hitec Hitec XL Solar Salt

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The amount of thermal energy that can be stored in a molten salt is dependent on its heat capacity and the temperature difference between the hot salt and cold salt. In generalkeeping the cold salt at the same temperaturethe higher the temperature the salt is after thermal energy is transferred to it, more energy is stored per unit weight or volume. Conversion of thermal energy stored to electrical energy depends on the power generating system used. With the Rankine cycle plants used at solar thermal installations, 30% to 40% of the thermal energy is converted to electricity. According to a recent study of two-tank molten salt thermal energy storage systems, these systems can store up to 11 000 MWht of energy, can discharge for up to 16 hours, and support power levels up to 250 MW. [15] There are very few commercial-scale deployments of molten salt systems, so information on the costs shows considerable variation. Cost estimates for thermocline, single-tank systems have been around US$ 45/kWht. For two-tank systems, there have been several estimates. Based on a survey of several configurations, the capital cost was found to be between US$ 30/kWht to US$ 60/kWht, depending on the configuration with higher estimates for indirect storage where thermal energy is first transferred to an intermediate heat transfer fluid and then to the molten salt. [14] Molten salt thermal energy storage for thermal solar plants has been tested on a small scale throughout the 1980s and 1990s. These test facilities have led to the development of several energy storage technologies. [17] One major demonstration project of note is the Solar Two thermal solar plant which was run by the Sandia National Laboratories. Solar Two acted as a model for the first plants that utilised commercial-scale thermal energy storage with molten salts.

Solar Two Solar Two was a 10 MW thermal solar power plant test facility built in Barstow, California, U.S.A. that operated from 1993 to 1999. It was decommissioned in 1999 after 1.5 years of continuous testing and operation. In this plant, the sunlight was reflected by a field of flat mirrors to a single point at the top of a tower. Molten salt was pumped into a heat exchanger at the top of the tower where it was heated to a high temperature. Hot salt would then be stored in a tank or be sent to generate electricity by producing steam. The system could store 105 MWht of thermal energy, equivalent to 3 hours of operation. It used two tanks with the cold salt tank holding 290C salt. The hot salt tank contained salt at 565 C. The system used 60% NaNO3 and 40% KNO. Andasol 1, 2, and 3 Andasol 1, 2, and 3 in Spain are the first commercial-scale deployments of molten salt thermal energy storage and thermal solar power in the world. A parabolic trough system is used in which each unit has 50 MW capacity and 7.5 hours of storage in molten solar salt. This facility is modelled after the Solar Two, but uses a different method for collecting solar energy. The Andasol solar collectors are parabolic mirrors that focus sunlight on a tube containing synthetic oil. The thermal energy collected in the oil is then transferred to molten salt for storage or power generation. Andasol 1 went into operation as of November 2008, Andasol 2 was commissioned in March 2009, and Andasol 3 is currently under construction and set for completion in 2011. Several projects are planned that will be coming online in the next few years that combine thermal solar power generation with molten salt energy storage. They include the Solana Plant (280 MW) in Gila Bend, Arizona, U.S.A.; Solar Tres (17 MW) near

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Sevilla, Spain; and the Dahan Project (1.5 MW) near Beijing, China. Molten salt thermal energy could support a remote or isolated generation system and may allow for the installation of smaller generation capacity as stored energy can be used to address peak demand. Also, in the case of intermittent power sources (mainly concentrated thermal solar power), molten salt energy storage can time shift and even out the variability in electricity production, which is important for continuous metallurgical applications.

Techniques are now available to recover up to 80% of this energy which can then be returned to the primary process to significantly reduce the overall process energy requirements and capital costs. Alternatively, the recovered energy can be used for electricity generation. 6. Pressure hydrometallurgy in autoclaves frequently offers a more efficient method than pyrometallurgy for the treatment of ore reserves in South America because of their complex compositions and highaltitude, remote locations. 7. Solar energy combined with storage of that energy (using molten salts for example) to reduce supply variation can be a source of electricity either as a stand-alone option or in conjunction with a hydroelectric project. The use of cheap electricity to pump water into a reservoir for subsequent use during peak demand times can help reduce the need for extra generating capacity and thus reduce capital costs.

CONCLUSIONS 1. Through the use of nanofiltration technology, a metallurgical facility previously shut down for water contamination that conventional technology could not solve was able to successfully restart operations. 2. Produced nanofiltration water quality dramatically improved antimony and gold recovery in comparison to the original water source, providing an added value and better economics for the mining complex. 3. A good process understanding in addition to bench and pilot testing are critical to ensure the proper design and operation of the pretreatment and membrane plants. 4. Membrane technology using nanofiltration can be effectively used for recovering valuable products in water from mining operations and also to remove contaminants. The resulting water is of prime quality equalling potable water standards. The technology can be adapted to most mining operations. 5. Up to 90% of the energy supplied to smelting and melting operations is retained in the generated slags.

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