RU2732781C1 - Method of selective extraction of metals from liquid bulk concentrate of useful ore components at mining site at underground leaching and automatic device for implementation thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: mining.

SUBSTANCE: disclosed group of inventions relates to mining in the field of geotechnologies - methods of extracting solid mineral by means of underground leaching (UL). Method of selective extraction of metals from liquid bulk concentrate of useful components of ore at mining site at underground leaching includes supply of collective concentrate to underground step stratifying string at mining section, stratification of collective concentrate into light, medium and heavy fractions, each within its cylindrical volume of stratifying string, corresponding to specific contribution of fractions into volume of liquid collective concentrate and ratio of step diameter to its height equal to one to one, and extracting from the heavy fraction of the priority useful component of the ore by means of a gambling-like matrix which is disseminated by metalophilic microorganisms, which regularly oscillates up and down along the axial axis of symmetry of the cylindrical volume of the lower stage containing the heavy fraction. After bacterial extraction of the priority useful component from the heavy fraction, all fractions separately, first, the light fraction is first from the stratifying tower top step, then the middle fraction is from the middle stage, after, heavy fraction - from lower step in series laminar flow pumped into individual underground collecting tanks, and sludge from sump - into underground sludge collector, from where they are taken for further separate enrichment at the production site and obtaining a compact intermediate product suitable for transportation outside the mining industry for process repartition and/or industrial use. Method is realized by means of an automatic device containing an underground three-staged stratifying string with a sump.

EFFECT: technical result is higher efficiency of selective extraction of metals from liquid bulk concentrate of useful components of ore at production site at underground leaching.

9 cl, 7 dwg

Description

The invention relates to mining in the field of geotechnology - methods of mining solid minerals by means of underground leaching (ISL).

The proposed technical solution is advisable to use in the development of watered ore deposits in an undeveloped transport and energy infrastructure, associated with the need to dehydrate large volumes of the produced productive solution directly in the mining field, for example, as in the options for environmental development by the PV method of deposits in the West Siberian iron ore basin.

From the source RU 2594912 C2 IPC Е21В 43/28, priority 08/07/2015 published date applications. 10.01.2016 Bul. # 1; publ. 08/20/2016 Bul. No. 23 is aware of the following technical solution. According to the patent RU 2594912, a method is proposed for the development of a deep-seated watered deposit of brown iron oolite ores by means of PV, using a regular daily action of a tidal wave of the earth's surface over an iron ore deposit. At the same time, during the ebb cycle, the leaching agent is fed into the reservoir, where it mixes with groundwater, dissolves the useful components of iron ore, forming a productive solution, which is fed into the wellhead reservoir of the production well during the tide cycle.

The disadvantage of the method according to patent RU 2594912 is the need to bear quite large costs for the enrichment of the aqueous productive solution, the production of a collective concentrate of leached useful components of the ore and the selection of metals outside the mining field.

The method according to the application for the invention RU 2018139445 describes the ecological geotechnology of the development of an iron ore deposit by means of a PV, which also uses the water cut of the deposit and the regular daily action of the earth's surface.

For the closest analogue (prototype), the proposed method for extracting useful components of ore from a productive solution in the mining field and a robotic complex for implementing the method (application for invention No. 2019125765/03 dated 13.08.2019, 17 p.), In which the mining process is implemented by means of circulation of an aqueous working solution purposefully and periodically changing its properties according to the scheme: atmospheric precipitation → bog water → leaching agent → a mixture of an agent with a pressure flow flooding the reservoir → productive solution → intermediate product → settling basin → collective concentrate → recycling of sludge water.

This technological solution differs from previous analogs in that the process of extracting the priority useful component of ore from the productive solution into the collecting tanks of the wellhead reservoir of the production well is implemented by a sequence of the following technological operations, namely: cultivation and reproduction of specialized metallophilic microorganisms, preparation of bacterial suspensions, production of a matrix, seeding matrix with bacterial microflora, manufacturing of a replaceable cartridge, charging the cartridge with a seeded matrix, round-the-clock exposure of the matrix in a flowing productive solution, replacing the used metal-bearing matrix with a new matrix seeded with microflora, repeating the extraction of the priority useful ore component from the productive solution automatically by a robotic complex in the mining field simultaneously on several production wells.

The disadvantage of the prototype can be considered the absence of a selective concentration of liquid collective concentrate of useful ore components organized in the mining field, the transportation of which to the processing redistribution outside the mining area is still economically inexpedient.

The task was set to ensure the selective extraction of metals from the liquid collective concentrate and the subsequent thickening of the separated fractions.

The task is solved as follows.

1. A method for the selective extraction of metals from a liquid collective concentrate of useful ore components at a mining site during underground leaching, including feeding the collective concentrate into an underground staged stratifier column at the mining site, stratifying the collective concentrate into light, medium and heavy fractions, each within its own cylindrical the volume of the stratifier column corresponding to the specific contribution of fractions to the volume of the liquid collective concentrate and the ratio of the step diameter to its height, equal to one to one, and the extraction of the priority useful ore component from the heavy fraction by means of a gill-like matrix seeded with metallophilic microorganisms, regularly oscillating up and down along the axial the symmetry axis of the cylindrical volume of the lower stage containing the heavy fraction, after the completion of the bacterial extraction of the priority useful component from the heavy fraction, all fractions are separated, first the light fraction from the upper stage of the column - the stratifier, then the middle fraction - from the middle stage, after, the heavy fraction - from the lower stage are sequentially pumped in a laminar flow into individual underground collecting tanks, and the sludge from the sump - into the underground sludge accumulator, from where they are taken for further separate enrichment at the mining site and obtaining a compact intermediate product suitable for transportation outside the mining field to technological conversion and / or industrial use.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the regular oscillation of the gill-like matrix is performed by the formation and elimination of a gas bubble produced by bacteria that seeded the matrix, and the upper boundary of the heavy fraction stratum is reached due to the lifting force of the gas bubble, and the lower boundary is reached carried out due to the action of gravity when bleeding gas from the bubble into the atmosphere.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that in the case of generation of combustible gas by bacteria, for example, methane, the latter is burned in the atmosphere on a torch with thermoelectric conversion of the released heat, and the resulting electric current is used to recharge the battery that feeds the heating elements of the gill-like matrices.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the nutrient medium for metallophilic bacteria that colonize the gill-like matrix is fed from the top of the stratifier column from the container through a tube by means of a dropper.

5. The method according to claim. 1, characterized in that the light fraction is utilized in the mining field by impregnating it with a peat substrate prepared from peat deposits overlapping the deposit, to obtain organic fertilizers.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the middle fraction is bubbling with hydrogen in the mining field to obtain in the sediment metals of average atomic weight in the form of a powder.

7. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the heavy fraction is evaporated in the mining field by means of thermal energy obtained by oxidation of peat overlapping the ore deposit to form a solid residue of noble and rare earth metal compounds.

8. The method according to claim. 1, characterized in that the sludge is sent to centrifugation with the separation of sand and clay particles, and the heavy residue is sent to the selective extraction of metals by the ion exchange method.

9. An automatic device for implementing the method according to claim 1, characterized in that it contains an underground three-stage stratifier column with a sump, filled with a liquid collective concentrate of useful ore components so that the light fraction of the concentrate is stratified in the upper cylindrical volume of the first stage, in the middle cylindrical volume of the second stage, the middle fraction of the concentrate is stratified, the heavy fraction of the concentrate is stratified in the lower cylindrical volume of the third stage, and sludge is precipitated in the sump, a gill-like matrix is placed in the lower stratum, seeded with metallophilic bacteria along the developed surface of radially and vertically oriented bristly lashes for feeding with perforated pipes solution through the feed manifold and heating elements made of nichrome wire, connected through sealed contact groups with a thermostat, the matrix is attached to a film gas-collecting dome, the top of which is equipped with a bypass gas valve connected by a plastic tube to a receiver-float on the surface of the upper stratum, which, in turn, is equipped with a bleed gas valve connected by a tube to an atmospheric flare device containing ignition and a thermoelectric generator connected through an inlet charger to a battery located on a removable cover of the stratifier column next to the container containing the nutrient solution and connected by a tube above the surface of the upper stratum with a dropper, which, in turn, is connected by a plastic tube to the matrix nutrient header, and the battery is connected by a sealed load-carrying electric cable through a thermostat to heating elements of all bristly lashes, while the device is equipped with a floating pump for pumping corrosive liquids and a submersible slurry pump, powered autonomously and / or from power sources of the mining industry.

Let us describe the proposed technical solution using the illustrative material presented in Fig. 1-7.

FIG. 1 shows a set of operations that implement the method. It is designated here: PV - underground leaching of useful components of ore; SPR - collection of productive solution; BI PPK - bacterial extraction of the priority useful component of the ore; OPP - intermediate product sludge; SCC - stratification of the liquid collective concentrate of useful ore components into fractions; BI PPK TF - bacterial extraction of the priority useful component of ore from the heavy fraction; SLF - collection of light fraction into an individual underground container; SSF - collection of the middle fraction into an individual underground tank; STF - collection of heavy fraction into an individual underground tank; SSh - collection of sludge into an individual underground tank.

FIG. 2 shows schematically an automatic device implementing the method. Here it is indicated: 1 - daytime surface of the production area; 2 - electric battery; 3 - thermal insulation; 4 - battery charger; 5 - flare device with ignition and thermoelectric generator; 6 - cover; 7 - container with nutrient solution; 8 - dropper; 9 - bleed valve with flare ignition relay; 10 - receiver float; 11 - the first upper stage of the stratifier column with the light fraction of the liquid bulk concentrate; 12 - the second middle stage of the stratifier column with the middle fraction of the liquid bulk concentrate; 13 - the third lower stage of the stratifier column with the heavy fraction of the liquid bulk concentrate; 14 - sump with sludge; 15 - cable-rope; 16 - gas outlet pipe; 17 - tube with nutrient solution; 18 - bypass valve; 19 - film gas-collecting dome with a gas bubble; 20 - bristly lashes, seeded with metallophilic bacteria.

FIG. 3 shows a gill-like matrix (a) and a bristly whip (b). It is indicated here: 21 - load-carrying frame; 22 - nutrient collector; 23 - electrical manifold with thermal relay and sealed contacts; 24 - nichrome electric heater; 25 - irrigation tube.

FIG. 4 shows the radial (a) and vertical (b) structures of the bristly lashes of the gill-like matrix: Ap and Av are the amplitudes of the matrix oscillations, respectively, with the radial and vertical structures of the lashes; Wp and Мв are the oscillation frequencies of the corresponding matrices in the lower stratum of the heavy fraction of the liquid collective concentrate.

The operation of the automatic device (Fig. 2) is illustrated by the power circuit (Fig. 5), the electric circuit (Fig. 6) and the gas circuit (Fig. 7).

As in the prototype, after the PV, the operations are carried out SPR, BI PPK and OPP, and then the known technical solution is improved by adding the operations SKK, BI PPK TF, SLF, SSF, STF and SSh (Fig. 1). Moreover, if BI PPK is carried out in a flowing significantly diluted PR, then BI PPK TF is carried out in a standing concentrated solution providing a fresh solution supply to bacterial colonies due to matrix oscillation between the upper and lower boundaries of the TF stratum and maintaining the solution concentration at a level sufficient for the vital activity of bacteria ...

Oscillation of the matrix is most effective with the optimal geometry of the stage of the stratifier column containing the fraction of the collective concentrate, namely, with the cylindrical geometry of the stage, the ratio of the diameter of the stage d to the height of the stage h should be d: h = 1: 1 (Fig. 2). The innovation of the method is also the further use of the separated fractions, after the BI PPK TF procedure, at the production site. First, they are sequentially, the first is the light fraction, the second is the middle fraction, the third is the heavy fraction, they are pumped in a laminar flow into individual underground tanks, and the sludge from the sump to the underground storage, then the fractions, each with its own method, are processed on site. Moreover, each proposed method was tested in laboratory conditions, where the principal possibility was shown:

- obtaining organomineral fertilizers by impregnation with a light fraction of a peat substrate;

- obtaining in the sediment metals of average atomic weight in the form of a powder by bubbling the middle fraction with hydrogen;

- the formation of a solid residue of compounds of noble and rare-earth metals during the evaporation of the heavy fraction, as well as the selective extraction of metals by ion exchange from the heavy residue obtained after centrifugation of the sludge sediment with the separation of clay and sand particles.

The proposed method has three more innovations that use the specifics of the vital activity of bacteria, namely, the peculiarities of nutrition and the selection of food processing products.

The standard solution to the bacteria feeding procedure by dissolving a large amount of nutrient solution (for example, glucose) in the entire volume of the stratum at once reduces the concentration of the heavy fraction, and, hence, the efficiency of BI PPK TF, and, at the same time, can lead to starvation of bacteria in a standing solution of TF ... Organization of a constant and dosed supply of solution to bacteria solves this problem. Here, methods known in other industries are used as analogues:

in medicine - drip delivery of drugs into the patient's vein;

in agricultural engineering - drip irrigation ("root") of strawberries on plantations in the desert. A nutrient solution in an amount sufficient to ensure the entire cycle of BI PPK TF is placed in a container located above the matrix and fed through a dropper to irrigation tubes that locally feed the bacterial colonies, constantly ensuring their vital activity without diluting TF.

Gassing of bacteria makes it possible to apply two more innovations in order to organize automatic oscillation of the gill-like matrix and automatic recharge of the battery, which provides a comfortable temperature (36.5 ± 3.5 ° C) for the vital activity of bacteria.

To implement automatic oscillation of the matrix, it was proposed to collect finely dispersed gas bubbles emitted by bacteria into a large gas bubble under the dome of the matrix, thereby creating a lifting force that carries the matrix to the upper boundary of the TF stratum, upon reaching which the bypass valve is triggered, releasing the collected gas into the receiver-float, In this case, the matrix, under the action of gravity, descends to the lower boundary of the TF stratum and, thus, a regular supply of fresh TF solution to the colonies of bacteria that seed the bristly lashes of the gill-like matrix is ensured.

In the case of the release of combustible gas by bacteria, for example, methane, it is proposed to vent the gas from the receiver-float into the atmosphere on a torch, burn it to obtain heat, use the heat for thermoelectric generation and regular recharging of the battery, which feeds the heating elements of the matrix bristly lashes and provides a comfortable temperature regime for effective BI PPK TF.

The technical implementation of the proposed method can be carried out by an automatic device illustrated by the figures of FIG. 2-7.

The operation of this device is organized as follows.

Experimentally, the composition of the PR before and after the BI PPK, as well as the composition of the liquid collective concentrate of PC after settling in the basin of "lateral" strike, is studied, including the ratio of the volumes of light (LF), medium (SF) and heavy (TF) fractions, on on the basis of which the structure of an underground settling tank of "vertical" strike is calculated - a column-stratifier, providing a relatively clear delimitation of the fractions of the collective concentrate discharged from the basin. After settling for the required time, the concentrate is stratified as follows: in the first upper stage 11 of the column, the light fraction will be collected, in the second middle stage 12 - the middle fraction, in the third lower stage 13 - the heavy fraction, and in the sump 14 - a sludge consisting of finely dispersed particles of clay and sand, as well as compounds of heavy metals. From the composition of the TF, in addition to the BI PPK, the operation of the BI PPK TF is organized, which increases, even in the mining field, the yield of the most valuable useful component of the ore. To do this, a gill-like matrix is placed in the lower stratum on the cable-cable 15, seeded with metallophilic bacteria along the developed surface of radially and / or vertically oriented bristly lashes 20, equipped with perforated irrigation tubes 25 for feeding the nutrient solution through the nutrient manifold 22 and heating elements 24 connected through an electric collector with sealed contact groups 23 with a thermal relay (Fig. 2-4). Attached to the load-carrying frame 21 of the matrix are lashes 20, feed 22 and electric 23 collectors, film gas-collecting dome 19, cable-rope 15, gas outlet pipe 16 with bypass valve 18, feed pipe 17 with dropper 8.

Food from the container 7, located on the cover 6 of the stratifier column, through the dropper 8 enters the feed manifold 22 and is distributed through the irrigation tubes 25, which provide a constant dosed supply of bacteria colonies on the bristly lashes 20 (Fig. 5).

At the same time, the electrical circuit (Fig. 6) consisting of heating elements 24, an electric collector with a thermostat 23, a cable-rope 15, a battery 2 provides an optimum temperature for the life of bacteria of 36.5 ± 3.5 ° C. Bacteria, due to their metallophilicity, extract metal - PPK from TF and produce small gas bubbles as a product of their vital activity, which accumulates in the form of a gas bubble under the gas collection dome 19 and raises the matrix upward. Next, the gas circuit (Fig. 7) of the automatic device (Fig. 2) is triggered: the bypass valve 18 is turned on, tuned to a certain gas pressure drop, and the dome gas is bypassed through the gas outlet pipe 16 into the receiver float 10, after which the matrix goes down.

If bacteria generate a combustible gas, such as methane, the gas can be used as an energy carrier for regular recharging of the battery 2 according to the electrical diagram in FIG. 6 and the gas circuit in FIG. 7. For this purpose, the combustible gas from the float-receiver 10 is delivered to the day surface 1 to the flare device 5, where it is regularly burned due to the automatic operation of the bleed valve from the gas flare ignition relay 9. In this case, the flare device with ignition and thermoelectric generator 5 through charger 4 regularly recharges the battery 2.

Depending on the distance between the upper and lower boundaries of the TF stratum and the intensity of bacterial gas generation, the radial (a) or vertical (b) structure of bristly lashes 20 of the gill-like matrix may be most effective (Fig. 4). Since the efficiency of the BI PPK TF process depends on the amplitude A and the frequency W of the matrix oscillations within the TF stratum, for the radial structure Ap> AB and Wp <MV, and for the vertical structure Ww> Wp and Av <Ap.

In practice, the possibilities of the proposed technical solution can be assessed by the example of the development of a specific deposit, for example, the Bakcharsky deposit of brown iron ore deposits of the oolitic structure of the Tomsk region, discovered in the mid-50s of the 20th century.

According to laboratory studies and the results of instrumental analysis of Bakchar ore, performed at the West Siberian Testing Center (Novokuznetsk), the Institute of Mining of the SB RAS (Novosibirsk), the Analytical Center of the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys (Moscow), Siberian Research Institute peat (Tomsk), National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University (Tomsk), Tomsk Mining Company (Tomsk), the following products can be obtained from fractions of liquid collective concentrate of useful ore components:

- from TF by means of BI PPK - gold (with a content of 1 g / t in the ore);

- from TF in solid precipitate after evaporation - gold, platinum, palladium, rare earth metals;

- from SF - after bubbling with hydrogen - powdered iron (at 35% Fe in the ore);

- from LF - after impregnation of the peat substrate - organo-mineral phosphorous fertilizer (with a macronutrient content in the ore of 1.6% P);

- from sludge - after centrifugal separation of clay and sand particles and ion-exchange extraction - uranium and thorium (heavy trace impurities in the ore).

The technical result from using the innovation is as follows:

- the production of a marketable product in the mining field has been ensured from the first year of its operation, which allows for an early return on investment in the field development project;

- the production of the most valuable, in a given period of time, useful ore component, for example, gold, platinum or palladium, is organized as a priority;

- the production of industrial products containing strategic metals - the rare earth group, uranium and thorium was carried out at the mining field;

- the main, in terms of content, useful ore component is obtained in a high-tech form - in the form of a powder;

- large-scale production of organomineral fertilizer enriched with phosphorus can be organized in the mining field or in its immediate vicinity.

Claims (9)

1. A method for the selective extraction of metals from a liquid collective concentrate of useful ore components at a mining site during underground leaching, including feeding the collective concentrate into an underground staged stratifier column at the mining site, stratifying the collective concentrate into light, medium and heavy fractions, each within its own cylindrical the volume of the stratifier column corresponding to the specific contribution of fractions to the volume of the liquid collective concentrate and the ratio of the step diameter to its height, equal to one to one, and the extraction of the priority useful ore component from the heavy fraction by means of a gill-like matrix seeded with metallophilic microorganisms, regularly oscillating up and down along the axial the symmetry axis of the cylindrical volume of the lower stage containing the heavy fraction, after the completion of the bacterial extraction of the priority useful component from the heavy fraction, all fractions are separated, first the light fraction from the upper stage of the stratifier column, then the middle fraction - from the middle stage, after that, the heavy fraction - from the lower stage are sequentially pumped in a laminar flow into individual underground collecting tanks, and the sludge from the sump - into the underground sludge accumulator, from where they are taken for further separate enrichment at the mining site and obtaining a compact intermediate product suitable for transportation outside the mining field to technological conversion and / or industrial use. 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the regular oscillation of the gill-like matrix is performed by the formation and elimination of a gas bubble produced by bacteria that seeded the matrix, and the upper boundary of the heavy fraction stratum is reached due to the lifting force of the gas bubble, and the lower boundary is reached carried out due to the action of gravity when bleeding gas from the bubble into the atmosphere. 3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that in the case of generation of combustible gas by bacteria, for example, methane, the latter is burned in the atmosphere on a torch with thermoelectric conversion of the released heat, and the resulting electric current is used to recharge the battery that feeds the heating elements of the gill-like matrices. 4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the nutrient medium for metallophilic bacteria that colonize the gill-like matrix is fed from the top of the stratifier column from the container through a tube by means of a dropper. 5. The method according to claim. 1, characterized in that the light fraction is utilized in the mining field by impregnating it with a peat substrate prepared from peat deposits overlapping the deposit, to obtain organic fertilizers. 6. The method according to claim. 1, characterized in that the middle fraction is bubbling with hydrogen in the mining field to obtain in the sediment metals of average atomic weight in the form of a powder. 7. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the heavy fraction is evaporated in the mining field by means of thermal energy obtained by oxidation of peat overlapping the ore deposit to form a solid residue of noble and rare earth metal compounds. 8. The method according to claim. 1, characterized in that the sludge is sent to centrifugation with the separation of sand and clay particles, and the heavy residue is sent to the selective extraction of metals by the ion exchange method. 9. An automatic device for implementing the method according to claim 1, characterized in that it contains an underground three-stage stratifier column with a sump, filled with a liquid collective concentrate of useful ore components so that the light fraction of the concentrate is stratified in the upper cylindrical volume of the first stage, in the middle cylindrical volume of the second stage, the middle fraction of the concentrate is stratified, the heavy fraction of the concentrate is stratified in the lower cylindrical volume of the third stage, and sludge is precipitated in the sump, a gill-like matrix is placed in the lower stratum, seeded with metallophilic bacteria along the developed surface of radially and vertically oriented bristly lashes for feeding with perforated pipes solution through the feed manifold and heating elements made of nichrome wire, connected through sealed contact groups with a thermostat, the matrix is attached to a film gas-collecting dome, the top of which is equipped with a bypass gas valve connected by a plastic tube to a receiver-float on the surface of the upper stratum, which, in turn, is equipped with a bleed gas valve connected by a tube to an atmospheric flare device containing ignition and a thermoelectric generator connected through an inlet charger to a battery located on a removable cover of the stratifier column next to the container containing the nutrient solution and connected by a tube above the surface of the upper stratum with a dropper, which, in turn, is connected by a plastic tube to the matrix nutrient header, and the battery is connected by a sealed load-carrying electric cable through a thermostat to heating elements of all bristly lashes, while the device is equipped with a floating pump for pumping corrosive liquids and a submersible slurry pump, powered autonomously and / or from power sources of the mining industry.

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