Automated Environmental Mineralogy; the Use of Liberation Analysis in Humidity Cell Testwork

The prediction of acid rock drainage and metal leaching (ARDML) from mine sites requires a detailed understanding of the site specific rates and mechanisms of weathering. This is typically obtained through geochemical and mineralogical characterisation testwork that is undertaken on representative materials. One of the key components of this characterisation work is kinetic testing which generates critical data on the rate at which minerals within waste materials weather in the presence of moisture and oxygen.

This paper explores a novel mineralogical response to the uncertainty by applying a metallurgical mineralogy technique of mineral liberation analysis on sulfide minerals from pre leach HCT material. The results show that quantitative sulfide mineral liberation analysis can be used to understand HCT leachate quality.