Water consumption assessment in mineral processing integrating weather information and geometallurgical modeling
- Escuela de Ingeniería Civil de Minas, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Talca, Curicó 3340000, Chile
- Department of Mining Engineering, Universidad de Chile, Santiago 8370448, Chile
- The Robert M. Buchan Department of Mining, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada
*This paper was published in Minerals Engineering, Volume 201, October 02023, 108162
Abstract
Water is essential in mineral processing. Because water is a limited resource and many mining operations are located in water-scarce areas, proper water management is crucial. An alternative to facing water scarcity in mining is its reuse in the process. Water recirculation is limited because there are water losses associated with the plant operation and the tailings facility. Tailings composition and particle size affect the losses related to entrainment and rewetting. These parameters can be estimated by simulating the plant using geometallurgical models. Weather variables such as radiation, temperature, wind speed, and the fraction of possible sunshine, impact the evaporation expected in the tailings facility. The variability of weather conditions throughout the year implies that evaporation depends on the season. This information is used to assess the water balance in a tailings facility located in a specific region, estimating the water consumption for a given operation. Water consumption can be economically valued an included in the mine plan. This methodology is used to provide examples where a mine plan is optimized incorporating water consumption and using efficient water management criteria.