Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
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Quebrada Blanca Mine
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Quebrada Blanca Mine
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2nd REGION MINING OPERATIONS MAP
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GeoBiotics, LLC - USA
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HotHeap™ Technology
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Quebrada Blanca Column Test Results
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FIRST LARGE SCALE FOR GEOLEACH™
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Quebrada Blanca GEOLEACH™ Demonstration Heap
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Milestone
• Demonstration scale approval: August 2008
• Inoculum plant operating on site: December 2008
• Stacking of test heap: February 2009
• Blowers on site: End of February
• Instrumentation installed: March 2009
• Pumps installed: 30th April
• Wetting and acidifying of the heap: May 2009
• Mechanical installation of blowers: 24th May
• Inoculum addition: 16th July
• Installation of electrical panels for blowers: 4th July
• Air manifold connected to stringers: 21st July
• Start of aeration: 22nd July
• System functioning: 5th August
• Irrigation lines replaced for the 1st time: 22nd August
• Filter installed: 19th November
• Installed 2nd set of irrigation lines: 20th December
• Started washing the heap: 29th December
• Irrigarion and aeration restarted January 6th
• Second Inoculation January 27th
•11 Stop Irrigation April 28th
Quebrada Blanca GEOLEACH™ Demonstration Heap
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Quebrada Blanca GEOLEACH™ Demonstration Heap
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Quebrada Blanca GEOLEACH™ Demonstration Heap
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REVIEW OF DEMO HEAP
Ore Stacked
QB operations personnel insisted on a high stacking rate, which compromised
installation of aeration lines
The ore blend onto the demo heap was highly varied, including several large
tonnage sections from stockpiles
Agglomeration water set too low during stacking –testwork on composite sample
used twice the water to achieve stable agglomerates
First day water was between 12 to 16 L/t and second day 22 to 26 L/t
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Quebrada Blanca GEOLEACH™ Demonstration Heap
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Instrument Layout
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Cluster 3D Temperature Profile at Day 268
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Eh Recorded at Cluster 1
7 5 0 .0
7 0 0 .0
Eh (mv)
6 5 0 .0
6 0 0 .0
5 5 0 .0
5 0 0 .0
Fe b /1 5 /2 0 0 A p r/ 1 6 / 2 0 0 Ju n /1 5 /2 0 0 A u g /1 4 /2 0 0 O c t/1 3 / 2 0 0 D e c /1 2 /2 0 0 Fe b /1 0 /2 0 1 A p r/ 1 1 / 2 0 1
9 9 9 9 9 9 0 0
E h _ 2 E h _ 6
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REVIEW OF DEMO HEAP
Copper Extraction
days
40 21-07-2009
70 20-08-2009
pumps, power,
irrgn ctrls, acid
freeze damage
1st irrigation
63 - 70 replacement
125 15-10-2009
205 16-02-2010
150 - 170 GBL off site
irrigation
blocked
heap rinse,
180 - 200 irrigation
replacement
see Eh dip
filter new
200 cartridges
installed (28-12-
2009)
300 07-04-2010
28-04-2010
321 irrigation
terminated
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Copper Extraction and Leaching Ratio
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Daily Average Temperatures
30.0
Temperature (°C)
25.0
20.0
15.0
10.0
5.0
0.0
-5.0
Feb/15/0 Apr/16/0 Jun/15/0 Aug/14/ Oct/13/0 Dec/12/ Feb/10/1 Apr/11/1
9 9 9 09 9 09 0 0
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REVIEW OF DEMO HEAP
Operational Issues Impacting Heap Temperature
Operating data shows 12°C was lost over the initial 5 months when the heap was
not irrigated or aerated after initial stacking
Approximately 10°C was additionally lost during other periods of lost power, acid
shortage, emitter plugging, etc.
Without these issues, data indicates that temperatures of approximately 45°C
could have been generated.
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Show AVI Eh file Show Temp AVI file
PLS and ILS Tenors
P L S [ C u , F e (T )]
3 5 .0 1 .6 0
1 .4 0
3 0 .0
1 .2 0
2 5 .0
1 .0 0
2 0 .0
Fe(T) (g/L)
0 .8 0
Cu (g/L)
1 5 .0 0 .6 0
0 .4 0
1 0 .0
0 .2 0
5 .0
0 .0 0
0 .0 - 0 .2 0
0 50 100 150 200 250
Cu +2 D ays Fe T
P L S & IL S [ C u ]
3 5 .0
3 0 .0
2 5 .0
2 0 .0
Cu (g/L)
1 5 .0
1 0 .0
5 .0
0 .0
0 50 100 150 200 250
D ays
ILS PLS
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PLS Acidity and Redox & PLS and ILS Temperatures
P LS [P h , R e d o x]
580 3 .5
560 3 .0
540 2 .5
520
2 .0
Redox (Mv)
500
1 .5
pH
480
1 .0
460
440 0 .5
420 0 .0
400 - 0 .5
0 50 100 150 200 250
D ays
Eh pH
30.0
25.0
Temperature(C)
20.0
15.0
10.0
5.0
0.0
0 50 100 150 200 250
Days
I LS PLS
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REVIEW OF DEMO HEAP
Operational Issues Impacting Results
Problems started with stacking . . .
– Ore originated from multiple sources including primary and secondary stockpiles,
resulting in variable levels of fines, grades, mineralogy, lithology, etc.
– Moisture and acid addition to stacked material was inconsistent and less than
specified
– Problems encountered with insertion of aeration piping, resulting in parts of the heap
having little or no aeration
– Heap was not covered after stacking for 119 days
– Heap was not irrigated after stacking for 107days
– Heap was not inoculated after stacking for 160 days
– The blower was not available after stacking for 164 days
And continued during operation
– Emitters plugged with inoculation solids
– Frozen irrigation lines
– Inconsistent acid and water supply
– Lack of emphasis from management on operational and maintenance issues
– Loss of blower and control power every time the stacking power system was de-
energized
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IMPLEMENTATION PLAN & SCHEDULE
Aligning Prerequisites to Solutions and Lessons Learned from Demo Test
ISSUE SOLUTION
Interruptions to aeration and • Install dedicated power to aeration blowers and heap instrumentation and control
control power
Lack of adequate solution • Install double grid system with alternate operation on a daily basis
coverage
Lack of management emphasis • Appoint Project Manager whose primary responsibility is the success of the test
on the test
Lack of operational support • Project Manager to have authority to direct operational crews on a timely basis – may
need dedicated operations crews
Lack of maintenance support • Project Manager to have authority to direct maintenance work on a timely basis
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REVIEW OF DEMO HEAP
Summary: GEOLEACH™ Can Achieve Higher Recoveries on Supergene
Demo heap was still extracting copper at relatively high rate when taken down
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Performance of GEOLEACH™ application
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Acknowledgement
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Thanks…..
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