Surface analysis for the concentration and extraction of metals using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy

使用傅里叶变换红外光谱法进行金属浓缩和提取的表面分析

• 批准号: RTI-2021-00020
• 负责人: Gibson, Charlotte
• 金额: $ 2.5万
• 依托单位: Queen's University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Research Tools and Instruments
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=718498
• 关键词: Surface; analysis; concentration; extraction; metals

Global climate consciousness is driving an increase in demand for materials critical to energy storage applications (such as lithium, magnesium, graphite) sourced from jurisdictions with strong environmental regulation and a desire to mitigate the environmental impact of existing mining operations across all commodity groups. In Canada, the barrier to production of battery critical minerals and the slow pace at which environmentally sustainable processes are commercially adopted is due to technical challenges encountered in the processing of primary ore from Canadian deposits. This proposal aims to enable ground breaking research in the area mineral concentration and metal extraction in an efficient, environmentally conscious, and economical manner through the enhancement of analytical capabilities of 2 world class laboratories in the Robert M. Buchan Department of Mining at Queen's University. The requested instrument is urgently needed by researchers in this area to advance the commercial production of lithium and other battery critical minerals from Canadian deposits and to improve the economic viability of cyanide free gold leaching to mitigate the environmental risk of gold mines in Canada and internationally. Mineral Processing: Technical challenges associated with concentration of lithium minerals from Canadian ores create a barrier to commercial production. Similarities in the physicochemical properties of many lithium minerals and their associated waste minerals make their separation process, though flotation, challenging and costly. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy can be used to analyze flotation reagents on the surface of ore and waste minerals after treatment under different conditions, allowing for the identification of optimal process conditions and the design of specialized chemicals to selectively adsorb on target minerals, with the potential to enable the economic production of lithium and magnesium from Canadian deposits. Hydrometallurgy and the Environment: Innovative hydrometallurgical processes for the extraction of metals and minerals from primary resources can be used to identify and promote the commercialization of alternative chemicals to replace cyanide in the gold extraction process. FTIR can be used to analyze leach solutions from two potential cyanide replacement systems (thiosulfate and thiocyanate), both of which are significantly less toxic than cyanide when used as a lixiviant in gold extraction. Through the identification of target species in the leach solutions under different process conditions, the efficiency of cyanide free gold leaching process can be improved to develop an economic process that can be adopted commercially. Both of these research programs will benefit the Canadian environment and economy through the production of raw materials that will enable widespread electrification of vehicles and through reduction of environmental risk associated with existing mining operations.

全球气候意识正在推动对储能应用至关重要的材料需求的增加（例如锂，镁，石墨），这些材料来自具有强大环境监管的管辖区，并渴望减轻所有商品群体现有采矿业务的环境影响。在加拿大，生产关键矿物质的障碍以及在商业上采用环境可持续过程的缓慢步伐是由于加拿大矿床的主要矿石处理中遇到的技术挑战所致。该建议旨在通过在皇后大学的罗伯特·M·布坎（Robert M. Buchan）矿业系中增强2个世界一流的实验室的分析能力，以有效的，环保的和经济的方式在该地区的矿产浓度和金属提取方面进行突破性的研究。该领域的研究人员迫切需要该要求的工具，以促进加拿大矿床的锂和其他关键矿物的商业生产，并提高氰化物无金黄金浸出的经济可行性，以减轻加拿大和国际金矿的环境风险。矿物加工：与加拿大矿石矿物质浓度相关的技术挑战，从而造成了商业生产的障碍。许多锂矿物质及其相关废物矿物质的物理化学特性的相似性使它们的分离过程虽然浮标，具有挑战性且昂贵。傅立叶变换红外（FTIR）光谱可用于分析在不同条件下处理后矿石和废物矿物质的浮选试剂，允许鉴定最佳过程条件以及设计专用化学物质以选择性地吸附在目标矿物上，并有可能从CANAD和CANAD质量矿物质的经济生产。水平铝和环境：用于从主要资源中提取金属和矿物质的创新水平铝过程，可用于识别和促进替代化学物质的商业化，以替代黄金提取过程中的氰化物。 FTIR可用于分析来自两个潜在的氰化物替代系统（硫代硫酸盐和硫氰酸酯）的浸出溶液，当用作黄金提取中的利克西亚时，这两种溶液都比氰化物毒性明显少得多。通过在不同过程条件下浸出溶液中目标物种的鉴定，可以改善无氰化物浸出过程的效率，以开发可以商业化的经济过程。这两种研究计划都将通过生产原材料来使加拿大的环境和经济受益，这将通过与现有采矿业务相关的环境风险进行广泛的电气化和降低环境风险。