Recycling of industrial waste is a paradigm of resource provision for sustainable development

Abstract

Introduction. In an era of economic transnationalisation, global shocks have a significant impact on economic subjects. Resource-dependent countries and economies are particularly sensitive to global shocks. There are common parallel between countries dependent on imported resources and regions with mineral resources on the verge of depletion. Recycling of industrial waste is a vector of mining development that reduces the dependence of economies on sharp fluctuations in commodity markets in times of global shocks. The proposed vector allows solving replenishment of the mineral resource base of the enterprise or countries dependent on the import of resources. The development of innovative technologies from simple minerals extraction from the subsoil to a full-cycle process of georesources exploitation, including full processing of industrial waste, will contribute to resource provision for sustainable development. Purpose of work. To identify industrial deposits, study and systematise their chemical and mineralogical composition and determine their recycling potential for the further recycling of industrial waste from mining and processing sectors. Methods and materials. The object of the study is industrial formations (tailing dump) which are part of a single mining holding Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company of Gayskaya, Sibayskaya, Uchalinskaya and Buribayevskaya plants. The laboratory and experimental part of the study was facilitated by various methods: theoretical (analysis, generalisation; classification, etc.); practical (observation; comparison; measurement; experiment, etc.). The study of tailings was carried out by simple sampling according to a preformed grid of pits. The pits were made on the tailing beaches (drained areas) on a 60x60 meter grid to a depth of 6 meters. The study comprised an assessment and visual approbation which consisted of interval-by-interval sampling of flotation tailings (test material) from the pits at each half-metre interval. To reduce the volume of test material, samples were averaged by simple quartering. Selected samples were sent to the laboratory for physical examination. The samples were examined by X-ray analysis. A DRON-3M instrument was used to analyze the samples. The study was conducted by Co-radiation with the use of Fe-filter. X-ray phase analysis was used to process the obtained spectral data where the Joint Committee on Powder Diffraction Standards (JCPDS) was applied. Microstructural research of the averaged sample mineralogy was conducted on material with a particle size of -1+0.25 mm using a Philips SEM 515 scanning electron microscope. The possibility of extracting a valuable component from tailings was assessed on the example of gold using double agitation cyanidation. Results of research. The results of the visual study show that horizontally layered structure is traced in all tailing dumps of all pits. This is due to the successive reclamation of the layers. At all the tailing dumps of the holding, industrial sulfates were found in all pits without exception. An active process of sulfate formation is observed down to a depth of 1-2 m. Laboratory tests have shown the percentage of valuable component content: copper; zinc; iron; sulphur; gold and silver, which make it possible to determine the approximate amount of useful components that are in industrial formations and are suitable for extraction. In order to fully characterize the industrial raw material, the qualitative indicator of valuable components was established, namely the possibility of their extraction was investigated (on the example of gold). The laboratory method established that the extraction of gold from tailings varies from 75,9 to 82,14% and depends on the investigated industrial raw material. Discussion. Analysis of the data obtained indicates that 50.88% of the gold in the flotation tailings of the Gaiskiy processing plant is in refractory form. No free gold has been identified for extraction. The results of phase analysis confirmed the presence of easily-cyanidable gold in the mineral assemblages. The easily-cyanideable gold is 49.12 % from the total volume of gold in the examined processing waste. The samples of laboratory analysis taken from the Buribayevskiy processing plant show that less than half of the gold in the industrial storage is in the refractory form (40.31 %). Also, free gold for extraction has not been identified. The easi-ly-cyanideable gold is 59.7 % from the total volume of gold in the investigated waste of the Buribayevsk processing plant. Conclusion. 1. The article examines the tailing dumps of the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company and determines their material and mineralogical composition. The tailing dumps are united by the same type of processed material and, consequently, by a similar processing technology. 2. An approximate estimate of the valuable components left in industrial waste has been made. 3. It has been proven that industrial waste can be recycled to resource provision for sustainable development. 4. Industrial formations need to be studied in more detail in order to determine the distribution pattern of valuable components in the industrial mass and to investigate their extraction potential in more detail. Results. 1. Testing performed on industrial formations (tailing dumps) of the Southern Urals and laboratory studies of samples confirm the prospects of using industrial waste in recycling to extract the left valuable component. 2. The development, justification, and implementation of innovative technologies for the processing of low-value industrial raw materials is the basis for starting the manufactured exploitation of industrial accumulations. 3. The next stage in the study of industrial mass is a more thorough study of industrial accumulations and the identification of patterns in the distribution of valuable components throughout the mass (contouring) and a more detailed study of the possibility of their additional extraction.