From Mine Waste to Profitable Infrastructure: TOMRA Mining’s Sorting Revolution
From Mine Waste to Profitable Infrastructure: TOMRA Mining’s Sorting Revolution
TOMRA’s advanced sensor-based sorting technology is helping mining companies recover valuable resources from material containing acid-forming substances and sulfides. This can extend the mine life while improving operational efficiency and overall sustainability. Mines hold a largely untapped opportunity, one that TOMRA has addressed with its sorting technology by targeting the huge volumes of waste rock […]
From Mine Waste to Profitable Infrastructure: TOMRA Mining’s Sorting Revolution published on The HeavyQuip Magazine.
TOMRA’s advanced sensor-based sorting technology is helping mining companies recover valuable resources from material containing acid-forming substances and sulfides. This can extend the mine life while improving operational efficiency and overall sustainability.
Mines hold a largely untapped opportunity, one that TOMRA has addressed with its sorting technology by targeting the huge volumes of waste rock generated at mine sites. The use of mine waste is often limited by the presence of sulphides and potentially acid-forming material, so it is typically stockpiled or sent to dumps, creating environmental liabilities and economic costs. In itself, however, much of this waste rock already has the strength and durability needed for construction. TOMRA Mining’s sensor-based sorting addresses this by removing acid-forming material from the waste stream, enabling the rock to be managed and reused more safely.
TOMRA Mining sorting machine COM Tertiary XRT
The process relies on X-ray Transmission (XRT) sensor sorting to image each particle, identify fine-grained inclusions such as base-metal sulphides, and eject sulphide-bearing material from the feed stream. This produces a low-sulphide fraction that can be safely stockpiled long term, used on site, or sold as aggregate.
How TOMRA XRT sorting works
“By separating non-acid-forming waste (NAC) , we are able to place a large portion of our waste rock directly in long-term storage, reducing both environmental risk and the need to place underground,”
says the Bluestone Mining Tasmania joint venture (Australia), a real-world example of TOMRA’s technology in action. PAF (potentially acid-forming) material will be isolated and managed safely.
Bluestone’s Renison Bell operation in Tasmania (Australia), where TOMRA XRT sorting is used.
“In the latest publicly available technical report, 4,216 ounces of gold were recovered from the pebble sorting operation in one year, but also produces a barren waste fraction with minimal acid-generating potential”
As Jordan Rutledge, Area Sales Manager at TOMRA Mining, explained.
TOMRA Mining has brought a clear example of circular economy thinking into mining, breaking the old equation where ore generates profit and waste drives cost. The result is a new business line within the mine, cut disposal volumes, and in some cases, generating revenue by supplying aggregate.
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