Carbon Negative Reaction-driven Cracking for Enhanced Mineral Recovery: In-Situ Test at a Ni-Co-PGE Deposit

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Program:
MINER
Award:
$4,997,015
Location:
Austin, Texas
Status:
ACTIVE
Project Term:
06/26/2023 - 06/25/2026
Website:

Technology Description:

The University of Texas, Austin, will conduct an in-situ injection of CO2 dissolved in water to permanently sequester CO2 via carbon-negative reactions (carbon mineralization), chemically fracture the rock via reaction-driven cracking before mining to reduce extraction and comminution energy by at least 50%, replace the CO2-reactive rock waste with carbonate to reduce energy needed for separation, improve concentrate grade, and increase ore recovery, and expand the lifespan of the mine as a CO2 sink once the ore is exhausted. The methodology applies to ultramafic rock-hosted mining operations worldwide, is easily scalable, and can be combined with chemical enhancement and subsequent ex-situ carbonation steps to maximize CO2 sequestration and critical mineral yield to combat climate change and secure the U. S. critical mineral supply. The proposed field test site is a newly discovered nickel-cobalt-platinum group element ore body near the U.S-Canada border that is forecast to be an important new source of critical minerals.


Potential Impact:

The MINER program aims to use the reactive potential of CO2-reactive ore materials to decrease mineral processing energy and increase the yield of energy-relevant minerals via novel negative emission technologies.

Security:

MINER metrics meet the U.S. need for net-zero, commercial-ready technologies that provide energy-relevant minerals for economic and national security.

Environment:

In addition to demonstrating carbon negativity, the proposed technologies will quantify and reduce our impact on environmental and human health by addressing ecotoxicity, acidification of air, smog, water pollution, and more.

Economy:

MINER metrics specify increasing the yield of energy-relevant minerals by reducing unrecovered energy-relevant minerals in tailings by 50% compared with state of the art.

Contact

ARPA-E Program Director:
Dr. Douglas Wicks
Project Contact:
Dr. Estibalitz Ukar
Press and General Inquiries Email:
ARPA-E-Comms@hq.doe.gov
Project Contact Email:
esti.ukar@beg.utexas.edu

Related Projects

• Colorado School of Mines - Block Modeling of the Carbonation Potential of Ore Deposits Using Cutting-Edge Core Scanning Technology and Advanced Machine Learning Algorithms
• Columbia University - Hydrometallurgical Production of Domestic Metals for Energy Transition
• Columbia University - Innovative Stirred Media Mill Reactor for Combined Reactive Comminution and Mineral Dissolution Integrated with Electrochemical Separation of Metals and PGMs and Carbon Mineralization
• Harvard University - Developing Advanced NMR Techniques to Predict and Monitor CO2 Storage and Mineralization for Enhanced Mining Exploration and Operation
• Idaho National Laboratory (INL) - Integrated Electro-Hydraulic Fracturing and Real-Time Monitoring for Carbon Negative In-Situ Mining
• Johns Hopkins University - Carbon-Negative Mining from Gangue Minerals Enabled by Energy-Efficient Electrosynthesis of Acid and Base
• Michigan Technological University (MTU) - Energy Reduction and Improved Critical Mineral Recovery From Low-Grade Disseminated Sulphide Deposits and Mine Tailings
• Missouri University of Science & Technology (Missouri S&T) - Reduce Comminution Energy and Improve Energy Relevant Mineral Yield Using Carbon-negative Oxalatization Reactions
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) - Supercritical CO2 Based Mining for Carbon-Negative Critical Mineral Recovery
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) - Re-Mining Red Mud Waste for CO2 Capture and Storage and Critical Element Recovery (RMCCS-CER)
• Phoenix Tailings - CO2 GONE – CO2 Gasification of Ore for Nickel Extraction
• Travertine Technologies - Ultramafic Tailings Leaching and Lateritization with Electrolytic Acid Recycling for Critical Metal Recovery and Enhanced Mineral Carbonation
• University of California, Davis (UC Davis) - Electrochemical Lithium and Nickel Extraction with Concurrent Carbon Dioxide Mineralization
• University of Kentucky - Development of a Carbon-Negative Process for Comminution Energy Reduction and Energy-Relevant Mineral Extraction through Carbon Mineralization and Biological Carbon Fixation
• University of Nevada, Reno - Accelerated Reactive Carbonation Process (ARCP) for Energy Efficient Separation of Rare Earth Minerals
• University of Texas at Arlington (UT Arlington) - RECLAIM: Electrochemical Lithium and Nickel Extraction with Concurrent Carbon Dioxide Mineralization
• University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) - Carbon Negative Reaction-driven Cracking for Enhanced Mineral Recovery: In-Situ Test at a Ni-Co-PGE Deposit
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) - Energy-relevant Elements Recovery from CO2-reactive Minerals during Carbon Mineralization

Release Date:
02/24/2022