Vale cuts water use

Enviromine

Vale SA has invested in new technology to reduce the water use at its Carajás mine in Brazil

Publishing Date: 01 Jun 2010 4:35pm GMT
Author: Mining Environmental Management

Environmental Change Sustainability

Vale SA has invested in new technology to reduce the water use at its Carajás mine in Brazil, providing both economic and environmental benefits.

The company said it had improved the efficiency of its mining process by developing a new technology which improves both the efficiency and the environmental impact of the mining process, by sifting using moisture from the mine itself.

The company said this type of technology has never been used before during ore beneficiation processes, and will cut annual water consumption by 19.7 million m³ per year and reduces energy use by more than 18 million MW per year.

The technology also means that tailings dams do not have to be built at the mine.

“Given that water shortages have become an increasing global concern, Vale was keen to develop a solution that would not only be of benefit to the company but also help play a part in sustaining the environmental impact made,” the company said.

The new technique has been tested for two years, with continuous observation of the way the system and processes function. Vale concluded that, with some simple and effective adaptations, it would be possible to eliminate water use in the process by 100%.