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SompioMining
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VTT has a multidisciplinary offe-
ring covering the whole life cycle
of the mine
(Figure 1).
Our target
is to develop technologies that uti-
lize nature’s resources in environ-
mentally, socially and economically
sustainable way. The main focuses
are on sustainable utilization of raw
materials and tailings, and under-
standing of the fate of wastes and
waters generated by mining opera-
tions. Mine waste management and
utilization as products, stability of
solid waste in mine sites, and ge-
nerally finding economically sustai-
nable processes for low grade ores
are studied at VTT.
Many on-going projects at VTT
belong into the TEKES Green Mi-
ning program and are carried out to-
gether with GTK (Geological Survey
of Finland) and industrial partners.
One example of hydrometallurgical
process development work is the
improved recovery of rare earth me-
tals from different sources, which
are studied in REPRO (Assessment
of rare earth metal recovery pro-
cess) project. The unique properties
of rare-earth elements (REE) make
them essential to emerging techno-
logies in environmental, energy effi-
ciency and health solutions. Future
concerns regarding security of REE
supply in Europe and other count-
ries result from China’s near mo-
nopoly of production until the year
2010.
The use of both primary and se-
condary sources and wastes as raw
material resources are looked at to
improve REE supplies. The recove-
ry of rare earth metals from waste
materials is currently challenging,
and new economically and environ-
mentally sound technologies are
necessary. VTT is active in EU advi-
sory group ERECON (European Rare
Earth Competence Network) as well
as in EUs raw materials and re-
cycling groups in European Innova-
tion Platform and KIC Raw Matters
with other Finnish partners.
Another example dealing with
topical mine water management
is PUMI project (Purification and
monitoring concept for mining wa-
ter treatment based on new water
technologies). In this work new
technologies, such as forward os-
mosis, are applied to process and
waste waters from the mine sites.
Advanced knowledge of existing and
developing water treatment techno-
logies in addition to the knowledge
of different hydrometallurgical unit
processes in the mines are combin-
ed for the purification concept. Fit
for purpose water concept means
that the quality of water is matched
to the requirements for the end use.
The requirements of process water
are highly dependent on specific in-
dustry applications. Every mine site
is specific in terms of ore type, gan-
gue material, plant situation, water
quality etc. Water quality may have
significant impact on the performan-
ce of separate unit processes and
the whole process chain even up to
the form of solid waste that is ge-
nerated. Therefore, water recycling
and reuse needs to be assessed in-
dividually case-by-case in a holistic
way. Environmentally beneficial wa-
ter recycling and reuse projects can
also return a significant economic
benefit. Technologies that are able
to generate sufficient quality water
at a reasonable cost are required.
Closedure project looks how
the mine is safely closed after its
lifetime, including the necessary
integration of mine closure process
to the mine lifecycle. The goal is
to give guidance on selecting right
technologies and approaches that
are crucial for a successful mine
closure. Also this work is useful for
the authorities to support smooth
permitting. Within this work, in col-
laboration with GTK, a wiki-based,
modular, and updatable web
resource is created. The goal is to
improve mine closure and reduce
adverse environmental impacts,
improve the public knowledge and
societal impacts.
The mine waste and waste faci-
lities are the most prominent sour-
ces of pollution after mine closure.
In order to minimise the environ-
mental impacts, it is important to
predict the long-term behaviour of
waste using proper characterisati-
on methods, and to select suitab-
le solutions for closure of waste
areas. Another important aspect is
the post-closure water treatment,
where reliable but at the same time
cost-effective methods with low
maintenance requirements would
be needed. In the Closedure project
both active and passive water tre-
atment solutions are evaluated for
their suitability, and selected passi-
ve methods will be studied in order
to produce more information about
their long-time performance.
To predict the long term beha-
viour of disposed material and to
minimize the amount of waste itself
through efficient utilization, a pro-
per characterization of the waste
material is crucial. Also the met-
hods available to successfully close
a waste facility and to remediate
the impacted areas are dependent
on the geochemical processes deri-
ved from the properties of disposed
material.
These few examples show VTT’s
commitment to create sustainable
technologies for mining industry.
teknologioita, joiden avulla luonnonvaroja voidaan hyödyntää ympäristövastuu, yhteiskuntavastuu sekä
taloudellinen vastuu huomioiden. Tutkimusalueitamme ovat muun muassa uusien prosessien kehittäminen
köyhille malmeille ja jätemateriaaleille, kaivosten jätteiden ja vesien hallinta, jätteiden hyötykäyttö sekä
niiden stabiilisuus ja sijoitus- tai hyödyntämiskelpoisuus.
Useat VTT:llä käynnissä olevat tutkimushankkeet kuuluvat TEKES:n Green Mining –ohjelmaan. Hankkeita
toteutetaan yhteistyössä teollisuuden sekä muiden tutkimuslaitosten kuten GTK:n kanssa. Yksi esimerkki
hydrometallurgisten prosessien kehittämistyöstä on Repro-projekti, jossa tutkitaan harvinaisten
maametallien tehokkaampaa talteenottoa eri lähteistä. Harvinaisilla maametalleilla on erityisiä
ominaisuuksia, joita tarvitaan uusissa ympäristö-, energia- ja terveydenhoitoalan teknologisissa
ratkaisuissa. Harvinaisia maametalleja voidaan ottaa talteen primääristen raaka-aineiden lisäksi
jätemateriaaleista, mikä vaatii uusien teknologioiden kehittämistä. VTT on aktiivisesti mukana EU:n ERECON
(European Rare Earth Competence Network) –työryhmässä sekä muissa raaka-aineita käsittelevissä EU-
tason työryhmissä.
Esimerkkinä kaivosten vesien hallinnasta on Pumi-projekti, jossa kehitetään kokonaiskonseptia kaivosten
jäte- ja prosessivesille. Projektissa yhdist tään tietoa erillisten kaivosteollisuude yksikköoperaatioiden
vedenlaatutarpeista sekä nykyisillä ja uusilla vedenkäsittelyteknologioilla saavutettavasta veden laadusta.
Tavoittee a on kierrättää mahdollisimman paljon vettä kaivosteollisuuden prosesseissa. Veden laatu
vaikuttaa merkittävästi niin yksittäisten prosessien kuin koko prosessiketjun toimintaan sekä muodostuvan
jätteen koo tu ukse n. Jokainen kaiv s on malmin, harmemineraalien, prosessoinnin, veden laadun jn .
suhteen erilainen ja siten veden kierrätyksen mahdollisuuksia pitää tarkastella tapauskohtaisesti.
Positiivisten ympäristövaikutusten lisäksi veden kierrättäminen prosesseissa on usein myös taloudellista.
Kuva 1.
Sustainable mining
research at VTT
Päivi Kinnunen (Senior scientist), Justin Salminen (Senior scientist), Ulla-Maija Mroueh (Principal scientist)
Sustainable mining research at VTT
VTT has a multidisciplinary offering covering the whole life cycle of the mine (Figure 1). Our target is to
develop technologies that utilize nature’s resources in environmentally, socially and economically
sustainable way. The main focuses are on sustainable utilization of raw materials and tailings, and
understanding of the fate of wastes and waters generated by mining operations. Mine waste management
and utilization as products, stability of solid waste in mine sites, and generally finding economically
sustainable processes for low grade ores are studied at VTT.
Figure 1. VTT offering for sustainable mining.
Many on-going projects at VTT belong into the TEKES Green Mining program and are carried out together
with GTK (Geological Survey of Finland) and industrial partners. One example of hydrometallurgical process
development work is the improved recovery of rare earth metals from different sources, which are studied
in REPRO (Assessment of rare earth metal recovery process) project. The unique properties of rare-earth
elements (REE) make them essential to emerging technologies in environmental, energy efficiency and
health solutions. Future concerns regarding security of REE supply in Europe and other countries result
from China’s near monopoly of production until the year 2010.
Labtium Oy on ainoa laboratorio Pohjois-
maissa, joka pystyy tarjoamaan kattavasti
lähes kaikki geologisen tutkimuksen, mal-
minetsinnän ja kaivostoiminnan tarvitse-
mat kemialliset analyysipalvelut.
Labtiumilla on vahva kokemus geoke-
mialliseen ja ympäristögeokemialliseen
kartoitukseen ja tutkimukseen tarvittavis-
ta näyte-esikäsittely- ja analyysipalveluista.
Ennen yhtiöittämistä osana Geologian tut-
kimuskeskuksen tutkimusorganisaatiota
laboratorio on analysoinut laajasti 1970-lu-
vulta lähtien kaikki GTK:n kartoitus- ja tut-
kimushankkeisiin liittyvät näytteet.
Malminetsintään ja mineraalivarojen
arviointiin Labtium tarjoaa menetelmä-
valikoiman, joka vastaa kansainvälisesti
hyväksyttyjä best practice- menetelmiä.
Menetelmin suorituskykyä arvioidaan jat-
kuvasti osallistumalla useisiin kansainvä-
lisiin laboratorioiden välisiin vertailukokei-
siin sekä geologisten vertailumateriaalien
sertifiointiohjelmiin.
”Olemme aktiivisesti olleet myös raken-
tamassa uusien kaivosten laboratoriopal-
veluja. Voimme tarjota laboratoriopalvelut
täysin ulkoistettuna palveluna joko kiintei-
den toimipisteidemme kautta tai tarvitta-
essa asiakkaan omissa tiloissa kaivoksen
läheisyydessä”,
Heikki Niskavaara
Labti-
um Oy liiketoimintajohtaja kertoo.
Labtiumin tarjoamat malminetsinnän
laboratoriopalvelut sijaitsevat siellä mihin
etsintä – ja kaivostoiminta Suomessa on
keskittynyt.
Kaivosten toimintaa tukevista palveluis-
ta esimerkkinä on Labtiumin Sodankylän
laboratorio, joka tuottaa monipuolisia pal-
veluja pääsääntöisesti lähellä sijaiseville
Lappland Goldminers’n Pahtavaaran ja
FQM Kevitsan kaivoksille. Sodankylässä
tarjoamme asiakkaillemme analyysipal-
veluja kaivosten louhinnanohjaukseen,
rikastamojen prosessinohjaukseen ja ym-
päristön seurantaan mm. nopeita vesiana-
lyysejä.
Maailman pohjoisimmat geoanalyyttiset laboratoriot
Arctic Assays
Labtium is the only labora-
tory in the Nordic Countries
providing locally comprehen-
sive sample preparation and
analytical services for explo-
ration and mining.
Labtium can provide a
wide range of analytical and
expert services to support
the mining and mineral exp-
loration companies from ex-
ploration and development
stage to mine production
and environmental monito-
ring.
Labtium Oy is a fully inde-
pendent and impartial labo-
ratory company established
in 2007 after long history
of being part of the Geolo-
gical Survey of Finland and
tracking back to the 1940’s.
As we are working close
to our clients we can toget-
her tailor the whole testing
plan to fulfil as well as pos-
sible the particular require-
ments of specified minerali-
zation type.
Labtium can also provi-
de full range of services for
mining. In addition to the
preparation and analyses of
exploration and grade cont-
rol samples, we analyse pro-
cess samples from different
stages of the ore processing
starting from feeds to tails
including independent com-
mercial and umpire analysis
of the final products.
Labtium has focused its
services for exploration and
mining to regions in Fin-
land where the main activi-
ties are – namely Eastern
– and Northern Finland. As
an example of our services
to mining is the laboratory
in Sodankylä which provi-
des services e.g. for nearby
Lappland Goldminer’ Pah-
tavaara and FQM Kevitsa
mines. The service portfolio
covers grade control, various
types of mineral processing
samples as well as environ-
mental samples e.g. fast wa-
ter sample analyses.