BHP and Rio Tinto are calling on technology providers, equipment manufacturers, reagent suppliers, start-ups, and research groups across the world to provide ideas that can potentially help improve tailings dewatering and management performance in mining.
According to the companies, the effort will jointly identify a portfolio of tailings management partners that can accelerate the development of technologies that could increase water recovery, reduce potential safety risks and minimise environmental footprints associated with tailings storage facilities.
Tailings management includes tailings dewatering and transport technologies, chemical amendment and dust mitigation.
Ideas to be provided may include market-ready technology previously applied across other industries or may be original ideas at the earliest stages of research and development.
The search for new partners comes as the mining businesses entered into a new agreement to extend their collaboration beyond the previously announced trial of a large-volume tailings filter unit at a BHP copper mine in Chile.
BHP Sustainability Innovation Head Ingrid Oyarzun said the effort will help the companies bring together innovative thinkers to help them “improve in this critical area for safety and sustainability of our operations.”
Meanwhile, Rio Tinto Research and Development Chief Advisor Saskia Duyvesteyn said the companies want to work with other people to find new ways of improving safety and reducing the environmental footprint of tailings facilities.
