ESG IMPROVEMENTS THROUGH SENSOR-BASED SORTING FOR LITHIUM PEGMATITE ORES
Priscila M. Esteves1, Lutke von Ketelhodt 2, Lerato Kotelo2, Victoria Karem3
1 Steinert Latinoamericana, Pedro Leopoldo, Brazil
2 Steinert GmbH, Cologne, Germany
3 Steinert US, Cincinnati, United States
HIGHLIGHTS
• Applicability of SBS on various lithium pegmatite ores
• Improved energy and water usage by coarse gangue rejection with SBS
• Reduction on waste generation with by-products concentration with SBS
ABSTRACT
The clean energy transition presents a direct impact on the increasing demand for critical metals, amongst these is lithium. At the same time the minerals industry faces the need for improvement, and must meet growing sustainability targets and evolving standards of ESG policies. Therefore, it is necessary to develop process routes that make it possible to address the aforementioned demands. The present work demonstrates the applicability of sensor based sorting (SBS) technology for the processing of lithium pegmatite ores. For this, a test methodology commonly used in the initial stages of evaluation, which provides a better understanding of the separability between the most common lithologies in lithium pegmatite ores, is presented. This work offers a framework on which to evaluate the sortability of lithium pegmatite ores with a focus on achieving ESG goals. Using a multisensor platform approach provides flexible solutions to decrease the carbon footprint of existing processing routes.
KEYWORDS: ESG, Multi-sensor sorting, Lithium, Sustainability, Critical Minerals, Decarbonization.