1. Mining is a major global industrial activity that often leads to environmental degradation, especially in developing countries like Papua New Guinea (PNG).
2. Discharging mine waste tailings into aquatic systems, either freshwater or marine, can have negative impacts on the environment and the health of organisms, including humans.
3. Sea Tailing Placement (STP) is considered a hazardous practice, so a more improved technique called Deep Sea Tailing Placement (DSTP) is used instead.
4. DSTP involves piping tailing effluents well below the sea level, allowing them to settle on the seafloor, where they are considered to remain out of reach of conditions that could render them toxic.
5. The Ramu Nickel-Cobalt project in PNG, operated by the Chinese Metallurgical Company (MCC Ltd), uses the DSTP method to dispose of tailings from the mining and refining of lateritic ores.
6. The study aims to assess the metal concentrations, acidity/pH, and flow velocity rate of the tailings before discharge to determine the ecological safety of the DSTP method used in the Ramu Nickel-Cobalt project.
The main points from the given information are:
1. Study Location:
- The Ramu Ni-Co Mine is located in the Madang Province along the North Coast of Papua New Guinea (PNG).
- The mining activities are carried out at two different locations for its core industrial processes.
2. Kurumbukari Mine Site:
- Kurumbukari is the site of ore mining and beneficiation.
- It is situated at the Foothills of the Bismarck Range, approximately 75km south-west inland from the town of Madang, the provincial capital.
- This site has a series of open-cut mine pits and a beneficiation plant to produce ore slurry.
3. Basamuk Refinery Site:
- The ore slurry is transported from the Kurumbukari mine site to the Basamuk Bay (Astrolabe Bay) in Rai Coast via a 134km-long slurry pipeline.
- The Basamuk refinery site has a high-pressure acid leaching facility to produce high-grade intermediate hydroxides of Nickel and Cobalt metals.
- The refinery complex also includes an acid plant, a lime plant, a power station, a wharf, a limestone quarry, and an accommodation area.
4. Tailings Disposal:
- A Deep-Sea Tailings Placement (DSTP) facility at the Basamuk Bay is used for the disposal of tailings into the ocean at a depth of 150m.
- The tailings materials, aided by a turbidity plume at the terminal point, are eventually dumped at the abyssal system of the Bismarck Sea.
1. Mining is a major global industrial activity that often leads to environmental degradation, especially in developing countries like Papua New Guinea (PNG).
2. Discharging mine waste tailings into aquatic systems, either freshwater or marine, can have negative impacts on the environment and the health of organisms, including humans.
3. Sea Tailing Placement (STP) is considered a hazardous practice, so a more improved technique called Deep Sea Tailing Placement (DSTP) is used instead.
4. DSTP involves piping tailing effluents well below the sea level, allowing them to settle on the seafloor, where they are considered to remain out of reach of conditions that could render them toxic.
5. The Ramu Nickel-Cobalt project in PNG, operated by the Chinese Metallurgical Company (MCC Ltd), uses the DSTP method to dispose of tailings from the mining and refining of lateritic ores.
6. The study aims to assess the metal concentrations, acidity/pH, and flow velocity rate of the tailings before discharge to determine the ecological safety of the DSTP method used in the Ramu Nickel-Cobalt project.
The main points from the given information are:
1. Study Location:
- The Ramu Ni-Co Mine is located in the Madang Province along the North Coast of Papua New Guinea (PNG).
- The mining activities are carried out at two different locations for its core industrial processes.
2. Kurumbukari Mine Site:
- Kurumbukari is the site of ore mining and beneficiation.
- It is situated at the Foothills of the Bismarck Range, approximately 75km south-west inland from the town of Madang, the provincial capital.
- This site has a series of open-cut mine pits and a beneficiation plant to produce ore slurry.
3. Basamuk Refinery Site:
- The ore slurry is transported from the Kurumbukari mine site to the Basamuk Bay (Astrolabe Bay) in Rai Coast via a 134km-long slurry pipeline.
- The Basamuk refinery site has a high-pressure acid leaching facility to produce high-grade intermediate hydroxides of Nickel and Cobalt metals.
- The refinery complex also includes an acid plant, a lime plant, a power station, a wharf, a limestone quarry, and an accommodation area.
4. Tailings Disposal:
- A Deep-Sea Tailings Placement (DSTP) facility at the Basamuk Bay is used for the disposal of tailings into the ocean at a depth of 150m.
- The tailings materials, aided by a turbidity plume at the terminal point, are eventually dumped at the abyssal system of the Bismarck Sea.
Briefly Put all the above information in one paragraph