Operational excellence in all areas of water managment The mining industry faces many challenges and issues relating to the use of water and the impact of exploration, extraction and disposal activities on the environment. These include minimizing water consumption and maximizing recovery, reducing land areas consumed by tailings disposal and minimizing the costs and time required to rehabilitate such land.

Ciba’s revolutionary approach to tailings management has resulted in the development of Ciba® RHEOMAX™ Technologies. These technologies, coupled with our global expertise and practical application assistance, will help deliver operational excellence in all areas of water management.

Ciba® RHEOMAX™ ETD (Enhanced Tailings Disposal)
Thickeners generate highly structured underflows, that are often pumped large distances to a final rehabilitation area. More than 90% of the structure created in the initial thickening is destroyed during this process and this results in poor material handling characteristics for effective disposal.

Ciba® RHEOMAX™ ETD rheology modifiers offer the end user a number of opportunities to enhance the operation of their tailings management process. Depending on the required application it may be possible to significantly increase the stacking angle of the disposed solids, substantially increasing the capacity of established impoundments.

The application of Ciba® RHEOMAX™ ETD products offers the opportunity for a more effective co-disposal process generating homogenized, stable, faster drying tailings which may be rehabilitated far earlier and more easily.

Ciba® RHEOMAX™ ETD rheology modifiers may also result in the faster release of cleaner liquor streams minimizing losses through evaporation.

Ciba® RHEOMAX™ DR (Density and Rheology)
Flocculants manufactured using Ciba® RHEOMAX™ DR Technology show superior flocculating properties to conventional chemistry flocculants for many different mineral ore types and offer a significant reduction in overall consumption at similar settling rates.

Feedwell turbulence can cause shear degradation of the flocculated particles resulting in higher flocculant usage and a reduced ability to control bed level in the thickener.

Ciba® RHEOMAX™ DR products create structures which are more robust than those formed by conventional flocculants and are more tolerant of fluctuations in plant and feedwell conditions.

The modified flocculated particle structure also improves compression and dewatering characteristics to give substantially higher underflow densities without compromising Yield Stress (related to Rake torque).

Benefits from Ciba® RHEOMAX™ DR products may include higher process throughput into a leach process without impact on leach kinetics, enhanced water recovery at the thickener, reduced water loss through evaporation at the tailings dam and a substantial saving in the cost of recovering or replenishing process water.

BROCHURES
Ciba® RHEOMAX™ DR (Density and Rheology) Brochure (PDF/590KB)
Ciba® RHEOMAX™ ETD (Enhanced Tailings Disposal) Brochure (PDF/630KB)

Technical Papers and Case Studies are available by request.  Please send email to: extractives@ciba.com