Digging deep: Showroom for program results

Digging deep,?is a glimpse into some of the many things that the program has contributed to, helped create or enabled during the 10 years the program has existed.

Our vision is a world-leading mining and mineral producing industry that contributes to a sustainable society. As one of Sweden's strategic innovation programs our efforts have?been towards?innovation capacity, technology development, social?acceptance and qualified personnel. In the coming months, we will share examples, large and small, narrow and broad, where Swedish Mining Innovation and our partners have contribued the vision. Short and sweet, easy to understand, gathered under one of these three headings:

Innovation Drivers

Societal Sustainability

Future Technology

DIGGING DEEP: INNOVATION DRIVERS

PhD Student Network

In January 2019, an organized network of PhD students is established, who conduct research in all disciplines along the entire mining value chain as part of Swedish Mining Innovation.?The purpose is to build a community and to support mining research and innovation in Sweden. The success of this network, coordinated by Lule? University of Technology, is demonstrated by a large number of members, alumni members, participating Swedish universities and the great interest and active participation of external stakeholders in the network activities.

The network in numbers (currently)

104 PhD students

13 alumni members

13 participating Swedish universities

7 workshops to-date?

1 delegation to RMW in Brussels

Key objectives of the network

• Increase?collaboration and contacts between PhD-students, also from different thematic areas.
• Increase contacts and interaction between PhD-students, industry and other stakeholders.
• Increase PhD students’ understanding and awareness of industry challenges.
• Increase access to qualified personnel in industry and academia.
• To give a broader perspective of the industry and mining in society.

The network was recently acknowledged at the Raw Materials Week (RMW) in Brussels. Nils Jansson, the Network Coordinater?was contacted by EUMICON with the specific request to send members to join the high-level event on critical raw materials, which they organized?for the European Commission. Twelve PhD students from the network went and after the event the network recieved a letter of appreciation from Director General at EUMICON, Roman Stiftner.?

"My specific vision is that in the future, companies and government organizations in search of a diverse and talented workforce will increasingly view the network as an asset for being able to quickly engage with a large group of young professionals from all over Sweden." - Nils Jansson, Associate Professor and Network Coordinator at Lule? University of Technology. ?

Read the full article with?Nils Jansson

Previous activities and workshops

Learn more about the network

Watch the interviews with Nils Jansson and Filip Simán, Network Coordinators

DIGGING DEEP: SOCIETAL SUSTAINABILITY

Strategic project?digs deep into environmental permit processes

This strategic project is based on a pre-study where representatives of the largest mining companies in Sweden, identified challenges when it comes to environmental permitting processes that have not been addressed or are not handled adequately. Hopefully results can provide?advisory results in future?decision-making processes. The challenges identified were as follows:

• Problems related to the design of the Swedish environmental permit processes, which are carried out in court in the first instance and where certain authorities are given special rights as stakeholders in the process.
• Uncertainties, challenges and consequences related to the application and interpretation of EU directives, above all the framework directive for water.

“We have done some deep digging about the background to some important part of the environment permit process and the findings are very interesting. I think the results will surprise many. Now we are looking into the consequences of the process and that's not an easy task. I'm however sure that the work we're doing will put important issues in the permitting process in a new light and be a ground for new angles of political decisions in the future." - Lotta Lauritz, Legal Council, LKAB.

Project highlights with Project Manager Anna Kumpula, Georange.

-We wanted to highlight an additional perspective that can give decision-makers a deeper knowledge and basis for good decisions regarding legislative changes and the implementation of processes towards an environmental permit.?The second issue that we highlight is the EU Water Framework Directive and its function in our region: will the implementaton of this legislation fulfill its functions in terms of environmental improvement, measures in the assessment of water operations??

Expected impact?

-So far, it is not possible to report any results beyond what has been discussed in the workshops and reconciliations that have been conducted. KTH and Lule? University of Technology will now compare and analyze the data from the mining companies to arrive at a result but also to find additional issues to delve into in the future.

Hopes for the future

-The hope is that we will be able to provide advisory results to decision-makers and other interested stakeholders for further investigation and consideration in new decision-making processes.?Also to contribute to a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the current environmental permit processes for mines, as well as the application of the Water Directive. And further, based on this, consider opportunities for reforms that can lead to a safer, more efficient and more innovation-friendly permit process for mining projects, as well as a more efficient and adequate application of the water directive in mining-related cases.?

-I am very proud of our partners and participants in this project who possess knowledge and experience from various trials, processes and fulfillments of processes and implementation. I feel confident that there will be a good and well-founded result from this project,?says?Anna Kumpula, Project Manager at Georange.

DIGGING DEEP: FUTURE TECHNOLOGY

Innovative and environmentally?friendly?Biobased Flotation process

Creating a fossil-free and environmentally friendly mining industry requires the development of bio-based renewable reagents for beneficiation process.?Flotation with xanthates is currently in widespread use?in the beneficiation processes of base metals and gold. To develop a more sustainable process we have in three sequential research projects?assessed the potential of replacing currently used flotation reagents with lignin particles obtained from renewable feedstocks.

Can the use of abundant renewable feedstocks support a low-carbon-footprint mining industry? This question initiated a successful research journey, involving the expertise from both academia and industry. For the initial concept, the Biochemical Process Engineering research group at Lule? University of Technology, used an organosolv reactor to produce eco-friendly biodegradable non-toxic lignin particles from forest materials provided by Sveaskog. Boliden Minerals assessed the organosolv lignin particles as a flotation reagent in a novel sustainable flotation process for copper recovery. The development has been supported by both Swedish Mining Innovation and EIT Raw Materials. The three projects in Swedish Mining Innovation thus far:

1. The LIGNOFLOT pre-study was able to demonstrate that the lignin particles had a great potential to enable selective recovery of copper and other minerals in the presence of iron sulphides without the presence of a depressant. The new flotation process using lignin particles is now protected under a granted Swedish patent, also pending in Europe.? ?
2. LIGNOFLOT full-scale innovation projects was initiated based on the positive results and the industrial interest after the pre-study. This project continued the development and testing of organosolv lignin particles and added expertise of Nouryon. The aim of LIGNOFLOT was to improve selectivity of copper extraction from sulphide ores, based on total or partial replacement of fossil-based xanthate collectors by the developed lignin-based reagent. ?
3. LIGNOMIN full-scale innovation project which is ongoing is building on the knowledge gained from the LIGNOFLOT project. The project aims to increase the number of lignin sources available for the lignin particle reagent to provide renewable feedstocks for production of the biobased flotation reagents that offer both higher revenue by increasing recovery of valuable base metals and reduce CO2 and environmental footprint. More specifically, in LIGNOMIN we will explore the impact of using lignin from abundant lignocellulosic sources, i.e. technical lignins from Nordic biorefineries, as well as residues from the agricultural and food industry, for production of lignin particles to be used in a new flotation reagent system. An interesting approach is the use of brewery waste, in this case brewer’s spent grain, as a lignin source. Bottenvikens Bryggeri AB

"We at Bottenvikens like to collaborate with others, in LIGNOMIN we get the opportunity to work cross industries and disciplines. We can explore technologies to valorize our waste and find new opportunities to position our SME in a circular economy in the green transition of the north of Sweden". -Mattias Bergstr?m CEO of Bottenvikens Bryggeri AB

The next step

The lignin reagents will be further studied so that specific tailored particles can be produced and applied to specific ore samples.?The project is expected to be completed in 2026 and we hope that the results can support the establishment of a European production line of flotation reagents, which will simultaneously increase the economic impact and lower the environmental impact as well as strengthen the international competitiveness in the sector, says Ulrika Rova, Professor and Project Manager, Lule? University of Technology. This is one example of projects that contribute to sustainable processing and demonstrates cross-sectoral symbiosis.

Read the full article and learn more about the projects.

COMING UP

Next Digging deep newsletter will be out in February. Our regular newsletter will be published in the end of the month.

Stay tuned!