Experimental mineral carbonation: approaches to accelerate CO₂ sequestration in mine waste materials

Abstract

The ability to sequester CO₂ under elevated temperature and pressure has been shown to be successful using MgO-rich rocks. This is achieved by mineral carbonation. Two predominant sources of substrate material are considered, namely ultramafic mine waste rock and process tailings. Each material has specific sequestration potential benefits for select mining operations to source additional revenue from the offset of anthropogenic carbon and sales of carbonate industrial products. Laboratory scale tests can determine the CO₂ fixation capacity of the proposed rocks; however, a more practical repeatable method of determining thecarbonation potential is needed. Data generation from autoclave testing of applicable mining waste material facilitates the understanding of carbonation determining parameters. The development of a sequestration potential algorithm that can be applied to drill hole geochemical data is preferred. The generation of non-destructive sequestration potential values from geostatistical interpretation will facilitate their inclusion into applicable mining block models and the determination of bulk carbon sequestration capacity.

Keywords:

• carbon capture and sequestration
• mineral carbonation
• mine waste material