Turning waste into environmentally friendly paste
UMMC is one of the leading Russian producers of major commodities including copper, zinc, coal, gold, and silver, with over 40 operations in Russia and abroad and more than 80 000 employees. Its Uchalinskiy mining and processing plant processes copper-pyrite ores and produces copper and zinc concentrates. The plant accounts for over 65% of all zinc concentrate produced in Russia.
The plant used the traditional impoundment method to dispose of tailings, and by 2014 the existing tailings pond was almost full. There were two options: either a new tailings pond could be built, or the depleted open pit could be used to store tailings.
UMMC chose to implement an Outotec® HCT paste thickening plant to turn concentrator waste into an environmentally friendly paste product (reclaimant) that can be used to restore the depleted crater of the site’s open pit.