Mercury contamination is a worldwide problem
that greatly affects metal miners, smelters, and refiners. In these
industries, mercury is found as a naturally-occurring constituent in ores
and concentrates, and in leach residues, refinery materials and residues,
electro- winning electrodes, autoclave discharge solids, and in waste water
and acid sludges.
The presence of mercury in these materials
can severely decrease or eliminate the ability to recover residual metal
values from the contaminated material and, because of the need to treat
and/or dispose of the material, it can also increase production cost.
Use
of the MRS Process to treat contaminated copper
smelter materials and precious
metals process dusts and precipitates has demonstrated the ability of
the process to convert expenses into earnings by:
- eliminating the penalties charged to
process mercury-contaminated materials in order to recover other metal
values,
- recovering full metal value from the
by-product or waste by the generator, if treated internally, and
- re-using or receiving payment for the
recovered mercury.
SMELTER BY-PRODUCT: Merrill Crowe Precipitate
- Mercury As Received 200,000
ppm >>>
Treated to less than 10 ppm
- Silver Content: 40% - 50%
(100% retained)
- Gold Content: 0.5% -
1.0% (100% retained)
REFINERY BY-PRODUCT: Cottrell Dust
- Mercury As Received 75,000
ppm >>>
Treated to less than 10 ppm
- Silver Content: 1%
(100% retained)
- Gold Content: 1% (100% retained)
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