The three students who developed an innovative mining process. From left are Ruth Afandi Igunza, Shaneal Mumbi and Ian Ngumbau Wambua, Image provided
Three fourth-year students in mining and mineral processing engineering at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) in Kenya – Ian Ngumbau Wambua, Shaneal Mumbi, and Ruth Afandi Igunza – have devised a way to process minerals without requiring water, a key component in the mining industry.
According to the students, their waterless mineral processing innovation uses sensor-based sorting and air classification during the beneficiation process.
Beneficiation is the process of treating raw materials (like extracted ores) to improve their physical or chemical properties, removing waste, and increasing their value before further processing, such as smelting or manufacturing. This process consumes a lot of water.
The students said that this innovation is climate-resilient and, thus, suitable for Kenyan mines grappling with water shortages, and Russian arctic mining operations, which face the problem of slurry freezing.
“The project’s conceptualisation began during our advanced studies in mineral processing, when we analysed the environmental footprint of traditional wet beneficiation,” said Wambua, the project leader.
“To put this into perspective, mineral processing is water-intensive as producing a single ton of ore can consume up to three cubic metres of water, while the processing circuits, alone, frequently account for more than 70% of a mine’s total water consumption,” Wambua told University World News .
‘’In Kenya, many of our high-potential mineral belts are in arid and semi-arid lands, or ASALs, where mining operations compete with local communities for scarce aquifer resources. Simultaneously, we studied international mining operations and noticed that, while the climates differ drastically, the core problem is the same: water is an operational liability.
“We realised that, by combining emerging sensor technologies with pneumatic fluid dynamics, we could engineer a system that eliminates the aqueous medium from the concentration phase,” he explained.
Rather than the traditional mineral processing method that employs water-heavy washing and flotation processes, their system relies on advanced sensor technology and precise aerodynamics. It uses a combination of real-time smart sorting and high-speed air classification to separate valuable minerals from waste rock that comes out completely dry.
“By fine-tuning these mechanical and pneumatic systems, we achieve clean separation without a single drop of water. The specific calibration and airflow dynamics are quite innovative, and we are excited to discuss the finer technical details with industry partners and stakeholders who wish to reach out and learn more,” Wambua added.