Business
BacTech Environmental Announces Filing of Bioleaching Process Patent Application for Green Iron and Nickel-Cobalt Recovery
Novel Process for Bioleaching Pyrrhotite Tailings Using Natural Bacteria Holds Zero-Carbon Potential for Green Steel and EV Battery Metal Applications TORONTO,
About this update from Bactech Environmental Corp.
[{"type":"text","content":"Novel Process for Bioleaching Pyrrhotite Tailings Using Natural Bacteria Holds Zero-Carbon Potential for Green Steel and EV Battery Metal Applications TORONTO, ON – TheNewswire - April 7, 2022 – BacTech Environmental Corporation (CSE:BAC), (OTC:BCCEF), (FSE:0BT1) (“BacTech” or the “Company”), a commercially proven environmental technology company delivering effective and eco-friendly bioleaching and remediation solutions, today announces it has filed a patent application for a novel bioleaching process relevant to the treatment of pyrrhotite tailings for iron and nickel-cobalt recovery as global leaders and sustainability experts search for solutions to decarbonize steel production and shore up EV battery metal supply chains. Pyrrhotite is an iron sulphide mineral containing low levels of nickel, cobalt, and copper -- typically dismissed and discarded as an uneconomical waste by-product by mining operations that continues to perpetuate an environmental tailings legacy in need of remediation. In the Sudbury basin of Ontario, there is a vast resource of ∼0.8% Ni-bearing pyrrhotite tailings, which has been disposed of separately in shallow lakes since the early 1990s in compliance with known environmental and sustainable development standards.2 An average grade of 0.7% nickel translates to half a million tonnes of nickel metal3, valued at US$15B (assuming market prices of $30,000/tonne for nickel). The Company’s new R&D pursuits radically differ from other technical groups’ attempts to commercialize pyrrhotite tails treatment that have traditionally focussed on reducing the cost of nickel recovery to create favourable economics. Alternatively, BacTech has been pursuing a scientific path to develop an innovative zero-carbon liberation and extraction approach to separating iron from its ore, in addition to optimizing nickel-cobalt recovery efforts. Furthermore, an upgraded siliceous residue from bioleaching may be used to produce zero-carbon construction materials incorporating geopolymer technology. BacTech believes its method answers a need raised by the Canadian government and others to accelerate the sustainable extraction and processing of critical minerals from existing mine tailings and invest in domestic EV battery production. “Global demands for green steel and EV battery metals have simply skyrocketed...