La multinationale investit 1,2 M$ à l’intérieur d’un projet de 4 M$ de l’entreprise Ressources Géoméga, via sa filiale Innord, pour la construction d’une usine pilote à Boucherville et la réalisation d’une étude de Possibility.
Bauxite residue, the main waste material from aluminum production, requires significant management and control by mining companies to avoid environmental impacts. Innord is developing a process to reduce the volume of red clay by 70-90% while recovering valuable minerals from this waste
in a press release by Leah Lawrence, President and CEO of Sustainable Development Technology Canada, which provided $1.5 million.
In the same document, Dr. Boya Hajiani, Chief Technology Officer of Geomega and Innord, outlined the 12-month timeline for the project he has been working with Rio Tinto.
The project, which is due to be completed within the next 24 months, will include the construction of a pilot plant that will be installed and commissioned at the Innord facilities in Boucherville and that will eventually be the basis for a practical technical feasibility study.
He said.
second company
In January 2021, Rio Tinto also announced that a commercial pilot unit for recovering bauxite residue is now operating at the Usine Vaudreuil site in Jonquière.
The project, announced in 2017 and valued at $9 million, was carried out in partnership with Global Mineral Recovery (GMR), a subsidiary of an American company in Quebec. Ultimately, this project should create a hundred jobs.
Via email, Rio Tinto explained why it supports two initiatives with common goals.
Rio Tinto’s dedicated teams are constantly innovating to find new ways to reuse byproducts from our operations, generating value from our activities and reducing our environmental footprint. […] This is why Rio Tinto supports many projects such as Geomega and GMR, which are still in their initial stages.
Via email Malika Sherry, Media Relations Consultant – Canada and the United States for Rio Tinto.
She added that the two companies are developing different operations.
Remember that Rio Tinto must eventually increase the size of the bauxite residue site. According to a newspaper dated September 2021, the new site is scheduled to be developed in 2023-2025 with the possibility of commissioning in 2026.
The recovery of bauxite residue is part of the commitment made with the community following the public consultation process surrounding the Vaudreuil 2022 project.
as indicated by Malika Cherry.
Earlier this week, Rio Tinto announced the start-up of a furnace allowing aluminum scraps to be reused at its Laterrière plant in Saguenay.
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