For approximately 10 years now in Pennsylvania there have been studies going on that have looked at the potential to recover precious metals from Abandoned Mine Drainage and find a market for them. Iron is one of the metals that is often in abundance in most mine drainage in PA.

Want to know more about Oxide Resource Recovery? please see this brochure.

There are many uses for Iron in the United States and world wide. The current markets for low-grade iron oxides in the United States alone is approximately 175,000 tons per year (1995 estimate; Hedin Environmental SBIR research), while the current world market for a similar grade product is approximately 850,000 tons per year.

The typical revenue from this quality of material is approximately $0.10 - 0.75/lb (Hoover Color; Bayferrox Corp). Higher value "specialty" iron oxide products are typically used in the animal vitamin supplement or cosmetics markets and have a higher associated economic value, as much as $3.00 - 4.00/lb.

Groups in Western PA, such as Hedin Environmental, have already begun recovering iron-oxide sediments in bulk at several treatment sites and marketing the product for sale.

Here in Eastern PA, no such recovery has begun yet. However, EPCAMR is taking the lead in Iron Oxide Resource Recovery in the Anthracite Region and has already begun an inventory study of the abandoned mine discharges to determine what type of iron oxide is produced and begin to estimate the amount that is currently there and may precipitate in the future. There are also several proposals currently being evaluated to begin extracting iron oxide deposits and establishing markets in Eastern PA. EPCAMR recovers and processes a small amount for educational purposes. If you are interested in obtaining any of these products, plese visit our Online Store.

Want to know More? See EPCAMR's Sludge Sampling Project or read about our From PA’s Northeast to the Middle East: Abandoned Mine Drainage, Environmental Art, and Global Water Resources project.

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Published on: 2005-04-13 (795 reads)