2017-Sustainable Industrial Processing Summit
SIPS 2017 Volume 1. Barrios Intl. Symp. / Non-ferrous Smelting & Hydro/Electrochemical Processing
| Editors: | Kongoli F, Palacios M, Buenger T, Meza JH, Delgado E, Joudrie MC, Gonzales T, Treand N |
| Publisher: | Flogen Star OUTREACH |
| Publication Year: | 2017 |
| Pages: | 264 pages |
| ISBN: | 978-1-987820-61-4 |
| ISSN: | 2291-1227 (Metals and Materials Processing in a Clean Environment Series) |
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21st Century Alchemy: Transitioning from Mining to Solar
Manuel Ramos1; Krishna Parameswaran2;1ASARCO LLC, Tucson, United States; 2TFGMM STRATEGIC CONSULTING, Scottsdale, United States;
Type of Paper: Keynote
Id Paper: 186
Topic: 6
Abstract:
ASARCO LLC (Asarco) and its parent Grupo México, S.A.B. de C.V (Grupo Mexico) are of the view that a renewable energy project can be viable use of un-utilized mine lands and post-mining use of disturbed mined lands that have been reclaimed. This paper examines the drivers that make mining and solar energy development a good fit and, through a case study, discusses Asarco’s experience in hosting the Avalon Solar Project, a 57-megawatt (MW) single-axis tracking solar power photovoltaic (PV) facility situated on approximately 500-acres tract of retired agricultural land, acquired for water rights purposes, in Pima County, Arizona near the Asarco’s Mission Complex. The paper also discusses the reclamation of the San Xavier tailings storage facilities and waste rock deposition area, located within the boundaries of the San Xavier District (District) of the Tohono O’odham Nation where a portion of the Asarco Mission mining operations occur. These and other closed and reclaimed tailings storage facilities and possibly waste rock deposition areas could be suitable for siting future photovoltaic (PV) solar projects.
Keywords:
Co2; Copper; Energy; Environmental; Industry; Metal; Non-Ferrous; Sustainability;References:
[1] Adam Bruns, 2010, “Back from the Dead: The best places for renewable energy power plants may be the pits of the world,” (http://siteselection.com/theEnergyReport/2010/may/mining.html).[2] Duke Energy: https://www.duke-energy.com/our-company/about-us/businesses/renewable-energy/solar-energy/ajo-solar
[3] Duke Energy: https://www.duke-energy.com/our-company/about-us/businesses/renewable-energy/solar-energy/bagdad-solar-power .
[4] L. C. Navarro, T. Morris, W. Read, and K. Parameswaran, 2016, Metal Sustainability from a Manufacturing Perspective: Initiatives at ASARCO LLC Amarillo Copper Refinery in Metal Sustainability: Global Challenges, Consequences and Perspectives, First Edition, Edited by Reed M. Izatt, John Wiley & Sons, 2016, pp. 397-423.
[5] K. Parameswaran, 2015, Mining and Sustainable Development: Oxymoron or Rx for a Bright Future? in Proceedings of Water, Air and Land: Sustainability Issues in Mineral and Metal Extraction (WALSIM) Symposium at Conference of Metallurgists (COM) 2015, published by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum, ISBN: 978-1-926872-32-2, pp. 1-19.
[6] K. Parameswaran, 2016a, Sustainability Initiatives at ASARCO LLC: A Mining Company Perspectives in Metal Sustainability: Global Challenges, Consequences and Perspectives, First Edition, Edited by Reed M. Izatt, John Wiley & Sons, 2016, pp. 424-452.
[7] K. Parameswaran, 2016b, Sustainability Considerations in Innovative Process Development in Innovative Process Development in Metallurgical Industry Concept to Commission (Eds. V.I. Lakshmanan, R. Roy and V. Ramachandran), Springer, 2016, pp. 257-280.
[8] J. Parker (BHP), 2017, Private Communication.
[9] Recurrent Energy: http://recurrentenergy.com/portfolio/ajo-and-bagdad/.
[10] Ricker Atkinson McBee, Morman & Associates, Inc. (RAMM), 2012, Geotechnical
[11] Engineering Report, Photo Voltaic Solar Panels, Asarco Mission Mine Tailings.
[12] SAECO. 2013, Geotechnical Study Tohono Solar Pima Mine Road west of I-19, Pima County, Arizona, Prepared for Westwood Professional Services, Smith & Annala Engineering Company, January 25, 2013.
[13] U.S. EPA, 2011, “Renewable Energy Development Opportunities, ASARCO Mission Mine Tailings Area, San Xavier District, Tohono O’odham Nation.”
[14] U.S. EPA, 2012, Renewable Energy Projects at Mine Sites-Highlighting Progress Across the Regions, March 2012.
[15] U.S. EPA, 2013, New Energies: Utility-Scale Solar on a Tailings Disposal Facility Chevron Questa Superfund Site in Questa, New Mexico July 2013.
[16] U.S. EPA, 2015, Renewable Energy Projects at Mine Sites- Progress and Highlights from across the Country, 2015.
[17] U.S. EPA, 2017, RE-Powering America’s Land: Project Tracking Matrix, https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-05/documents/tracking_matrix_508_050817_v2.pdf .
[18] WBRT, 2010, “Mining to Solar Initiatives: Breathing New Life Into Old Lands,” hosted by the Western Business Roundtable on May 12, 2010, one of the authors of this paper made a presentation entitled “Mining Companies and Solar Projects: Could be A Win-Win Scenario,”(http://senator-tom-seymour.blogspot.com/2010/04/western-business-round-table.html?m=1).
[19] Weston Solutions Inc, 2011, Geotechnical Investigation Targeted Brownfields Assessment (Asarco Mission Mine Tailings Pile Tohono O’odham Nation, San Xavier District, Arizona), Prepared for EPA Region 9, Weston Solutions Inc, USACE Contract Number: W91238-11-D-0001.
[20] W. Cobb (FMI), 2017, Private Communication.