THUNDER BAY — ZEN Graphene Solutions, a company developing a graphite deposit in the Hearst area, hopes tailings from a future mine can be turned into a commercial by-product.
The Thunder Bay-based firm has submitted two drums of tailings material from the processing of its Albany Graphite Project mineralization to a researcher at the University of British Columbia's Okanagan campus.
In a news release this week, ZEN said early lab results "show promise" that the tailings can work as a partial replacement for cement, thereby reducing tailings disposal costs and creating another revenue stream.
Co-CEO Francis Dube said "Cement production from limestone is a significant source of carbon dioxide emissions accounting for approximately eight per cent of global emissions. Every ton of cement that we can replace with our tailings material would potentially save up to approximately one ton of carbon dioxide."
Preliminary work in the lab saw between 10 and 20 per cent of a cement mixture replaced with tailings material, creating a product with a strength rating close to that of normal concrete.
Evaluation and testing of the product for strength continues. Additional tests will look at the potential to add graphene to the tailings material.
UBC researcher Dr. Ahmad Reteil said partially replacing cement with tailings could have "a significant financial and environmental impact on the concrete industry by being able to deliver a better product while reducing its carbon footprint."
