Evaporation and Crystallization Systems for Metals & Mining Applications

Mining and Metal Process Solutions

HPD's provides the expertise required for several metals and mining production processes. 

Evaporation and crystallization systems are a critical process component in evaporites mining, by-product recovery and internal process water management within the mining and metals processing industries.

Production Processes

Evaporite Mining

• Potash: potassium chloride (KCl)
• Salt: sodium chloride (NaCl)
• Soda Ash: sodium carbonate (Na₂CO₃), sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO₃)
• Nitrates: NaNO₃ 
• Sulfates: Na₂SO₄

Co-Products from Extraction & Refining

• Nickel / Colbalt: ammonium sulfate ((NH₂)₂SO₄)
• Chromium: sodium sulfate (Na₂SO₄)
• Precious Metals: nickel sulfate (NiSO₄)
• Alumina: sodium aluminate (NaAlO₂)

By-products, Tailings & Bitterns

• Metals: ammonium sulfate ((NH₂)₂SO₄), sodium sulfate (Na₂SO₄) 
• Salt, Solar: magnesium sulfate (Mg SO₄)

Processing

• Concentration (e.g. Kaolin)
• Lean (stripped) Stream Recycle (e.g. Spent Alumina/Bayer Process, oxalate removal systems)
• Water Recovery / Volume Reduction

Specialty Metals Systems

HPD specialty metal crystallization systems have processed a wide variety of specialty metals such as vanadium, tungsten, lithium and molybdenum. These systems have recovered vanadium, tungsten and molybdenum from spent catalysts and even produced lithium chloride for production of lithium batteries.

Copper and nickel sulfate crystallization is part of ore refining and recovered from spent metal processing solutions in HPD designed systems. In addition, HPD crystallizers recover fertilizer grade ammonium sulfate generated in the refining of nickel from mined ores.

DID YOU KNOW?

HPD crystallization systems are used to recover a majority of the domestic production of detergent grade sodium sulfate from such processes as battery recycling, chrome production and rayon manufacturing.